Lost in the Cosmos

If you have not read Walker Percy’s (1916-1990) clever book, Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book, you should - especially if you minister to people or are even remotely self-reflective. The sub-title tells you what Percy is up to through his use of satire.

In order to understand Percy’s writing you need to know that he converted to Catholicism after reading the writings of the Danish existentialist writer Søren Kierkegaard and the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky. He began to question the ability of science to explain the basic mysteries of human existence. Having been influenced by the example of one of his college roommates to rise daily at dawn and go to Mass, Percy decided to convert, and he was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1947. If you would like to read more, follow this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Percy

Here are some quotes from the book. The first two appear on the opening cover. The second pair appears in the book, proper.

We are unknown, we knowers, to ourselves…Of necessity we remain strangers to ourselves, we understand ourselves not, in our selves we are bound to be mistaken, for each of us holds good to all eternity the motto, “Each is the farthest away from himself”—as far as ourselves are concerned we are not knowers.  Nietzsche

God, I pray you to let me know myself. St. Augustine

Can you explain why it is that there are, at last count, sixteen schools of psychotherapy  with  sixteen theories of the personality and its disorders and that patients treated in one school seem to do as well or as badly as patients treated in any other—while there is only one gener­ally accepted theory of the cause and cure of pneumococcal pneumonia and only one generally accepted theory of the orbits of the planets and the gravitational attraction of our galaxy and the galaxy M31 in Andromeda? (Hint: If you answer that the human psyche is more complicated than the pneumococcus and the human white-cell response or the galaxies or Einstein's general theory of relativity, keep in mind that the burden of proof is on you. Or if you answer that the study of the human psyche is in its infancy, remember then this infancy has lasted 2,500 years and, unlike phys­ics, we don't seem to know much more about the psyche than Plato did.)

How can you survive in the Cosmos about which you know more and more while knowing less and less about yourself, this despite 10,000 self-help books, 100,000 psychotherapists, and 100 million fundamentalist Christians….

One particular work by Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death, bleeds through most of Percy’s writings. For Kierkegaard, the sickness unto death is what he calls “despair.” Despair describes the various ways a person lives in an inauthentic manner. You can see in this statement, the seeds of modern existentialism. But unlike the atheistic existentialism of Jean Paul Sartre, the only way for someone to not be in despair, according to Kierkegaard, is in a relationship with the living God. 

Are You Angry at God?

Your view of God determines everything. If you were to think of one metaphor to describe your relationship with God, what would it be? Here are a few that come to mind.

• Boss - You work hard and he gives you a pay raise, or you don’t work hard and you get demoted.
• Military General - You obey orders, stay in line and never disagree or you step out of line and get sent to the Gulag.
• Distant Relative - You speak now and then, but there is no true agenda that drives the relationship.

Your filter for who God is will express itself practically in your life and relationships. In Revelation 4-5, we have a corrective filter that we must put on as we walk through life in the good and bad seasons.

The Lamb is Full of Compassion (vv. 6, 9, 12)

One common filter that we often wear is connected to our circumstances. If something good happens, God must love us. If something bad happens, God must not love us because we have done something wrong. This kind of filter sees God’s love as fickle and capricious. This is a really hard way to live and can actually be quite torturous. One moment God likes me and the next he doesn’t. One moment things are going well; the next they are not. We end up saying things like this to ourselves, “God, you are so hard to please. I can’t understand you.” Eventually, we may become jaded and bitter at God, life, others and ourselves.

Revelation 5 is a reminder that God loves us persistently because the Lamb of God was slain! Why did the Lion become a little helpless lamb? Why did he willingly go to the cross? There is only one explanation. He loves you! Not because you are good but because He is love. Now he stands on the throne and freely gives his love to anyone who would humble themselves and admit that they need and want his love. That’s it. No games.

The Lamb Destroys the Power of Death (vv. 6, 9-10, 13-14)

Woody Allen says, “I’m not afraid to die, I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” While humorous, Allen knows something about death that comes through in his dark comedies. Death renders everything meaningless. The preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes understands this well. “Meaningless, meaningless says the teacher.” The reason the teacher concludes that life is meaningless is because death renders everything meaningless. All will return to the dust.

As you read Revelation 5, this sense of purposelessness begins to dissipate. Why? While the Lamb was slain, he is now standing on the throne. He is Christus Victor. Jesus is victorious over death. Death has been annihilated by Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. The passage then says this about those who belong to him,

You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. (vv.9-10)

In Revelation 5 you have one who renders death meaningless. You may lose many things in life, even physical life itself, but it is the Lamb who has the final say over you, not death. And because he renders death meaningless, he renders life meaningful! What you do matters because it has eternal meaning and purpose.

God is Sovereign: Comforting or Terrifying?

Have you ever felt confused while reading a passage that was meant to be comforting? You are not alone! This is often the case with the book of Revelation.

In Revelation 4-5, there are two challenges that emerge. The first potentially confusing piece is who is on the throne. In chapter 4, it is clearly God who is seated on the throne. Yet in chapter 5, the Lamb is on the throne. So which is it? It is both and this can only mean one thing. The Lamb is God.

A second challenge in the passage is that the Lamb is in the center of the throne and in the midst of the elders. Again, he is fully identified with both because he is both God and man! He has come as a man to defeat sin, evil, and the beast through his own suffering and death so that he might lead his people through the cherubim into the presence of God. So why does this matter? Here are two comforting truths that begin to emerge.

The Lamb is Sovereign

The Lamb is in absolute control (vv. 4:2, 5:1), yet his control is unique. It is not the control of a detached, dispassionate deity. Christians are not Deists who view God as an impersonal clockmaker that winds the clock and leaves it to run on its own. This is exactly the opposite of what the passage teaches. The Lamb is on the throne as both God and human. He understands our plight because he has experienced it. Take comfort in this! The God of Scripture is not an impersonal, detached force that mechanically governs your life. He is a God of love who is with you in the midst of your struggles.

The Lamb has Suffered

As if identifying himself was not enough, it gets even better in verses 6, 9 and 12. Each of these verses describes a Lamb who was slain. One of the primal screams of humanity has to do with the existence of suffering and evil in the world. “Why doesn’t God do something?” Revelation 5 informs us he has! We see a mighty Lion who became a lamb. One who at his own expense, came to do battle with evil and suffering. You find nothing like this in other world religions - a God who suffers! Because of this, we do not suffer alone, nor do we suffer without hope because we know that one day it will be over. Isaiah 53 says, “…he was despised and rejected and acquainted with suffering.” Our suffering is swallowed up and made bearable in his suffering and his promised healing.

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise” (5:12)

Lion or Lamb: Which Do You Need?

Have you ever considered reading the book of Revelation when you needed some encouragement? Most people avoid this book altogether due to the rich but confusing symbols. I confess, the symbolism can be confusing but once understood, Revelation becomes a very practical comfort in the midst of daily life.

One of the reasons John wrote Revelation was to comfort and encourage Christians throughout the ages that were undergoing hardship. Particularly, John had in mind his contemporaries who were experiencing persecution for claiming to be Christians. The book is relevant for all, both corporately and individually. Recently, I had the opportunity to preach on Revelation 4-5. The minister of the congregation matched this quote from Jonathan Edwards to compliment my sermon that morning.

If you…come to Christ, he will appear as a Lion, in his glorious power and dominion, to defend you. All those excellencies of his, in which he appears as a lion, shall be yours, and shall be employed for you in your defense, for your safety, and to promote your glory; he will be as a lion to fight against your enemies. He that touches you, or offends you, will provoke his wrath, as he that stirs up a lion. Unless your enemies can conquer this Lion, they shall not be able to destroy or hurt you. Unless they are stronger than he, they shall not be able to hinder your happiness.

Now this is encouraging! You can locate the image of a Lion in Revelation 4-5. As you begin reading chapter 4, John passes through a door into the very throne room where God is seated. The one sitting on the throne defies description because he is so awesome. You begin to get more detail as you read chapter 5, especially 5:5-7.

5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.

At first, John weeps because there is no one worthy to open the scroll. At this point, one of the elders tells him there is one who is worthy. It is the Lion upon the throne who can open the scroll because he has the moral purity and right to do so. The scroll that John sees represents all of human history. Unless the scroll can be opened, the events of human history will not unfold with God’s plan to send a Savior. Then John’s eyes shift back to the throne, but it is not a lion that he sees.

6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne…..7 He came and took the scroll…

So which is it? Is the one on the throne a Lion or a Lamb? Thankfully for us, he is both. The Lion became a Lamb to sacrifice his life for sinners and sufferers so that they might be rescued from themselves and ultimately from every bad thing in the universe.

The Lion is for you, but only if you bow before him as the Lamb of God who takes away your sins. If you admit your need of his saving mercies, you get both Lamb and Lion who love you and protect you even through death.

Steps to Rebuild a Marriage

 Every marriage is flawed and susceptible to temptations. Every marriage has strengths and weaknesses. Every marriage needs to improve. While this series has focused on infidelity, all couples can benefit from these areas of growth in grace.

Each Spouse Can Work to Make the Marriage Better

Even though an affair is a devastating trial, it can be used by God to redeem a marriage and move it to a place that is far better than either partner imagined. An affair can reveal the small fissures that were there but were never addressed. Issues of communication, conflict resolution, intimacy, finances, children, common interests, and expectations are now on the table in ways that they were not prior to the affair.

The problems in the marriage did not cause the affair and this in no way justifies the adultery. Yet it can still be a place where both people grow. Both can admit their own failures, sins and weaknesses and make new commitments to the marriage. This happens more effectively when the spouse who has committed adultery is honest and open about what they have done and clearly states their spouse was not the cause of the affair.

It is Imperative to Get Beneath the Surface

For the person who has committed adultery, he or she must begin to gain clarity on why they did what they did. In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus says that all behavior grows out of our hearts. James 1:13 says the same thing. We sin, not primarily because of our circumstances but because we are dragged away by our own desires. What Jesus and James mean is that all sin begins inside of us - not outside of us. It is important to begin to understand the motivations that drove the person to commit adultery. If they don’t tackle sin at this level, they will not deal with the real problem nor will they go deep enough with their repentance. They may also be more susceptible to another affair.

Trust Must be Re-built Over Time

It is hard to conceive of anything more devastating to a marriage than an affair. An affair does not end the marriage because a marriage can only be dissolved through divorce. However, something very personal and substantial has been treated carelessly. It is a breach in the relationship and the fallout for both people is devastating. For the spouse who was unfaithful, trust must be re-built over time through a consistent lifestyle of transparency and humility. While confession is an important first step, that does not immediately reinstate trust. Trust takes time.

Forgiveness Must be Practiced as a Lifestyle

For the person who has been betrayed, this will be where the war is waged. While they may grant initial forgiveness, practicing forgiveness on a daily, moment-by-moment basis will be critical. It will be tempting for the spouse who has been sinned against to become bitter and resentful if they are not guided to continually practice forgiveness. Since the unfaithful spouse must build trust; the spouse who was betrayed must practice forgiveness. Both of these can only be done by the empowering work of the Spirit.

Finally, remember every couple is unique. Take the time to get to know them and make a commitment to be there for the long haul. You will be glad you did.