We are all time travelers to some extent. Most of us spend at least part of our lives reliving the past or thinking about the future. This is not necessarily wrong – we were given memories to remember the lessons of the past, and imaginations to see and plan for the future as well as we can. But we were never intended to live in another dimension of time.
Sadly, some Christians who have undergone traumatic experiences, or who have made mistakes they find hard to forget, spend a lot of time and emotional energy dwelling on the past – re-living or analyzing events and mistakes and often suffering through the events repeatedly. This is definitely something that we need to overcome. We should always try to learn what we can from the past mistakes that we or others have made, but as Christians we are instructed to let these things be covered by the forgiveness we have in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:14–18). Isaiah specifically tells us “I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25 ESV – and the clear implication is that what God chooses to forget, we should also.
Anything less is not to trust in the fullness of Christ’s sacrifice – it is to proudly believe that the sins and problems of our past are too great to be covered. We may not consciously think this, but if we do spend a lot of time re-living past events we should carefully assess our thoughts and ask God for help we may need to come back from the past: to forget the details, remember the lessons, and let God move us forward. As the apostle Paul (who was as conscious as any of us of mistakes in his past) wrote: “one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Philippians 3:13).
It is much healthier – both emotionally and spiritually – to look forward rather than backward. But Christians may also fall into a ditch on that side of the road of life. If we find ourselves frequently being concerned about the future, we must focus on the fact that trusting God regarding our future is a basic aspect of our faith (Matthew 6: 31–33). As Jesus said: “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matthew 6:34).
But there is a final and equally debilitating aspect of living in the future. Many Christians begin to look to the future as an answer to the problems of the present. This is not wrong if it is part of our trust that God will work things out, but if we begin to focus unduly on the coming kingdom of God or “when I get to heaven” or prophecies regarding the end of the world and what might happen next, we can begin to live in the future and lose our focus on living God’s will and doing God’s work today. Sadly, many who do this inadvertently diminish God’s calling in their lives. We can and should pray daily for God’s kingdom to come, but that involves the institution of God’s will now just as much as in the future. The responsibilities God gives us in this regard are all in the here and now. God calls us not to live in the future to escape the now, but to live in a now that is inspired by the future.
God himself is clearly a God of the present. When Moses asked God what his name was, God told him: “I am that I am” (Exodus 3:14) – God does not focus on what he has been or will be, his identity is tied to now, to eternally filling the present. Certainly God is the alpha and omega (Revelation 1:8; 21:6) – the beginning and the end – but that means he was and will be the same in an eternal present. And that is what God calls us to be, also. Trite as it may sound, there is a lot of wisdom in the old saying “Today is God’s gift, and that’s why we call it the present.”
When we focus on living in the present-moment, whatever we do – even the simplest action – can be fulfilling God’s long-term purpose for us. The psalmist wrote “I will sing praises to your name forever as I fulfill my vows each day” (Psalm 61.8), and this is God’s intent for us – for us to keep the big picture of eternity in mind, but to live in the present of each day we are given.
We should always remember that God calls us to let the past be our teacher, to let the future be our hope, but to let the present be our life.
When we see the words humility and service together, it is easy to think immediately of the humility of Jesus in serving humanity (Mark 10:45) and of the humility his followers are called to show in serving others (Galatians 5:13). But there is another side to the relationship between humility and service in that it often takes humility to be served.
When the New Testament tells us that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45), it does not mean that Jesus was never served. We know he attended meals in the homes of others where he was served by the hosts (Luke 10:40–42; etc.), we have the story of the woman who washed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair in an extreme act of service (Luke 7:36-50), and Mark’s Gospel specifically tells us that a number of individuals “followed Jesus and cared for his needs” (Mark 15:41). In the same way, the apostle Paul – who served countless people throughout his ministry – referred to the deaconess Phoebe as someone who “has been helpful to many, and especially to me” (Romans 16:1-2 NLT).
But it is easy to forget – or never to really learn – that just as it takes humility to serve others, it can also take humility to be served. For a number of reasons, the human mind often resists being served and helped. A clear biblical example of this is found in the story we all know of Peter’s interaction with Jesus at the Last Supper:
Jesus … poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” (John 13:3–9).
Here, we see that Peter initially declined being served by his Teacher, and in so doing almost rejected one of the greatest lessons his Teacher could ever give him, as well as the simple act of service that Jesus offered him. Like Peter, although our initial reaction to being served might be negative, we need to humbly and gladly realize that we should accept service being offered for our good. And we need to be willing to do this in many areas of life. Consider just a few examples:
We need humility to be served in sickness, injury, and in other situations where we cannot help ourselves. The apostle James tells us the sick should call for the help of elders who would anoint and pray for them (James 5:14–15).
We need humility to be served when people offer us personal advice, suggestions, or guidance. The example of Moses accepting the advice of his father-in-law regarding a matter in which Moses had far more experience (Exodus 18:13–24) is a clear one that we should understand in the context of Moses’ great humility (Numbers 12:3).
We need humility to allow ourselves to be served by God who came to serve and who works to save us. We should never be like the people of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth who did not accept him in their pride (Luke 5:22) and, as a result, were not helped as they could have been (Mark 6:5).
The truth is, in our relationships with other people, there is a balance between serving and being served, supporting the needs of others and being supported in our own needs (Luke 4:38–39). We should always remember that we are called not only to serve others, but sometimes to be served also.
“Do everything without complaining” (Philippians 2:14)
Is it wrong for Christians to complain? Of course, the apostle Paul’s injunction in Philippians 2:14 is clear and is a principle we should follow. But at the same time, does this mean we should never complain? This is a good example of how we should not take a single verse out of the context of the whole Bible.
The Old Testament gives numerous examples of those whose critical and complaining spirit was condemned by God. For example: “Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp” (Numbers 11:1–2). Passages like this show very clearly that God is not pleased with those who complain about real or imagined problems.
But the Old Testament also shows the other side of this situation. It gives examples of righteous individuals who complained and were not condemned. Moses (Exodus 5:22–23; etc.), Jonah (Jonah 4:1–3), and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 12:1) – among others – all complained to God and are not said to have done wrong. In fact, in each case, God patiently dealt with the complaining individual and carefully explained why things were the way they were.
The difference between these examples of acceptable complaining and those situations where complaints were condemned is clear to see. In every case where the Bible shows complaining was condemned, it was of complaints shared with other people. In every case where the complaint was acceptable to God, it was made directly to him.
Perhaps the best example of this acceptable complaining is found in the Old Testament prophets. Consider first the book of Habakkuk – which contains complaints the prophet took directly to God. First, Habakkuk asks God the age-less question “Why do you allow bad things to happen to good people?” (Habakkuk 1:1–4; 13). He follows that up with another complaint that is related yet different: “Why do you allow good things to happen to bad people” (Habakkuk 1:13–17). Interestingly, the prophet does not bring these complaints because he feels God is unloving, but because he sees the unfathomable injustice in the world (Habakkuk 1:4), and that is the basis of both his complaints.
In a similar way, the prophet Jeremiah wrote “Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?” (Jeremiah 12:1).
Notice that Habakkuk and Jeremiah both took their complaints directly to God and in a respectful and humble way. But they (and other prophets like them) did complain to God – and God answered them. For example, by the end of the book of Habakkuk the author shows that he was satisfied with what God revealed to him, and could now find happiness despite his complaints and the problems he perceived in the world around him:
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17–18).
Studying the book of Habakkuk and some of the other Old Testament prophets when we are suffering or when we simply cannot fathom the injustices of the world can help us rise above these things, but the greatest lesson we can learn from these servants of God in this regard is that we should not complain to others about the things God allows – which weakens our witness and which can be a form of judging God himself. Yet we can honestly take our concerns to God and complain as much as we want – asking him to help us see his wisdom in allowing what he does, and for help to trust him with the outcome.
So go ahead and complain if you need to – just be sure to take your complaints to the right place.
Atheists have long pointed to the suffering in the world as “proof” that God cannot exist – claiming that if God were all powerful and all loving, he would not let suffering occur. But to find the very simple answer to this dilemma of why suffering exists, we need only take a step back from the question and ask why do humans exist?
The Scriptures make it clear that humanity exists because God wishes to share everything he has with his human children (Romans 8:32) – for all eternity (John 10:28). But as C.S. Lewis wisely pointed out, God will not give eternal life to anyone who will make themselves and others eternally unhappy. The only way this can be achieved is to have a physical world in which people are born but cannot live forever unless they choose to live in a way that would make them and others happy – and then those people are given eternal life by God (1 Corinthians 15:49–52).
Once we understand this great purpose of human life and see that a temporary physical existence is necessary before we can be trusted with an endless spiritual existence, it is not difficult to see that while we are physical beings, we have to be capable of experiencing pain. If we were not, we would unknowingly put our hands on burning hot objects, or injure and destroy ourselves in any of hundreds of other ways. We have to be able to experience pain – suffering – in order to live in a temporary physical world.
Some may ask, “Wouldn’t it be better if people were not born rather than being born into a life with the potential to experience pain or suffering?” But we should ask ourselves if a newborn baby that has to be slapped on the bottom by the delivering doctor – in order for the sudden pain to jolt it into breathing – would choose not to experience years and years of potentially happy and fulfilling life just to avoid that initial few seconds of hurting?
In exactly the same way, our experience of pain during the relatively brief years of our physical lifetime will be ultimately well worth enduring for the painless eternity we are offered in the life after this one. This is what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Romans 8:18 ). Paul goes on to explain this in more detail:
“For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us” (Romans 8:22–24 NLT).
So suffering had to be for a short time if we are to live eternally without causing ourselves or others ongoing pain. But we must also realize that in this life we bring much suffering on ourselves – we all sin, and sin inevitably leads to suffering. Other suffering is accidental, or caused maliciously by others.
But God does not just allow us to suffer and ignore the fact that we do. He understands that suffering may try our faith. But he knows that if we trust him and endure, our faith is made stronger for being tested (James 1:2–4). He even uses our suffering to help us. God may allow pain to help us turn to him, to examine ourselves, and to become more like him. Also, we cannot really learn true empathy and kindness by simply deciding to have these qualities – they often come only by seeing how we need them ourselves when we suffer. Paul says this explicitly: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). Even Jesus learned through what he suffered (Hebrews 5:8) and was able to become an understanding helper to us (Hebrews 4:15–16). When we experience suffering, we also learn more of the depth of the love of Christ who endured immeasurable suffering on our behalf.
And there is yet another, extremely important dimension to the suffering that the Christian may endure. From John the Baptist, who was beheaded (Matthew 14:1–12), to Jesus and the early apostles, the New Testament is full of examples of those who suffered righteously. But if we suffer as a result of our faith – through persecution of some kind – then, as Peter wrote, “you share the sufferings of Christ” (1 Peter 4:12). And as Paul reminds us, we will be rewarded for this: “we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17).
Of course, even those who are spared persecution in this life encounter suffering in one form or another – we all do. And when we do, we can not only be confident that this is the only way God could make the world for our eventual benefit, but also that God will use the suffering we endure, if we ask him, to guide and grow us now, and to bless and reward us in that future time when he will end humanity’s temporary suffering, and he “will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4 NLT). Our present sufferings are, indeed, nothing compared with what God plans to give us as a result of them.
Jesus’ final words before his ascension – “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) – make it clear that his followers were commissioned to serve as witnesses of his life, death, and resurrection, and the significance of these events for all of humankind.
But while it is not wrong to share the gospel with others in whatever setting we may find ourselves, it is usually better that it is not done indiscriminately. The book of Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to be silent and a time to speak (Ecclesiastes 3:7), and that certainly applies to Christian witness. Jesus talked about the principle of not giving sacred or spiritual things to those who are obviously going to reject them (Matthew 7:6), and it is clear that he often did not preach to people when he had opportunity to do so (Matthew 5:1; Luke 5:16; John 11:53–54; etc.). It is better to choose the time, place, and opportunity to share the gospel carefully rather than to feel that if we are simply around people, we should be witnessing to them.
A related principle to keep in mind is that it is preferable, whenever possible, to use a natural conversational opportunity to talk to others about Christ rather than to suddenly accost them with religious statements or questions. Extreme examples of this (such as “Repent or you will go to hell” or “Have you given your heart to the Lord?”) frequently arouse hostility in people and doom the effort to introduce them to the gospel. The apostle Peter doubtless had this fact in mind when he wrote: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter
3:15). Here, Peter places the emphasis on letting the unconverted person be the initiator of the discussion, and while that is not always necessary, it is certainly an ideal situation. And, of course, answering with respect – as Peter urges us – precludes berating people about sin or the kind of “in your face” presentation of the truth of salvation that many well-intentioned believers participate in.
Reading how Jesus guided his conversations with people such as the woman at the well in Samaria (John 4:4–26) can teach us a great deal about how we should present the truth to others. We can also lead conversations toward the point where others will ask questions. In any case, a great many natural opportunities arise in everyday conversation. For example, to a coworker offering condolences when they heard we had lost a relative, we can say “Thank you, but as a Christian I believe that just as Jesus was resurrected, so my relative will be – so I do not grieve as many people do who do not have this hope.” That kind of statement gives a totally natural opening for a conversation about the gospel if the other person seems interested. In the same way we can bring up some aspect of our beliefs when discussing books, activities, or in dozens of other ways.
Yet we should not feel under any kind of pressure to try to bring people to Christ quickly. The book of Acts gives us a good example of that fact when it records an important conversation between Paul and the Jewish king, Agrippa, who asked Paul:
“Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am” (Acts 26:28 –29)
In saying this, Paul showed that he felt no unreasonable urgency to bring Agrippa and others to Christ – just a desire for that outcome, however long it might take. Ultimately, we cannot convert people – only God can do that. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul tells us:
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Nevertheless, despite the pervasive spiritual blindness, God frequently chooses to empower our efforts when we desire to help others to come to the light. We are all called to share what we have been given, and the truth of the gospel is certainly the most valuable gift that we can ever share.
* This post is extracted from our free eBook Getting Christianity Right. Read the whole chapter and the book by downloading it here.
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