This is the most important election since time began and other hog-wash

Ok, here it goes. I'm fed-up. If I hear one more person say, 'this is the most important election of our lifetime/the century/the millennium/eternity' I am going to publicly flog them.

We hear this every election. Politicians and their minions use it to whip up support and create a sense of urgency. Other language that I also detest is 'we are at a crossroads' which is obvious since we are having an election.

Every election is the most important because it determines the future. Past elections aren't as important because they are over and their influence is already measured. Future elections are beyond our grasp so they lack importance. Saying 'this is the most important election' is similar to saying 'When you walk the step you are about to take is more important than the steps you have already taken since you can change course'.

Donald Miller gives closing prayer at DNC

Sin and the Problem of Evil

It just hit me. Maybe it has been obvious to you, but not so for me.

I have been think a lot about 'The Problem of Evil' This is sort of a philosophical problem that goes like this, "How can God exists in a world where there is evil? He either doesn't want to deal with it (which makes God evil), can't deal with it (which makes God weak) or doesn't know about it (which makes God dumb)." This problem is posed by atheists and by those who are experiencing the effects of evil ('How could God let this happen?').

A lot of Christians have failed in trying to 'answer' this problem. We can be so anxious to 'let God off the hook'. But we do little to help God. In fact, most 'solutions' present more problems.

The problem of evil is real, in fact the problem evil is ultimately the presence of Sin. The "problem of evil" only exists because there is Sin in the world. When Sin entered the world, it caused major problems, one of which was to put evil beside God. This is not right. Sin can be defined as that which is contrary to God. The presence of both God and Sin causes this big messy rift in the universe, making a lot of things 'not right'.

Now God is fully aware of the 'Problem of Evil' and while we can pose philosophical answers, He has put in place a practical solution. Through Christ's sacrifice God has defeated and is defeating Evil. In the Kingdom, there will be no sin and no problem of Evil.

The Truth is in the Tension

Theology is the process of trying to understand God. The problem is sometimes we can't understand God. If the Bible stands as God's self-revelation then it must be a source of Truth; Truth so we can understand God. The problem sneaks back in when we read the Bible and see tension.

I don't like tension. I like clarity. I want a God who I can understand.

So I read the Bible.

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." - Matthew 5:23-24

Simple enough, if I've offended another it is my responsibility to seek him out in reconciliation. It is the guilty who must ask for forgiveness.

But I keep reading.

"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." - Mark 11:25

Here it is the victim who must initiate reconciliation. But the verse in Matthew said the opposite. How can I understand this tension?

Now it can be tempting to analyze and systematize this. Maybe the difference is in the fact that one one is in the context of offering, the other in the context of prayer. Maybe one applies to Christians ('a brother') while the other applies to all people. Or maybe this is just another contradiction in the Bible and another reason to throw the whole thing out. Such is the ultimate result of 'either/or' logic.

What if the truth is in the tension? What if it is the responsibility of both parties to make amends? This indeed would be a beautiful thing. It paints a picture of the guilty and the victim meeting on the road of reconciliation as they each move toward the other. This was the case of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 33).

I must embrace the tension for within it lies the truth. It may be easier to choose one verse over the other and release myself from the responsibility of reconciliation. But to do so would be error. Whether I have wronged someone or they have wronged me, it is my responsibility to seek reconciliation.

We do this all the time, choosing one verse over another for complex theological reasons which often serve only to reinforce our preferences. We try to solve tension rather than embrace it. We make God understandable, fitting into a neat box of logic.

If I think I can understand God, I fool myself into thinking I can control Him. Then I become God.

But I am not God and I cannot control Him. I can understand Him only inasmuch as He has revealed Himself and no more. So if I see tension in His self-revelation I should always seek to embrace not explain. The Truth is in the Tension.

Rescue

The depth of transgression is deep as the sea
And under the water, way down there was me
Drowning in pain and misery

But I am one who jumped into this ocean
I thought I could swim or go through the motion
But this sea drowns all who leave their devotion

From the boat the sea seemed cool and calm
A relief from the sun shining hard down upon
Just a quick jump, I’ll hardly be gone

The water was not cool, but fatally cold
Freezing my mind, I’d never been told
That this sea is always ever so bold

I tried to swim back with all that's within
Back to the Boat, back again to begin
I'd makeup for the mistake; atone for my sin

Truth is this sea cannot be swum,
It cannot be fought, it cannot be won
Battling the waves and the drowning’s begun

The salt blinded my eyes and closed up my lips
The waves beat my body like the cracking of whips
Losing all feeling from toes to fingertips

I realize that I have but only one plea
Only one way to battle this sea
Since I cannot swim, the Boat must find me

Indeed I was found by that merciful Ship
Yet how could I escape the sea’s terrible grip
My feet are so wet and surely will slip

And even if I did return to that Boat
I may look back and to the sea gloat
And jump back, like a fool, expecting to float

As I looked upon that Ship so true
I see it is manned by an incredible crew
And there was one sailor who I well knew

I should have cried out, my great need to tell
But it was my choice, how could I yell
It would be a lie to say that I fell

The sailor, whose beauty is beyond compare,
Yelled, ‘What are you doing way down there?
And why have left this ship so fair?’

I finally shouted out over the crashing sea,
“I am drowning dear sailor please help me”
Over the waves she heard my desperate plea

She had mercy on me and threw out a line
A way out of the waves and the sea full of brine
A way back onto that boat ever divine

Other sailors, too, helped pull me back in
Rescuing me from the sea of deep sin
Winning the battle alone I could not win

It is not over, the victory is not yet mine
I’ve just left the sea and still smell of the brine
Still fearing I’ll again leave this Ship so fine

I must learn other ways to cool down from the heat
And even when hot never to retreat
So my time in the sea will never repeat

I will stay in the boat and work with the crew
Being ever honest and remaining ever true
To the woman whom to me a rope threw

That woman’s my wife, who to my aid ran
The boat is the Savior and God’s awesome plan
The sailors are Gods’ Church who help hand-in-hand

And I am the fool who jumped into the sea
The man who was rescued, that too was me
The one who is and always will be
Thankful for the Boat who conquers the sea!