The Unwise God

Some of my friends--my spouse included--have given me a hard time for the number of times I start a sentence with 'In the first-century.' The initial context that the first Christians inhabited intrigues me. Recently, I've read a number of books on concepts of forgiveness among the Greeks and Romans to better understand how the typical guy on the street who didn't read (or even know about) what we call the Old Testament would have understood the offer that in a guy named Jesus was forgiveness of sins.

Seneca and Socrates, back to back, in Pergamon Museum, Berlin

One of the authors I read is Seneca--a contemporary of the Apostle Paul and a shaping influence in the Roman Empire. Seneca served as a tutor for Nero, which sounds like a bad role since most of us only know about the terrible ending to Nero's reign of megalomania and pyrotechnics.  But Nero started out a good emperor under the influence of Seneca. For the record, once Nero went totally nuts, Seneca was involved in a plot to assassinate him. For this, Seneca was forced to commit suicide by Nero in 65 AD; the same year that tradition says Nero killed the apostle Paul. Enough history lesson, I'll get on with the post.

Seneca was a Stoic philosopher, one of the worldviews mentioned when during Paul's interaction in Athens (Acts 17).  Seneca wrote a number of moral essays to Nero that have been preserved. One of these is titled "On Mercy." In this essay Seneca argues that giving people mercy is a good thing. But he considers giving people forgiveness a foolish thing. Mercy means that someone is guilty but is given a lesser punishment or perhaps no punishment. But, mercy still views the person as guilty.

He argues that forgiveness or pardon is foolishness, since it sees a guilty person as now innocent. One of the things that bothered Seneca about forgiveness was that mercy gives one options. Mercy gives one freedom to determine what punishment if any will be exacted. Forgiveness takes away the options. Once you forgive someone there is no punishment that can be given.

Consider his words below.


“Pardon is given to a man who ought to be punished; but a wise man does nothing which he ought not to do, omits to do nothing which he ought to do; therefore he does not remit a punishment which he ought to exact. But in a more honorable way he will bestow upon you that which you wish to obtain by pardon; for the wise man will show mercy, be considerate, and rectify; he will do the same that he would do if pardoned, and yet he will not pardon, since he who pardons admits that he has omitted to do something which he ought to have done.” (Seneca, On Mercy 2.7.1–2)

Seneca would have understood the offer of forgiveness in the name of Jesus as foolishness (cf. 1 Cor 1:23; Acts 17:18-20)--something that a wise person would not do. The idea that God would forgive people would have been outside what Seneca could see as wise. Why wouldn't God just be merciful to people but continue to hold over their heads the reality of their guilt and a fear of later condemnation? Why wouldn't God just be merciful and give a lesser punishment to his people? These options would have been wiser in Seneca's eyes.

Yet, in Jesus an offer exists for forgiveness. The earliest followers of Jesus could stand in the streets of Jerusalem and say to the very people that killed Jesus. "The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins." (Acts 5:30-31)


I'm grateful for forgiveness--that God would no longer hold my own guilt over my head. I can understand that Seneca and others may think it foolish, perhaps unbelievable. But, I'm grateful that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1).

Turning Shades of Brown

One of the things our kids have enjoyed about Texas has been the lizards and toads around the yard. The most exciting of these is the anole lizard. They dart up trees, climb walls and escape most attempts to capture them.

I impressed myself by snagging one of them last night. I held it out for the girls to see it and then put it on William's arm. After the anole scampered away, I captured it again. But this time it quickly changed from the bright green to dark brown right in my hand. Apparently, this little creatures change color when they become stressed.

In addition to the sheer amazement of seeing this transformation first-hand--pun intended--I thought about how I respond to stress and pressure. Clearly, I don't change colors. Unfortunately, some of the changes in me are not so easily detected. I can slip into 'worst-case' imagination and quickly conceive of all the bad things that might happen to me in light of this new challenge. I've found over the years that under stress I react more emotionally and at times less rationally (not that I'm in favor of Stoicism--I'll post about the Stoics later this week). I can lose perspective on reality and fail to remember how God has provided again and again in my life.

What about you? How do you respond under stress? Do you change colors? If so, please post a photo.

Shaping Heroes

I've always wanted to be a hero. But, where does one learn to be a hero?

After reading a few abridged revisions of Beowulf to my girls, I decided to man up and read the real story. Beowulf is one of the oldest tales in the English language. The work tells the exploits of the heroic Beowulf. He defeats man-eating monsters with his bare hands. He swims to the bottom of hellish waters to face off with wicked beasts. After serving as king for 50 years, he goes toe-to-toe with a fire-breathing dragon. It's a great story.

One aspect that struck me was how Beowulf is portrayed throughout the story. The epic not only highlight the great results of Beowulf's escapades but the courage, character, and selflessness he exhibited. Stories are told for a reason; to have an intended effect upon the reader. Beowulf would have shaped in its hearers and readers a picture of what it meant to be heroic--not only to produce heroic results but the qualities embodied in one who is truly heroic. Thus, the effect on the reader would be to aspire for the type of qualities weaved into the story.

When we tell stories of great success in our ministries, do we focus on the heroic results alone? What difference would it make to not just celebrate the great result but to weave the qualities of courageous faith, perseverance and selflessness in to our telling of the story. Let's share stories that inspire people to heroic character not only heroic results. Do you think this would help create a hunger in people for greater character and faithfulness and not only a hunger for great results? How can we share stories that help people learn how to be heroic?

What We Want Every Student to Experience

I wrote a guest post on Tim Casteel's blog about 5 Things We Want Every Student to Experience. It's the second part of a two part series on discipleship.

Bringing Focus

One of our campus ministry leaders, Tim Casteel, asked me to write a guest blog on his site. If you are looking for a good place to get ideas for leading in campus ministry Casteel's site offers some great resources. The post, What we talk about, They will talk about, discusses the importance of focusing our efforts in discipleship.

Simply Saying

This morning, I finished reading a classic text in New Testament theology, Forgiveness and Reconciliation by Vincent Taylor. Dr Taylor was a Methodist evangelist in early 20th century Britain, who by the time of his death in 1968 had become one of the leading New Testament scholars of his day. The book examines a great breadth of issues in New Testament theology related to the issue of God forgiving people and reconciling them to a relationship with him.

One of the final paragraphs summarizes his quest.
"The test of a theology is the extent to which, after full investigation, it permits us to describe the Gospel. We ask, therefore, What is the Gospel, and in what manner does it depend on the work of God in Christ? Perhaps, the final test of the theologian would be his ability to write a tract."

In Dr Taylor's opinion the truest test of a robust theology is that it expresses the gospel clearly and simply, especially to those still outside the faith.

What do you think about his statement that "the final test of a theologian would be [their] ability to write a tract"? What makes it difficult to keep things simple and clear? What attracts us to complexity?

When I was in seminary many times I heard people taking shots at tracts like The Four Spiritual Laws. Have you looked at the theology expressed in tracts like Would You Like to Know God Personally? or Two Ways to Live?

Meeting with God

Many times I have sat across the table from another Christian guy and asked them, “Why do you think it’s important to read the Bible?”

Generally, the answers flow out easily. “It takes the focus of myself and puts it on God.” “I feel closer to God when I read the Bible.” “It reminds me that there is more to life than just my day-to-day.”

For a moment I play devil’s advocate, “I have the picture of Jesus that I keep in my wallet. When I look at it, it makes me feel close to God. It reminds to that my life is bigger than myself. Sometimes, it calms my fears as I remember the love of Jesus and reality of eternity. If I’m able to experience all of that, why would I need to read the Bible?”

I follow up with the question, “If the Bible is so important, would you be able to show me something from the Bible that tells me why it’s important and why I should read it?”

Typically, the next 10-15 seconds is filled with silence and flipping pages. I’ve had guys, find John 3:16 and say, “Nah, this isn’t it.” Finally, they tap out, “You’ve got me.”

I have one more question, “Would you like to know why reading the Bible is important?”

Turning to 2 Timothy 3:16–17, we read

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This one sentence teaches us 3 great realities about Scripture. First, the nature of Scripture is it’s God-breathed. People speak about the Bible being inspired, but the picture here is about Scripture being expired by God. Scripture finds its very origin in God—breathed by him. This aspect of Scripture impacts me in 3 ways.

(1) I can know that certain things are true about the Bible because it is breathed out by God. For example, the Scriptures are true (Ps 119.160); God does not lie (Num 23.19). His word is eternal (Ps 119.89). They are worth my trust (Ps 19.4).

(2) I can come close to God through the Scriptures. If they are truly breathed by him, then when I read the Bible I am having a close encounter with God himself. I am not just doing a religious chore or hearing about what someone else thinks about God; I am coming to meet with the King of the Universe in a way that I am close enough to feel his breath.

(3) The way the Bible works, it often recalls images developed earlier in its own developing story. The image of God breathing is a rather significant one finding itself in the account of Creation, “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Gen 2.7).” The breath of God transforms a heap of dirt into a living being. In the breath of God is life. The breath of God brings life to nothings. I’m impacted when I consider the coldness, the hardness, the seemingly deadness of my heart toward God. Sometimes, I don’t feel I’m bringing anything to him when I come to read the Bible. But, that’s no problem. It’s not what I bring to the Scripture, but the life the Scripture brings to me.


In Scripture we are coming face to face with God. We experience him and learn about him.

The second thing that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 teaches us is the function of Scripture. We see what Scripture does. The Scriptures are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training us in righteousness. I’ve worked with a number of college athletes over the years. Their coaches model this process quite well.

• Here’s what I want you to do (teaching).
• No, don’t do that (rebuking)
• Do it like this (correcting)
• Let’s build in some good conditioning and posture to hopefully make it easier to keep doing (training)

Scriptures benefit us as they move us toward being the right kind of person, the person that God created us to me, one who loves God and loves others. Scripture is changing us and challenging the way we think, act and feel. Scripture will change our lives.

The third thing in this passage is the purpose of Scripture. We see that as we learn of God and he brings change to our life that he does this in order that we would be fully equipped for every good work. God wants to use your life. He has a great purpose for you (Eph 2.9-10), and he uses the Scripture to fully equip his people for the adventure to which he has called you.

Seeing these three features of Scripture gives shape to my reading of the Bible. In Scripture I am meeting God, he is changing my life and equipping me his work. When I read the Bible I ask myself three questions.

(1) What am I learning about God in this passage?

(2) What am I learning about myself in this passage?

(3) What is one response I sense God leading me to make in light of this passage?

What motivates you to read the Scriptures? What difference is it making in your life?

Something to get excited about

I spend a large amount of time around people that are in vocational Christian ministry with college students. Actually, that's part of my job. One of the things I find interesting is how little we talk to another about Jesus. When asked, most of us would readily admit that he is a pretty big deal. But, if you listen to our conversations, it's easy to tell that we're excited about our fantasy football team, the new outfit from Ann Taylor Loft or the recent deal we found on Priceline. The volume of our conversation, the way we interrupt one another and other non-verbals tell even the poorest listener that we're pretty excited about something.

When was the last time you were with a few Christians and the conversation turned to, "Do you want to hear what I admire about Jesus?" or "I've recently been reading the Gospels, and I'm amazed that Jesus _________."

Perhaps, we could take a step forward and lead in the change. Consider, "I can only imagine how excited I would be if my favorite college team had as good of recruiting class as the Buckeyes. Recently, I'm become more excited about what God has been doing in my life. One of the things, I'm growing to admire about Jesus is that he can give me rest even when life feels packed in with responsibilities."

I was recently thinking about the story in Mark 5 where Jesus raises the young girl from the dead. Sometimes, my heart feels a little dead toward the things of God. I can try to do some self-defibrillation. I can listen to some Christian music that at one point seemed motivating to me. I can read a book that at one point really got me jazzed. But sometimes that doesn't make me feel any more alive.

One of the things I admire about Jesus is that he has the power and concern to wake me from the dead. That's a pretty big deal.

Try your own. Let me know how it goes.

If you need some ideas consider reading John 1, Revelation 1, Colossians 1, Philippians 2, or Mark 4 and 5.

Don't Assume

Last weekend I was speaking at a student leadership retreat for the Cru movement at U of Texas. Our family loved the opportunity to join some great students and staff members for the day. Following one of my talks a student approached me. He said he enjoyed the talk and had a question about something I said. Now, the range of meaning for that last statement is something that causes a moment of anxiety in me. While it could mean that they just have a question, many times it means "I have a bone to pick with something you said." Well, I was delighted to know it was the former.
The young fraternity guy referenced a story in my talk where I asked a college athlete if they'd like to know more about a relationship with God. The story continues with the athlete eventually becoming a follower of Jesus. Frat guy wanted to know what I said to the football player. I wondered what he meant. I started to answer him, but he said "no, that's not what I'm asking. I'd like to know what you said to him."
"Oh, you mean you'd like to know what I said to him about how someone begins a relationship with God?"
"Yes, that's what I'd like to know."

So, I proceeded to share with him a booklet that I shared with the athlete that describes how someone can have a relationship with God. I assumed that I had gotten to the root of the frat guys question. I assumed that he wanted to talk to some of his friends about Christ and wanted to know how. Why else would he be at a Cru retreat?

Reflecting back, I wonder if the guy had a relationship with God himself, or if he was asking me to tell him how to have a relationship. I may never know. I assumed I had heard his question. But did I?

Humble Beginning

I started wrestling as a junior in high school. At first, I was bad. But, during my senior year I had moments where it looked like I might be a decent wrestler after all. I did well enough that I entered our sectional tournament as the top seed. I can still see in my mind a conversation in the hallway as the tournament began. I was talking up myself to a couple of the freshmen on the team, with words of wisdom--perhaps, just pride--like "Guys, look at me. I wasn't very good last year, but I worked hard and now I'm the number 1 seed at sectionals." 20 minutes later I was defeated in the first round. The embarrassment of that night taught me two lessons. One, don't talk yourself up too much when there is still a ton to prove. Two, if you don't step into the arena, then you likely won't get embarrassed.

I've considered starting a blog a number of times for several years. Many reasons have prevented it from realization. But at least one reason is the possibility that at some point I would look like a fool. It's amazing how powerful that fear can be. Leadership provides many opportunities for this fear to be challenged. I'll at least enter the blog arena. I learned through the embarrassment of losing that it was better to have failed than to have never entered the contest. I trust that the joy of sharing ideas and being improved along the way will be well worth the risk.

In November one of our campus ministry leaders, Tim Casteel, encouraged me to write a blog. Tim cast vision for how my new role of leadership could be enhanced through getting some of my thoughts out into the world. So, here is my humble beginning.