ODB: distortion
October 3, 2009
READ: 1 Corinthians 2
Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. —1 Corinthians 2:5
Cartographers (mapmakers) deal with the problem of distortion when they display the round shape of the earth on the flat surface of a map. Since there is no perfect way to do this, some world maps depict Greenland as larger than Australia.
Christians have to deal with the problem of distortion as well. When we try to understand the spiritual realm within the limitations of the physical world, we can end up exaggerating minor things and minimizing important things.
The New Testament often addresses the distortion that results when the ideas of popular teachers become more important to us than what God says. God’s purpose, said the apostle Paul, is “love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith” (1 Tim. 1:5). Sound teaching does not distort God’s Word or divide the church. Rather, it unites believers and builds up the body of Christ to care for one another and to do the work of God in the world (1 Cor. 12:25).
All human attempts to explain God are inadequate, and can even distort our priorities, confuse our thinking, and flatten our understanding of the spiritual life. To keep from distorting God’s truth, we must rely on God’s power rather than man’s wisdom (1 Cor. 2:5). — Julie Ackerman Link
To detect error, expose it to the light of God’s truth.
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Loading ...ODJ: get specific
October 3, 2009
READ: 1 John 3:16-24
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters (v.16).
We begin life wide open. Our young lives can be shaped into anything from ballerina to astronaut to dolphin trainer. But maturity narrows our options. Soon we’re forced to choose college majors and jobs and careers. Each choice funnels our energy into specific tracks and closes doors to countless others. By the time we reach 30, many of us have pretty much set the course for our life. We’re in this marriage, with these children, in this church.
This is where the idealism of childhood bumps against the specificity of maturity, and things can get messy. It’s easy to love the idea of marriage and parenting and church when your potential mate or child or community is a blank slate upon which you can project what you want. But when you see all too clearly the warts of your spouse and your son and your friends, it’s tempting to throw in the towel.
As reality routs romanticism, you may be tempted to quit—to get a divorce, bail on your kids, or stop going to church. But you should see this as a test. Mature people move past idealized notions of perfect marriages and families and churches and love the ones God has placed in their lives.
Karl Barth wrote that we can’t say, “I believe in the church” unless we actively participate in our own. Martin Luther said that we can’t say we love our neighbor if we don’t begin with our spouse. And the apostle John wrote that we don’t really “love each other” unless we “show the truth by our actions” (1 John 3:18).
Having experienced Jesus’ “real love” (v.16), you can love your spouse, your child, and your gathering of God’s people. Like you, they aren’t perfect. But God calls you to be a grown-up and love them anyway. —Mike Wittmer
How does real love both accept another’s faults and challenge him or her to improve? What is the difference between contentment with our situation and laziness?
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