The Supremacy of Face to Face Conversation

Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
2 John 12

Technology and time have created more distance in personal communication even as they have made messages and contact with others ubiquitous. This is true in every form of communication since the advent of the paper and stylus and the written word. John knew that though this letter could be encouraging, nothing would beat a personal visit and face to face conversation.

But today, in the 21st century, speedy communication now rules most "conversations". We have the "instant message" and the cellphone text message where even spelling and grammar barely exist for the urgency of the medium of the messenger's choice. All the focus is on the messenger, and not so much the message. I consider these things as necessary evils. They are bottom dwelling scum-suckers in the food chain of communication. Above them is the concept of e-mail or the Facebook status... but just barely above them. These are also fast forms of communication... fast, but hard to see if they are friendly.

Voice communication is better because intonation can help determine what is being said. But without body language and eye contact, meaning is inevitably lost. Sometimes it is a big deal these days to call rather than e-mail or text. What a sacrifice!

The best way to know what is really meant is to talk face to face. This is what John loved. And it took sacrifice and months of travel, but his plan was to do so. The gospel and true Christian fellowship was worth the investment of face to face talking. It always is. This is why Christians should congregate together. That is why no blog, no on-line "community", no e-mail distribution list, and no group text chat can replace the real fellowship of believers in the church. Let's not lose that!


- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

The Last Word on Jesus from the Gospels

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
John 21:25

John's final commentary on the life of Christ is poetic and personal. He lets himself say something in the first person, a comment unique in all four gospels and he saves it for the last of the book. It is a fitting epilogue.

He clues us in on how the gospel writers composed their works. They needed to be selective. They had to define the life of Christ and even in his three years of earthly ministry their was an intensity and breadth that not every word and deed could be recorded. They were men who had a message in their written accounts. Some brevity was necessary to relate that message pointedly. But nothing was lost. We know everything we need to know about Jesus. What emerges from each of the brief four gospel accounts is a full picture of Jesus, not just a rudimentary sketch.

They also had a daunting task. John is the most personal and the most doctrinal of the four gospels. It shows the deity of Christ most dramatically. It paints the conflicts Jesus had with official religion in the boldest strokes. John gives us the strongest personal reactions to Jesus by those who accepted Him AND those who rejected Him. And John says there was more he could have written. There is an old story tellers adage that applies: "Always leave them wanting more". The gospels do just that.


- Posted with my iPad. The Apple Kool-Aide tastes fine.

faith & obedience

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 3:36

 

The New Testament does not separate obedience from faith. When it comes to following Jesus and believing in Jesus, both are necessary for true possession of eternal life. That fact is that obedience to the gospel necessarily follows faith in the gospel. We struggle always with the “correct” degree of obedience.

 

I prefer to let Jesus Himself settle the matter. It is not necessarily about who we associate with. He was the friend of sinners, yet He perfectly obeyed the Father. And it was religious legalists who only stayed in their own company who could not stand what Jesus did. So the obedience that was found in following Jesus was not rote legalism. It was a life committed to knowing Him. Those who followed Jesus in this way were transformed by Him.

 

So today, faith in Christ for forgiveness of sin is followed by a willing heart to follow Him. it is not about legalism. But it is always about a serious, life-changing, personal commitment. And the obedience that follows that follows is to Jesus, not human ideas or lists of Christian activities. Without that faith and obedience to the Son, no one will see life or forgiveness of sin. That is clear from this text. Real faith longs to obey and follow Jesus. False professions are not compelled to obey the voice of the Master.

 

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Why “One-World” thinking has not been a good idea.

6    The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.
7    "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech."
8    So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city.

Genesis 11:6-8

Yes, I believe and know that God intervened in the course of human history to fragment humanity by tribe, and tongue, and nation. The reasons for this are clear: Man tends to unite around selfish and evil purposes that work against God. This is not a good thing. When humanity is forced to understand itself through cultural divide, believe it or not, this is a good and humbling thing.

I know that there is a bit of irony in the fact that I am commenting on this in a way that will be accessible to any human being with a computer across the planet. And English is the “de facto” language of the Internet. And in a way the Internet itself is a new tower of Babel that is bringing humanity together. (Well, except for the way meta-comments deconstruct a line of thought, and lead to personal attacks). But this is a dangerous prospect.

I also know that when humans unite outside of the gospel, they do so outside of God’s will. That is why the only “one-world” vision I will embrace will be in John 3:16, where God loves the world, and in Philippians 2:11 where every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.