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Published: 10 March 2017

They are funny words that get a lot of use.  According to Mr. Webster, “tolerate” means “to recognize and respect other’s beliefs without sharing them.”  On the surface I would say I am tolerant but in our culture and probably by strict definition I am intolerant.  If to “recognize and respect” other’s beliefs means “their beliefs are as right as mine,” I cannot tolerate that.  It’s one thing to love all people and treat them with dignity regardless of their beliefs.  It is quite another to say that all beliefs are valid and equally true.   Admittedly, some beliefs are equally true but that is only because they are not ultimate or absolute values.  You might be a Michigan fan and be disappointed to know that I am a fan of MSU.  So what?  We can enjoy some good natured banter over such things but “Blue or Green” is not ultimate or absolute.  Education is valuable but it is not ultimate.  Work is valuable but it is not ultimate.  There are many valuable things in our culture that are not ultimate.  I can tolerate lovers of certain kinds of mammals because whether a person owns one of those things or not is not good or evil.  However, if we make non-ultimate things ultimate we put them in the place of God and become guilty of idolatry.  God made it very clear that there are no other gods and that no other so called gods should ever be placed alongside Him or take His place.  There is one true and living God and all others are false gods.  There is one Son of God, Jesus Christ.  There is one way to be right with God, it is through Jesus Christ.  This kind of exclusivity and narrow-mindedness is unacceptable in a theologically and morally relativistic culture.  If you don’t agree with me about the way to Heaven I still love you; not because we are both right but because you are free to be wrong…but not without grave consequences.  My opinion about something holds no more weight than your opinion but we’re not dealing with opinions here, we’re dealing with an absolute, universal reality, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12.

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Published: 03 March 2017

I have always liked to eat.  I never forget to eat.  I actually just had a snack even though lunch is only about 40 minutes away.  I know I do not live by bread alone but eating is a God-ordained means of energy renewal.  God is the Sustainer of life but one way He chooses to keep us from “weariness” is His provision of snacks, meals and beverages.   This common reality among all humanity is the reason God often uses eating as a metaphor in our life with Him.  We all understand “thirst.”  We all understand “hunger.”  According to God’s design, food and drink nourishes and refreshes our physical body.  But, there is more to us than our physical bodies…we are also spiritual beings and while some food is referred to as “soul food” or “comfort food” the truth is we need more than food and drink for our inner life.   Jesus gave us the Communion Memorial to help us see the connection.  His flesh is food indeed and His blood is drink indeed.  I don’t believe we are actually consuming Jesus in the Communion service but I do believe that only Jesus can satisfy the deepest needs of my soul.  His incarnation and His sacrificial death on the cross mean that I am loved, forgiven, received by God, welcomed into the Triune fellowship, secure forever, being restored and headed for Heaven!  He has eliminated the fear of death (though the dying part is a bit troubling L), He has given us purpose, meaning, promise of reward, forever life and freedom from guilt.  He has made us alive!  A Snickers Bar cannot do all that!  The reason we receive and consume the bread and the cup is because that action is a symbol of receiving what Christ has provided for the nourishment and joy of our soul.  Join us Sunday morning around the Table of Remembrance for some real soul food.