Some reflections on recent events.... Part 2 [Guest Post]

Here is Part 2 of our special guest post:

From Pastor John Davis:

How do we overcome evil? It is the question many are asking, but the answer might surprise many more. We do not overcome evil, at least in and of ourselves. Obviously, evil is not something that can just be eliminated and dismissed in the world in which we live, for throughout recorded history there has been evil in the world. Even when we remove someone, from whom great evil is perpetrated, someone else comes along and does likewise. Furthermore, if we are honest with ourselves, we all understand the potential for evil within our own hearts and lives. “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. … For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Romans 7:15-19) So, while our country is currently struggling on how to eliminate or at least curb the evil of school/gun violence, we are trying to do so, as people who struggle with our own evil. Can we really address the social issue without first addressing the personal issue?

Some attempt to resolve this inner conflict (with which we all struggle) by redefining that, which is evil. Once again, this subjects evil to our own views and opinions, and perpetuates the problem of not recognizing and confronting what truly is evil. This redefinition “removes” the evil, hence “removing” the conflict, at least until something “really evil” comes along and forces us to confront what we have tried to disregard and are now ill-prepared to handle. As I talked about this previously, the one thing I failed to mention is that the importance of objectively defining evil is that it also objectively clarifies for us what is good, the importance of which will be understood in just a moment.

Others attempt to overcome such evil by self-help, self-determination, personal will power, and the like. While such efforts are noble and might provide temporary resolution of the personal battle we fight within between good and evil, a long-time resolution and a lasting peace escape us. Where both of these approaches fail is that they both rely on someone who has a penchant for evil—our selves. If we cannot trust in our own ability to overcome evil within us, then how can we trust others, including politicians, legislators, advocacy groups, and the like of any persuasion to overcome it in others for us?

So, as disciples of Jesus, how do we overcome evil? We first, trust the one who has overcome it him self, and second; we live life as he has called us to and as he has empowered us to. Look at some of the verses that speak of what Jesus has done that we cannot do: John 1:5 – “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”; John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” As followers of Jesus, we believe that Jesus has overcome the evil of sin, of Satan, and of the world. That doesn’t mean that evil still is not present, but evil no longer defines us, binds us, or rules us. Because we received credit for Jesus’ good (while he received the punishment for our evil) on the cross, we have forgiveness, a new life, and a new identity in Jesus! “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Please take a moment to consider what it means to no longer be ‘I’ but to be “Christ who lives in me”.

Because we are now “Christ living in me”, the implications of this for our struggle both internally and externally against evil are immense and life altering. Consider these verses that speak of how “Christ in me” affects us and our lives: 1 John 5:4-5 – “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”; 1 John 2:14 – “I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”; 1 John 4:4 – “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Such a life with “Christ in me” is not some weak, helpless life, but one that is able to overcome—make that has already overcome—that, which our world and society are struggling to figure out as we speak. More than that, it gives us the tools we need to practically overcome the daily evils we face: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21). That good, which overcomes evil, is not what we think or define it to be, but it is what God has defined it to be—it is what God has defined us to be, it is “Christ in me”!

And so, how does our own victory over evil translate into a safer and less evil world? That answer, and the real challenge for Jesus’ followers, both individually and corporately will be in part 3. (I can’t promise tomorrow).

Some reflections on recent events.... Part 1 [Guest Post]

I am doing something a little different here and posting a guest post. My father, who many of you know is a Lutheran pastor, posted his reflections on the recent events in Connecticut and our response to it on his Facebook page. I thought more people might like to read it, so I asked him if I could repost it here. Enjoy! 
-Laura

From Pastor John Davis:
 
The following is the first in a three-part series of thoughts as I reflect on the current events in Connecticut and our collective societal response to them:

Today, at our staff devotion, we prayed earnestly for the people of Connecticut, for families affected, for the community, for pastor

s and counselors, and the like. We also prayed for our own local schools and our nation. And in praying for our nation, we prayed that people would turn to (or turn back to) our God and Father and His Son, Jesus. As people are so severely confronted with evil, the questions of morals and goodness become a point of discussion, and the search to find/go back to strong values seems to be at the forefront. In this void and in this hurt is where we as disciples of Jesus can make such a difference, so long as we are not weakly resigned to the values and morals of an increasingly secular society.

At the conclusion of our devotion time, we sang the hymn, "God of Grace and God of Glory" I share the words of verses 2-4 of this hymn (public domain) with you:

Lo, the hosts of evil round us scorn the Christ, assail His Ways!
From the fears that long have bound us free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us Wisdom, grant us courage for the living of these days.

Cure your children's warring madness; bend our pride to your control;
Shame our wanton selfish gladness, rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us Wisdom, grant us courage lest we miss your Kingdom's goal.

Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore;
Let the gift of Your salvation be our glory evermore.
Grant us Wisdom, grant us courage, serving you whom we adore.

I believe these words are a strong challenge for us to rethink the moral foundations upon which our society (or any society) and our lives are built. Individualism, individual rights, self-determination, and the like can be wonderful gifts and in many ways have played a significant role in the growth of our nation. However, there is another side to such a worldview, one which makes no distinction between values and choices, with all being relative and all being of equal worth. (Similarly there are blessings in there being a collective, societal, and group dynamic world view, which also comes with another side to include the suppressing of individual freedoms and rights for the sake of the whole.) This dichotomy seems to generally work until we have a tragedy such as the one in Connecticut. Then, we start to ask questions, and we focus on immediate solutions, whether those solutions be gun control, bringing back school prayer, or any similar kinds of ideas. But such discussions miss the mark.
 

If the observation (as I have heard) is that evil paid a visit in Newtown, then the real question is how do we overcome the evil? Getting rid of guns does not get rid of the evil. Nor does the institutional practice of prayer automatically change the hearts and minds of people. To answer this question, there has to be an objective understanding of evil, and that is the challenge for the new and current worldview we collectively have. When we rationalize, minimize, or politicize away that which we know to be evil, then we eliminate any objective understanding of evil. We effectively say: “what is evil to one is not necessarily evil to another, and who am I to decide.” The result of such thinking is that evil is subjectively defined by the many instead of objectively defined by something (someone) greater than ourselves. While there are many who prefer it this way, the problem is: what if the many have a view different than the few? Does their view automatically make something good or evil? And what if the views change; does that make something suddenly more or less evil?
To a people without God, there is no easy remedy for this dilemma—in fact it actually perpetuates the dilemma. The solution that is often found is limited to the current of the day, but such a solution lacks permanency, conviction, and universality.
 

On the other hand, to a people with God, there is an inherent recognition of that which is objectively good and that which is objectively evil. This recognition is a starting point, but it is not the cure-all we desire. Instead, living this objective truth is a life long journey, which continually refines us and builds upon and nurtures this truth within us. Simply put, we have to live out these truths in a clear and consistent manner for them to be relevant and to be recognized. In fact, when people who believe in God follow the world view of subjective evil, they exacerbate the problem by sending conflicting messages about good and evil/right and wrong to those who don’t know God, which only reinforces their (and the current) world view; all of which leads us to keep asking the very question that we seem to want to avoid: how do we overcome this evil?

Tomorrow, I will share what I firmly believe to be the answer to the above question.