Four asks of formation

Only since the invention of the Gutenberg press and the Protestant Reformation have regular people had access to the Scriptures. The inventiveness of Johannes Gutenberg was a grace. Translation of the Scriptures from Latin to English (and other languages) is a grace. And widespread reading literacy is a grace. We can be grateful to Gutenberg, Luther, and our teachers for being instruments of God’s grace to us. Ultimately, we’re grateful to God.

Having received so much grace, now we’re responsible to be good stewards of it. Do we read what so many of our ancestors longed for? Does reading literacy become Bible literacy for us?

When we read our Bibles, four questions will form us as citizens of God’s kingdom:

1. Ask: Who is God?

Who is God? And what is he like? God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What do his names tell us about him? How is he described by those who followed him? And how does he reveal himself?

2. Ask: How does God dwell with his people?

What was God’s attitude toward his people? What was their attitude towards him? In Israel, the Old Testament shows us so tangibly how God cares for us, how he guides and corrects us for our good, and how he hopes others will see him by our example. What was true in the Old Testament, was also true of Jesus in the Gospels, and true of the Holy Spirit since. Then, Revelation casts vision for God dwelling with us for all eternity.

3. Ask: Who are we in Christ?

This phrase ‘in Christ’, along with its partner ‘Christ in us’, aren’t magical concepts. They mean we are immersed in the ways of Jesus and saturated with his ways to our core. People filled with God’s ways, and surround by his ways, have a new identity. How does the Bible describe that identity? What are the many markers of that identity?

4. Ask: What is God’s kingdom like?

Jesus talked so much about his kingdom—a word to describe everything submitted to his authority as King. His kingdom has a culture that’s often described as an upside-down (or right-side-up) culture—so opposite to the patterns of the world. How does he describe that culture? How do the other New Testament writers describe it?

As we read the Bible, we should continually ask these four questions and internalize the answers. By this habit, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be formed more and more into the likeness of Jesus. His kingdom will become more normal, less foreign to us.

Psalm 103

I doubt I’m the only one feeling a bit more anxious during these strange days, and I suspect that a constant focus on news, bad news, and shared frustrations is part of my problem. I’ve (finally) turned off the notifications on the news app on my phone and looked for a different focal point for my attention. As I caught myself saying, again, “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” instead of listing whatever the frustrations of the moment were (probably internet-related), I realized that I had forgotten the accompanying list of reasons WHY it is good to bless his name. So I’m re-memorizing the first portion of Psalm 103, and remembering all the ways he has carried me and kept me through these first (nearly) 60 years. Actually, the whole thing is good to dwell on, to recognize his righteousness and mercy on our behalf.

Starting with the third verse, David lists five specific benefits, and–yes–I do count them off on my fingers to keep me straight!

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
All that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
3 who pardons all your guilt,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life with goodness,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

Here is the whole psalm.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.
All that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
who pardons all your guilt,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
who satisfies your life with goodness,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

The Lord performs righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
He will not always accuse.
He will not keep his anger forever.
He does not treat us as our sins deserve.
He does not repay us according to our guilty deeds.

Yes, as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so powerful is his mercy toward those who fear him.
As distant as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
For he knows how we were formed.
He remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass.
Like a wildflower he blossoms.
Then the wind blows over it, and it is gone,
and its place recognizes it no more.

But the Lord’s mercy is from eternity to eternity
    over those who fear him,
and his righteousness is with their children’s children,
    with those who keep his covenant,
    with those who remember his precepts in order to obey them.

The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his royal power rules over all.
Bless the Lord, you his angels,
you strong warriors who obey his word
    by listening to what he says.
Bless the Lord, all his armies,
you who minister to him,
you who do whatever pleases him.
Bless the Lord, everything he has made
    in all places where he rules.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.

I’ve also been meditating on Psalm 23 (Ps. 23:1-6), remembering that in Christ there is no lack; he is with us in the midst of everything we walk through; and that surely, Goodness and Mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The green pastures of tender grass and still waters of rest can be just as present to us in Christ, as is the valley of the shadow of death. He is with us every step of our way.

More than a producer

Machines employed for maximum productivity don't need to discover themselves, try to understand others, or enjoy their creator.

Humans do.

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