Faith of a Criminal

I was reading the story of the crucifixion and noticed something I never have before. The thief on the cross beside Jesus in Luke 23:42 had more faith than Jesus own disciples.

Think about it. Peter, John, & Mary who came to the empty tomb all thought His body had been stolen until angels or Christ Himself tell them otherwise. 

But the thief expects Jesus victory over death. While they're both hanging there dying, he asks Jesus to "remember me when You enter into Your kingdom." That request presupposes that there's a kingdom, that Jesus is the king, and that in spite of the fact that He's in the process of being executed, He will STILL triumphantly enter said kingdom.

That, my friends is faith.

I for one am far more likely to deny Him three times like Peter. How about you?

Lord, grant us faith like a thief- that even as we suffer, we still trust that Yours is the victory. That even though we know we deserve death, we can be bold enough to ask You to remember us. Amen.

Its all about trust

"Don't expect faith to clear things up for you.
It is TRUST, not certainty." ~Flannery O'Connor

Don't put your faith in faith, put it in God

"Don't expect faith to clear things up for you. It is trust, not certainty." ~Flannery O'Connor

I think this is a mistake that many of us make all too often, we assume that because we're a believer, life will be smooth sailing. And when life gets rough, we blame ourselves for not having a strong enough faith. But faith isn't about knowing how things will turn out, knowing we're right, or having a grip on the situation. It's not even about uprooting those trees or moving those mountains. It is simply, trusting God no matter what.

Fear vs. Faith

Mark 5:21-43, Jesus heals the hemorrhaging woman and raises Jairus' daughter from the dead.

What a great story. I had to teach about this one at Vacation Bible School last night. at the core is Mark 5:36;

 "³⁶Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."


There's believing and then there's believing. I can believe there's a God as easy as I can believe there are major league baseball teams inn the U.S. I can believe that Jesus is God as easy as I can believe that the Yankees are one of the most successful baseball teams. Ah, but do I believe the Cubs will finally win the pennant? The kind of belief Jesus is talking to Jairus about isn't just acknowledging a fact, it's TRUSTING a person.


"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." James 2:19


What Jesus asks us to do is to trust Him. It's kind of like He's telling Jairus, "Hey, chill, I got this!"


"Don't be afraid; just believe," Don't be scared, trust Me. Replace your fear with faith. 

This reinforces one of my favorite verses,

1 John 4:18
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

I've argued this point when it comes to negative campaigning in politics, hope, optimism, empathy and compassion will always be progressive, where as insecurity, anger and suspicion tend to be regressive. But it goes WAY beyond politics, it's about living your daily life with confidence because you know that you're living in God's grace and love.

So the next time you're anxious and doubtful, remember Mark 5:36, Jesus says, "Chill, I got this."

Here's possibly the all time best fear vs. faith verse:

Joshua 1:9
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Wrestling with reality

I know liberals who are discouraged by the anti-intellectual culture among Evangelical Christians in the United States and the lack of genuine and rigorous scholarship even among Christian institutions that purport to offer students the truth but instead of teaching, spend much of their energy "protecting" the truth by shielding students from divergent thinking, indoctrinating them, or disparaging alternative thought.

On the other hand, I know scores of conservatives who make a very legitimate point when they joke that the problem with having an "open mind" is that too often it falls out. They observe our contemporary culture and society in general and fear that we've lost our moral compass and have become hedonists, narcissists, and callused toward God and His law. It seems like their solution is to become authoritarian and absolutist in their demand that others' beliefs and behaviors conform to a monolithic pattern.

Psychologists might see this dichotomy as behaviorists and existentialists. Political scientists might contrast libertarian and totalitarian. From my point of view, Luther sought to reform a church which had become too steeped in legalism and hierarchy but ironically, John Calvin wasn't satisfied with Luther's theology so he came up with a religiosity which again imposed a staunch legalism and again fostered exclucivity. And so the wrestling match between objective and subjective, between intrinsic and extrinsic, between John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, between Hegel and Kierkegaard, and between "Left" and "Right" continues.

I believe that the challenge is to strike a balance. "It is good to grasp the one not let go of the other. man who fears God will avoid all extremes (Ecclesiastes7:18)."

My liberal friends might rely heavily on the historical-critical method and view the Bible more as literature than Divinely inspired Word. Whereas my conservative friends might go beyond a literal interpretation to a literalistic one. Liberals may discount much of Scripture as mystical but conservatives discount much of science and everyday reality as incongruent with their religion.

I believe that the truth is somewhere in between. Here's how someone who made his living talking about what cartoons can tell us about God put it-

If “Truth is subjectivity,” as Kierkegaard could put it, how can we ever agree on “the Truth” without some kind of universally recognized objective standard for knowing the truth? Look at science, for instance. Science has universally recognized criteria for determining truth, and look at the “truths” it comes up with! We can hardly keep up with them. And yet scientists will be the first to tell us that although their method is ideal for determining means, science can’t really remain science and come up with meaning. Science has plenty of “know how,” but it becomes religion as soon as it claims to have the “know why.” The purview of science is with the provable penultimates, “truths,” not with the unprovable Ultimate, “the Truth.” For how could one “prove the Ultimate”- since by definition there can be no higher standard of judgment than “the Ultimate” itself? And yet we would all like to see this happen. This would relieve us from the dreadful responsibility of coming up with our own answers for what “the Truth” is. We would no longer need to have something called “faith.” Hey, presto! Our faith would then be “knowledge.” Truth would be nailed down; it would be objectively secure.

And so in the realm of the Spirit we constantly look for some objective authority, something other than the Spirit itself, that will do this for us- that will prevent us from having to find our own answers. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,’ says Paul (Phil 2:12). But who wants to do this!? Who wants to fear and tremble? It’s much easier to let someone else work it out for you. And so then we set up all sorts of authorities for precisely this purpose. “If this impressive church says it’s true, then it’s true!” “If this flawless authority or this high priest of psychiatry tells me it’s true, it’s true!” … The truth, the Spirit, is not anything I want a direct, passionate, personal relationship with. I’ll just trust in one of these outside authorities to tell me what’s true and what’s the right thing to do. Just let it give me some idea of the minimum expected of me.

~Rev. Robert L. Short, Short Meditations on the Bible and Peanuts, c. 1990
(Short is a Presbyterian minister and the author of The Gospel According to Peanuts, the Parables of Peanuts, the Gospel According to Dogs, and the Gospel According to Dr. Seuss. He holds graduate degrees in theology and literature from S.M.U., North Texas University, and the University of Chicago Divinity School)

Truth isn't a what, it's a who. Truth is not a thing that you can defend or control, it's a person. Jesus called Himself "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." He told the Samaritan woman at the well that the day is coming when God's followers will worship God in Spirit and in Truth. No political, social, cultural, or even religious or theological position is the "Truth." God Himself is Truth. In the excerpt above, Short implies that the Holy Spirit is our source of truth.

The truth is not about some wedge issue, doctrine or dogma, argument or debate, the Truth is that God loves you and wants a personal relationship with and thanks to the sacrifice of His Son on the cross for our sins, we can actually have that relationship. Knowing the Truth can truly set you free. Free to mess up, free to learn and experience, even free to disagree. And that's the truth!

Random notes

Lutherans like to talk about the fruit of the Spirit, whereas Pentecostals like to spend time talking about Spiritual gifts. Reading about Rick Warren's 'Purpose Driven Church' a few years ago, it occurred to me that Christians need both to be effective. Gifts without fruit are downright dangerous, fruit without gifts are nice, but passive. Of course, as you'll notice from the diagram here, Jesus is really the center, the fulcrum - His direction is what makes the Spirit's fruit and gifts make a real difference.