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Last week’s Gospel Coalition conference exceeded my expectations. Don’t misunderstand, I didn’t approach it negatively; I just didn’t expect for it to be so inspiring. In addition to hearing fine sermons and the pleasure of catching up with old buddies from seminary, I was fascinated to see the different worship styles represented among participants. Some folks raised hands, others didn’t. Some warmed up to contemporary music; others seemed to prefer hymns. Both, however, expressed sincerity and passion. It led me to consider how one’s affections relate to the activity of worship, which eventually caused me to take another look at Jonathan Edwards.

On one hand, Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) is the champion of the Great Awakening. When he preached the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” congregants literally cried out, “What shall I do to be saved?” This sermon on the sinfulness of sin and the justice of God left the church members of the Enfield, Massachusetts, congregation feeling the weight of their rebellion against a good and holy God and longing for Christ’s tender mercy. According to Edwards, who tackled the subject of the role of emotions in Religious Affections, this is just how it should be:

“He who has no religious affection, is in a state of spiritual death, and is wholly destitute of the powerful, quickening, saving influences of the Spirit of God upon his heart. As there is no true religion, where there is nothing else but affection; so there is no true religion where there is no religious affection. As on the one hand, there must be light in the understanding, as well as an affected heart, where there is heat without light, there can be nothing divine or heavenly in that heart; so on the other hand, where there is a kind of light without heat, a head stored with notions and speculations, with a cold and unaffected heart, there can be nothing divine in that light, that knowledge is no true spiritual knowledge of divine things. If the great things of religion are rightly understood, they will affect the heart. The reason why men are not affected by such infinitely great, important, glorious, and wonderful things, as they often hear and read of, in the Word of God, is undoubtedly because they are blind; if they were not so, it would be impossible, and utterly inconsistent with human nature, that their hearts should be otherwise, than strongly impressed, and greatly moved by such things.1”

Whether one raises his or her hands in worship is quite irrelevant to me. What matters is that our hearts are enlivened and engaged by the presence of the living God.

Footnotes:

1 Jonathan Edwards, “A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections,” in A Jonathan Edwards Reader, eds. John E. Smith, Harry S. Stout, and Kenneth P. Minkema (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), 148.

Tuesday night we put finishing touches on our annual summer forum. The title this year is “Gospel and Vocation: Embodying Christ in the Workplace.” The heart of our vision is communicated by Dr. Paul Helm (1940 – ) in his book “The Callings: The Gospel in the World.”

Paul Helm (1940 – ) teaches theology and philosophy at Regent College, Vancouver, following his retirement as Professor of the History and Philosophy of Religion at King’s College, London. In his writing on the scriptural teaching about “calling,” he underlines the significance of human labor for Christians. Daily employment is not “just a job” it is rather a calling from God to serve Him in the world. Moreover, the Christian is to take pleasure in his work, just as the Creator God delights in all that He has made.

“[W]ork is part of a Christian’s calling . . . The Christian is not called to be a workaholic, someone for whom only his work matters. What makes for difficulty for the Christian is that there is not one supreme duty which he has to fulfill but there are numerous competing duties and interwoven relationships each of which claims time, energy and commitment. But one relationship may help another, offering support and strength, as marriage may support work, and work marriage. On the other hand they may compete with each other, and a Christian will have to think seriously about which obligations, in a certain set of circumstances, come first. Ought he to work overtime, or be at home with his wife and family?”

The old, misleading, sacred/secular distinction relegated much work to the spiritual margins, but the Reformers taught that all labor accepted as a calling and performed “as unto the Lord” was noble. Grasp of this truth has slipped dramatically both in the Church and the culture.

“Work is part of a Christian’s calling, part of his ‘vocation’ . . . [T]his biblical idea has had a profound influence in Europe and North America since the Reformation but has largely been forgotten, due to the eclipse of the influence of the Christian gospel from national life, or has been distorted through ridicule and caricature . . . [T]he Bible gives great prominence to the idea that human lives are lived in the sight of God, and this thought includes a Christian’s daily work, as Paul explicitly notes when he reminds Christians that they have a Master in heaven (Eph. 6:9). It is not that the ‘spiritual/religious’ part of a man’s life must be lived before God, those times when he is on his knees, or reading the Bible, and that the remainder of his life is his own affair. The basic motive for serving other men in work is that one is a servant of God.

A Christian’s work is not therefore ‘just a job’, something burdensome which he attempts to make easier by being slipshod or second rate. It is part of his calling, his service to God. Yet this may at first seem rather ridiculous. How could a person whose job it is to serve dinners at school, or to make parts for sewing machines, or to manage people on a factory floor, be serving God? Is not such language merely religious rhetoric? Is it not pious talk which amounts to little? Such language can merely be pious talk but it need not and ought not to be.1″

Helm confronts the pagan notion that leisure is good and work is bad by reminding Christians of the imago Dei. As divine image bearers, human beings not only reflect who God is, but what God does. The Creator delights in that which He has made. For this reason, so must the believer.

“The Bible tells us that the Lord takes pleasure in His creation (Gen. 1:31) and in the redemption of the Church through Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:5). And the glorifying of God consists largely in the display of God’s character in various different activities. As a Christian a person is called on to be re-creative, to become, as Adam was, God’s steward; and one of the ways in which this creativity is exercised is in the use and development of those various powers and combinations of powers that God has given to him. The Christian honours God when, like God Himself, he takes pleasure in what he does.2″

Footnotes:

1 Paul Helm, The Callings: The Gospel in the World (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1987), 98-99.

2 Ibid., 104.

What does this weekend mean to you Chris? I’m glad you asked. Let me tell you.

Thick clouds overhead, sweet birds cease to sing. On the cross, pierced for transgression, shed blood, atonement, fighting for air, breathed his last, the declaration “it is finished!” The tomb: cold, still, dark and …EMPTY! Up from the grave in triumph. Darkness sees the dawn of life. Myriads of angels sing before the throne. Spirit, wind, flame, empowering witness, “God reigns!” Grace, forgiveness, grace, redemption, grace, hope and more grace. The Church, anointed, assembled, dying, serving, proclaiming, and continuously worshiping. Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ our King.

What does it mean to you?

Happy Easter!

Goodbyes are always difficult, and this morning was no exception. After zipping up suitcases and drinking our last sips of coffee, it was time for the kids to say farewell to Elton. They all gave him a hug and expressed that they’ll miss him. As providence would have it, our neighbor Don was driving down the street, saw us packing the minivan, and stopped by. He and Elton enjoyed a moment of well-wishing before we finally headed out. 

At around 9:00am we arrived at the doctor’s office. Laura, our physical therapist, and Dr. V carefully measured Elton’s joints to determine how much his range of motion has increased. The amount of improvement from even last week was extraordinary.

The following picture is of our Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC) from RUSH hospital. They are the Navy Seals of hemophilia care. Their love and affection for Elton has been obvious all along.

From the doctor’s office we drove directly to O’Hare Airport. You know how these things go—there are so many details to be concerned about: get there on time, secure wheelchair assistance, are the bags under weight?, is the carry-on small enough?, do we have all the appropriate documents? The minutia can be dizzying, especially when it’s compounded by elevated emotions. The result is that the entire experience can seem surreal. Thank God, all of the details fell into place, right down to the nice Christian airport man who extended grace toward Elton’s sizable bags and provided a personal escort.

Before Elton reached the security area, we posed for two last photos, gave hugs, and expressed how much we’ve enjoyed our time together. My part was now finished. Having taught Elton how to twirl linguini on a fork, properly sip espresso, and play F-Troop with his armpit, I have nothing left to impart. I simply stood beside Angela (with a few tears running down her cheeks) and made some lame comment about how this is a foretaste of what we’ll feel when we send our first child to college.

The following picture is our last look at Elton before he vanished beyond the airport’s security checkpoint. Angela and I continued to stand and wait for several minutes while Elton was on line. We trust that today will not be the last time we see Elton. This is indeed our hope; whether in coming years or at the great banquet feast beyond the grave, we shall meet Elton again. In the meantime, we share the privilege of lifting Elton before the Father in prayer.

Fish and dogs. That’s what we saw this morning. The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has some of the most exotic sea life around, at least in the Midwest. The dolphin show is spectacular, worth the price of admission. Unfortunately, the dolphin complex is currently under construction and the dolphin’s themselves are taking a sabbatical in Connecticut. As a replacement, the Shedd offers a dog show.  The dogs don’t jump as high, but they’re still entertaining (though not as entertaining as the facial expressions I elicited when I told friends we had watched dogs perform at the Shedd Aquarium).

Since Zimbabwe is land-locked, this was a unique opportunity for Elton to view sea life. The highlight was watching Elton’s eyes get wide like saucers in front of the shark exhibit. By his own admission, he was awed by it.

God blessed us with terrific weather. Against the backdrop of a blue sky, the Chicago skyline stood at attention to greet us. This was Elton’s first trip into the big city apart from our visits to RUSH Hospital.

My mother-in-law, Sue, joined us, which was an enormous blessing. As a good Italian Mamma, she prepared lunch, carried it in her backpack, and fed us when we were hungry.

After returning home, we enjoyed dinner at church. Once again, Elton was deluged with friends who have followed his story. The love and care expressed by the Body of Christ has been truly outstanding.

This is Elton’s last full day in the States. Tomorrow morning we’ll leave bright and early for a doctor’s appointment and then on to the airport. We’re already feeling an undercurrent of sorrow.

Progress. That’s what today was about.

Elton made his last Target run today (And this time he walked.  In fact, he even pushed Simeon in the stroller). After two hours of shopping, the family returned home to start Elton’s packing process.

This evening Angela gave Elton a haircut. The entire time she commented, “Wow, this hair is great! I’ve never cut hair like this. It’s like wool….” I sat in the next room in earshot and responded by telling Elton that Angela was complimenting him. We had a hearty laugh through the whole experience.

Angela thought it would be fun to show you a comparison of Elton’s knee from pre-surgery to today. I took the photo on the left four weeks ago just minutes before nurses wheeled Elton into surgery. We are delighted with his progress and optimistic that it will improve further.

Tomorrow is Elton’s last full day before returning to Zimbabwe on Thursday. We have a bunch of fun activities planned. Please pray for us as we are already feeling a bit melancholy.

Nurse Simeon helped Elton this morning. Here, Elton is pictured infusing himself with factor nine, the medication that enables his blood to clot.

After “go go juice”—our name for factor, Elton lent his iPod to Simeon. I think the little guy has really taken to Bob Marley. 

Nancy taught Elton a physical therapy technique involving a soccer ball. Team Zimbabwe is making a great comeback.

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Nancy also taught us how to properly wrap a shoulder using an Ace Wrap. Luke served as the model.

Following dinner Chris and Elton attended a lecture at Wheaton College by Dinesh D’Souza, best selling author of the book What’s So Great About Christianity. After Dinesh, Elton was clearly the other celebrity in the room as a host of people from College Church surrounded him with warm greetings. 

Provision. That’s been our focus today. In the words of Jewish pilgrims from over two millennia ago, it’s captured in the phrase, “Baruch Haba B‘Shem Adonai,” meaning “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!”

On this Palm Sunday we’ve enjoyed reflecting on God’s provision: the fulfillment of Israel’s long-awaited hope. This anointed One whose name is Jesus inaugurated shalom and of his peace there is no end.

With this gracious provision in mind, we also considered the many ways that God has provided for Elton. These expressions of love have taken various forms; the common denominator though is people, like you, who have offered encouragement and support.

On Elton’s behalf I’d like to offer sincere thanks for your generosity and love.

Blessed be the LORD!

Duck therapy. That was Simeon’s contribution to Elton’s rehab session this morning. As Nancy elevated and bent Elton’s knee, Simeon applied his duck to quack Elton’s back.

He also treated Elton’s foot.

This evening we visited the home of my brother in law. Joseph and his siblings lived in Chad, Africa for several years. It was also special for Elton because Joseph owns a computer business, which is the sort of work that Elton would like to do.  As though that weren’t enough, Joseph’s brother, Nathanael, is a barista. Below are some photos of the cappuccino he made for Elton.

After coffee we celebrated Angela’s birthday (a second time). In the absence of candles, she demonstrated the sign for candle flame. Finally, we watched Jungle Book in Joseph’s enormous screened, surround-sound theater.

Elton’s talents are many. Today he and the family visited my in-law’s home.  This was the first time Elton was in into a two-story house. He was impressed by the size. While there, Elton enjoyed blini—a  Ukrainian crepe filled with cottage cheese and drizzled with raspberry sauce.  In addition to Ukrainian memorabilia, Mom trotted out her African souvenirs, including a broken down boat.  Within an hour Elton had sewed a new sail and repaired the frame.  After twenty years of sitting in dry dock, it’s now back in action. 

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This evening, we walked to my next door neighbor’s house in order for Elton to learn the ins-and-outs of loading music onto his IPod. Daniel and Julie (pictured below) are the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of computer networking. With their help Elton is on his way to becoming the next Bill Gates.

Finally, we returned home for dinner and a birthday celebration for Angela. After singing for Mamma and eating chocolate silk pie we watched the Princess Bride, which Elton thoroughly enjoyed.