A Christmas Poem

Our God is far higher than the notes and rhymes

Of the greatest players and poets of all places and times

Yet He generously inhabits the most artless praise

From the hearts of contrite sinners believing His grace

In the city of David, God's light has shone

Look there in a stable, the Child is born

The angels here, in a holy throng 

Are heard angelically singing their beautiful song

They sing with glad tidings and good will toward men

But for them the same song is a requiem

For Heaven's High Prince of Peace has now

To our cold, dark world descended low

Clothed now in mortal form
To make the most miserable depths of Sheol His dorm

All this to save sinners; broken, contrite

Reconciled to Him; wayward hearts set aright

Our God is far deeper than sin, death and shame

To deliver us from these three things He came

It may be at one's darkest place
That one meets the loving Savior's face

Trembling now I'd

With these feelings inside

Of reverence and adoration

With words here confide

With six strings allied

A song of great celebration!

But alas! All my words and melody

Too insipid to compare with His rhapsody

Which He has composed from eternity

Even unto eternity

Let it, then, so be

Let Him write in me

Let it, then, so be

Let Him live in me

Conduct, in me

His own symphony

Life and Death (The Relative and the Absolute; and Mutual Exclusion)

Eleven Winters ago, I wrote a song that expresses what I had been thinking about during the course of the preceding Autumn months. That song is called "Till I Reach the Other Side". To explain what the song is about: at all times, through the duration of this life, I ought to be drawing nearer to God the Father, and the Son, in the Holy Spirit. I ought to be doing the kind of works that Christ did; works of love toward God first, and to other people second. And this means that I ought to be continually in the process of having all my fallen, sinful, human nature put to death; with all of its unrighteous, un-Christlike inclinations. So that's what the song is about.

And this death must take place in order for the new life, which is in Christ, to come to fruition. And in the Morning when I arise as a new creature in the presence of my Savior who died for me, and in whom I have been put to death, then I will share also in His eternal life. And every day is a step in that procession. Each time that I look to Christ in worship, and set aside the old nature to practice the new nature; the old nature dies a little more. And the new nature becomes a little more alive. I become a little more like Jesus.

In the beginning of chapter eight, book four of Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis tells us that this is the entirety of what Christianity is all about. He goes on to accurately paraphrases Christ as saying "I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it...I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours". He wrote, "[Jesus] never talked vague, idealistic gas. When He said 'Be perfect,' He meant it. He meant that we must go in for the full treatment".

In chapter nine, book four of Mere Christianity; Lewis goes on to say that "Some people seem to think this means 'Unless you are perfect, I will not help you'; and as we can not be perfect, then, if He meant that, our position is hopeless...I think He meant 'The only help I will give is help to become perfect. You may want something less: but I will give you nothing less...Make no mistake' He says, 'if you let Me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that'". The last sentence of chapter reads, "The process will be long and in parts very painful, but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said". 

And in the first paragraph of chapter ten, book four, Lewis writes, "The change will not be complete in this life, for death is an important part of the treatment. How far the change will have gone before death in any particular Christian is uncertain. 

Now, since the time that I wrote "Till I Reach the Other Side", I have often considered that that song was perhaps the most personal song I'd ever written. I wrote it as a prayer because of my awareness of my own shortcomings. 

And in the last eleven years, there have been times when I have turned around and fed the old nature, which is of the flesh; instead of the new nature, which is of the Spirit. And the result of that has always been trouble and misery. And in my spirit I have felt, at times, as though I might as well be dead. To be alive to sin is to be dead to God; and vice versa.

And so I image, in my mind, a great Curtain hanging down and separating two Expanses. The Expanse on the left is the "life" that this world has to offer. It is the "life" of the old nature. And it corresponds to this mortal life in this fallen world. On the other side is the Life of the new nature, which is Christ. This Life corresponds to the World into which Christians are passing until they have entered it at the end of this "life" (Colossians 3:1-4). 

And the Curtain between them, is called "Death".  And so, in order to cross over from either side to the other would be a process of dying. When Jesus took on human form and was born in Israel, two thousand years ago, that must have been like a kind of death for Him, even though He remained sinless. 

He left behind the ineffable glory of His heavenly kingdom with the Father, to be born into a cold, fallen, broken world. He took upon Himself the whole human experience, which means He bore the same curse of sin that is upon all humanity, even though He never committed any sin, nor did He have any sin in Him. He
bore our griefs and sorrows, and He died on a Roman cross for the sin that we have in us (Isaiah 53). 

And for us to become alive to the new nature requires us to die to our old nature. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Romans 2:20). We have to go through that Curtain.

So to be alive to God is to be dead to the world with its desires. And to be alive to the world with its desires is to be dead to God. Paul the apostle wrote:

 "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14; NKJV). 

 I also like how it's worded in the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB). 

"But as for me, Heaven forbid that I should boast about anything except the execution-stake of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! Through him, as far as I am concerned, the world has been put to death on the stake; and through him, as far as the world is concerned, I have been put to death on the stake".

Now no one can be living to God and sin both at the same time. The two lives; the "life" of the world with its desires, and the Life of God, are mutually exclusive. But here, relativity must give way to the Absolute. Here is the superiority of the Life of God. The Life of God is truer and better than the "life" of the world and its desires.

The "life" of the world with its desires is a false life. It is both fake and fleeting. It is a cheap imitation. Its reward is eternal damnation; eternal destruction, atrophy, ruin, and death! The Expanse on the left, the "life" of the world with its desires, is True Death. Those who partake of it grow in depravity and dehumanization.

The Expanse on the right; Life of God, is True Life. His reward is eternal grandeur, blessedness, joy, peace, love, and real, everlasting Life! Those who partake of Him grow in the perfection of who He is.

To understand this, it may be of help to remember that a word can be used in more than one way. For example, the word "light" can refer to a light-source, such as a flashlight, or even the moon. 

The moon is an indirect light-source. It reflects the sun's light onto the earth. That is the purpose for which it was created by God, on the fourth of the six literal days of Creation. And therefore, it can rightly be called a light.

But the same word, "light", can also be rightly used to refer to the waves/particles of light that  come from the light-source.

And it is the same thing with this word "death". It refers to the Curtain through which we Christians must pass to enter the Kingdom of eternal life. And the same word, "death" also refers to the process of going through the Curtain; a process that every Christian in this mortal world is in right now. 

And the same word, "death" also refers to the result of passing through the Curtain, except that if one were to pass from the Kingdom of eternal life, to this side, they would be approaching, and entering into real, absolute death. Whereas, one passing from this side to the other is going to be met on the other side with real, absolute, eternal life.

One might even be right to think that the Curtain itself is a  projection of this fallen, broken world on this side. If this world, on this side of the Curtain were not fallen, there would be no Curtain between this world and that Kingdom.

And now I am reminded of the curtain in the Temple at Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. This curtain seperated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. And at the moment of Christ's sacrificial death, the curtain was turn in two.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews, in the New Testament, says that this literal event is also symbolic of the fact that Jesus, entering through the curtain of death, had opened the way for all of us who trust and follow Him to do the same, and enter the Kingdom of God.

And why does the Christian's death have a different result than the non-Christian's physical death? Because the one who remains alive to sin, when he passes through physical death, will be confronted by a holy, righteous, perfect God. That sinner then will be met with condemnation, and ruin.

The Christian, in this life, is going through a deep process of having the old sinful nature put to death, so that when we stand before God in His Kingdom, He will see the righteousness of His own So in us. And so He will meet us with His approval. As the author of Hebrews tells us, we can, therefore, approach Him with confidence in Christ.

Here are the lyrics to my song which I wrote eleven winters ago:

 "Till I Reach The Other Side"

In the evening when the sun goes down

And You look down on me, do You where a frown?

Did I do all the things You wanted me to do?

Or in my heart, did I fail to stay true blue?

'Cause I don't know which way to go

And then when I know

It's just a hard row to hoe

Let me be a tool in Your hand

And make me useful to Your plan

Fill me with Your Spirit Lord, and let me walk with You

Till I reach the other side

And in the autumn when the leaves are brown

And all the dead things are falling on the ground

Is my heart turning around

Death to Self, Life to God; truly found

'Cause I know well which way to go

But though I know

 It's just a hard row to hoe

Father, make me like Your Son

And let me not vainly run

Drive Your dagger deep into my heart and set me free

From the selfish part of me

EPIC GUITAR RIFF: RIGHT HERE

And in the Morning when I rise

Lord, deliver me from lies

Let Your word give light to my eyes, my eyes

And let me gaze into You big blue sky

Teach me, Lord

Which way to go

And when I've learned, help me to hoe the row

Jesus, fill me with Your love

With peace and joy from above

Drive Your dagger deep into my heart and set me free

From the sinful part of me

Let me be a tool in Your hand

And make me useful to Your plan

Fill me with Your Spirit Lord, and let me walk with You

Till I reach the other

Till I reach the other

Till I reach the other side

Made in the Image of God Part Two - The God of Music

On July 18th, 2013, I published Made in the Image of God; based on my favorite syllogism. That biblical syllogism is this: God is love (1 John 4:8). God made humanity in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27). Humanity is made by, and in the image of God who is love. And that is the reason that we as human beings even have a concept of love. 

The capacity and need for love is hardwired into us by our Creator. It is an essential part of the design of who we are. Love is who God is. And we are created in His image for the purpose of love. These days I try to repeat this syllogistic teaching, or at least allude to it as often as I can. 

After all, Jesus said "'Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:37-40). He was quoting from the books of Moses (Deuteronomy 6:5 & Leviticus 19:18). 

And I want to point out that this is also the reason for music. God is the God of music and song. He is the God of all the universe. He existed from eternity past; before the universe existed. He created it. He owns it. It belongs to Him. It is His. Everything, and every being that exists belongs to God who is love. God who is love owns the universe. 

And so He is the God of music. In God's word, the Holy Bible, we are often instructed to use music and singing in our worship of God. The psalmist wrote:

I will be glad and rejoice in You;

I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High

(Psalm 9:2).

Praise the LORD with the harp;

Make melody to Him on an instrument of ten strings.

Sing to Him a new song:

Play skillfully with a shout of joy

(Psalm 33:2-3).

Also with the flute I will praise You -

And Your faithfulness, O my God.

To You I will sing with the harp

O Holy One of Israel

(Psalm 71:22).

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name; O Most High
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
On an instrument of ten strings,
On the flute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your works;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands
(Psalm 92:1-4)

King Solomon wrote a book of the Bible that is known interchangeable as the Song of Songs and the Song of Solomon. It is an extended, poetic dialogue between a bride and groom, with choruses provided by the friends of the couple. Some theologians like to think that the Song of Solomon is an allegory, or parable of the love between Jesus Christ and the Church as a collective body. 

The New Testament does refer to the collective body of believers metaphorically as the Bride of Christ. And husbands are commanded: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25). So the poem can be read that way. But personally, I prefer to simply appreciate the Song of Songs as a glad celebration of the love between a man and a woman in holy matrimony.

In the New Testament, Christians are taught to "speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:19-20). 

And "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord" (Colossians 3:16). 

Rather than an attempt to fabricate some illusory feeling of peace or purpose or meaning; music is meant to be an expression of the peace, purpose, and meaning that one already has from our Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ. Music was intended to be an expression of our love for God, and our love for each other in God. And it was meant to be an expression of our gladness, and gratitude and thanksgiving to God. And since the Fall of humanity into sin, music can also rightly be an expression of the lamentations of the human spirit in our trials and our longing for restoration in Christ.

Our holy God who is love created us with the capacity and need for love. And stemming from that, we are created with the ability to appreciate music and find in it an expression of our inward spirits; our love toward God and each other, our brokenness and sorrows, our repentance, our longing for all good things which come from God, and our praise and gratitude to God who is love. 

And in music, we can perhaps even hear some whisper of the beauty and glory and love of God who is love. As the Scriptures tell: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).

Sadly though, in this broken world many people choose to reject God. If they use music,they use it to glorify their own fallen selves, or fallen, corrupted humanity as a collective body. They do not use it to glorify, or express love for God. And the love they do express is not a true, Christ-like love, because they reject God who is love. Jesus, the Son of God, lived a life of devotion to the heavenly Father. But their hearts are far from Him. They love the gift, but they despise the Giver.

Two thousand years ago, the Creator of all things who is love revealed Himself as a human being. Jesus of Nazareth was born of the virgin  Mary, in the city of David - Bethlehem, Israel. He took on human form and lived within the time and space of human history. But He was without sin. He lived a perfect life. And as the Christmas carol tells us, "Truly He taught us to love one another". And He taught us to love God (Matthew 22:37-40). 

And He taught us this love, not only by words, but by deeds. He lived a life of humility and sacrifice; of devotion to the heavenly Father, and the salvation of His creation. And then He willingly laid down His life, dying on a Roman cross for my sins and yours. 

He paid the penalty. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). And "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:23-24).

Those who hear of His salvation, and go to the grave rejecting Him, demonstrate their lovelessness toward their Creator; the hardness of their fallen, corrupted heart against God who is love, and their worthiness of the condemnation that awaits the unrepentant.

The Bird's Song - A Tale of Trees and Birds

Once, there was a great forest of oaks and ash trees, rosewoods, maple trees and perhaps even a sycamore or two. This forest was situated at the base, and all up one side of a great Mountain called Temporal  And in this forest, there was an old, respectable looking tree named Rykard. And oh, he was a smart one, he was. As he stood with his root going down deep into the earth, he examined everything around him. He was a teacher of the laws of nature, as he could observe them.

Every year, he watched as he and his fellow trees flourished in the spring. Oh how beautiful the forest was in the spring; as the radiant sunlight seeped through the leaves and tumbled in between them to shine on all the flowers and shrubbery. Rabbits, squirrels, and other wildlife also went to and fro about the forest floor. And many a robin, and many a lark, and cardinal, and sparrow made sweet songs in the air, which was filled also with the sweet smell of living trees, and plants, and flowers blown in the breeze

But Rykard became indignant toward the song that some of the birds were singing. As late summer waned into early autumn, they were singing about another side of the Mountain. And as the story in the song told, that other side was inhabited by trees called Evergreens. And the Evergreens on the other side of the Mountain called their home Eternal  instead of Temporal.

"Quiet now!" Rykard said to the birds, as the tweeted around his branches. And he shook his leaves at them as they sang. "There is no other side of the Mountain! And even if there were, I know that there can be no such things as these 'Evergreens' as you call them. Even now you can see that our leaves are turning yellow and red. Soon they will be brown, and fallen off. This is how things work. No tree stays green all the time."

And he seemed to himself to be right. After all; every winter, the stern, rocky side of Mount Temporal showed itself hard and cold through the barren branches of the trees, their once-vibrant lives held in gloomy suspension. And Rykard insisted that if the forest began to believe in Evergreens, they would stop producing acorns and soon the whole forest would fade into oblivion.

As time passed, however, a rottenness ate away at Rykard, and soon he no longer thrived any time of the year. And the planter of the forest came to cut him down.

But Rykard's speech against the birds germinated in the minds of younger trees. And they remembered his call to silence them for the sake of the forest. The new generation of trees became even more inflamed against the birds and their song. They made a law that they would not allow the birds to nest in their branches anymore. And if any flew near them and in among their boughs, they would shake them out.

As time went on, the birds found themselves welcome with fewer and fewer trees in the forest. And eventually, some of the trees began to whack at the birds with their branches, and kill them. And so they did just as some ancient generations of trees, long since fallen and rotted away, had done; long before Rykard was ever a seedling germinating in the earth. 

Some owls and eagle called out to the forest planter concerning this matter. And he knew already about it, as he walked in the forest and knew its history from the time he planted it. And when it was high time, and summer was passed, he sent woodsmen in to up-root, haul away, and burn every tree that had bird's blood on it's branches. Then he brought small Evergreens from the other side of the Mountain and planted them to replace those that had been destroyed. And from that time, all the Mountain and surrounding land was called by the name Eternal.

The End.

Some Helpful Notes

1. The forest planter represents Jesus. Yes, I did make up the title "forest planter". I don't know if anyone has ever had such a title.

2. The birds represent those who present the gospel message.

3. The trees represent those who hear the gospel message, whether they receive it or reject it.

4. The reference to some of the trees falling and rotting away, or rotting and then falling, implies Divine judgement.