Category Archives: Chrisitian Philosophy

Blogs in this category deal with Christianity not from a religious perspective, but from a philosophical viewpoint.

A bird in the house and the offering of a helpful hand

Posted on January 21, 2013 by | Comments Off on A bird in the house and the offering of a helpful hand

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On Saturday morning, our family had an unexpected visitor in our house.  As we were doing our morning preparations for participating in our church’s visitation program and breakfast, I had a bird zip past the kitchen door and slam into our glass door.  The bird flew back down the hallway and into our living room and hid itself among the many plants that we have in the large picture window.  I removed one of them, panting and scared, was that little bird.  Not wanting to risk hurting it by grabbing it, I decided to hold out a finger in front of it; to my surprise, it jumped onto my finger and allowed me to pick it up and carry it outside.  It even allowed me and our two year old daughter to lightly stroke its back before flying away.

Little did I know the lessons that God would teach me by having a small feathered visitor that morning.  Even as I look at the photograph taken by my wife, Michelle, I am astounded at the lessons that this one event can be used to teach. The first that comes to mind is a teaching by our Lord Jesus Christ: Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows (Luke 12:6-7).  Our little visitor is, in the minds of many, just a small and insignificant bird; he (or she) is literally one of millions of finches that are found in our area. With the exception to our families and friends, we too, in the eyes of this world are simply  one of billions, insignificant  and little of value. However, in the eyes of God, we are much more than that; we are a valued and cherished precious life.  Each person is divinely created, with a divine appointment, by a holy and loving God.

Just as this bird was trapped in our house, he was faced with two alternatives – allow me to help him or to continue to escape on his own.   He could have flown from the window sill to any place in the house.  He also would have faced other obstacles he was unaware of, such as our cat.  Again, this is such a spiritual lesson as it seems totally against a wild bird’s nature to trust anything they cannot begin to understand; similarly, it is against our flesh’s concept of self-preservation to trust in someone we cannot totally comprehend, much less cannot see!

The Psalmist and kind, David, wrote Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped (Psalms 124:7). The fowlers that David refers to is a type of bondage – anything that keeps and holds us back from the full enjoyment of life that only God can give.  The fowler is all the world can offer; bondage to sin, disease, disappointment, discouragement, emptiness, and a perpetual sense of incompleteness.  Its easy to see it in the faces of those we meet each day – sad and heavy facial expressions, joyless lives, and numerous attempts to fill the void with something and anything that will make those feelings go away.  What we see developing in the lives of those seeking to fill the void is increased drug usage, risky sex, tattoos, piercings and other bodily mutilations are all symptoms of a much greater problem – bondage to sin, to the flesh, and to Satan.  There is no permanent fulfillment in the flesh, only more bondage, more emptiness, and increased feelings of loneliness. Only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can they escape the fowler and truly enjoy life the way that God desires us to.

Just as the bird made the decision to allow me to help him, we must make the decision to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.  We must make the decision to come to him, to allow him to work in our lives, and to allow him complete and unfettered control.  Just as that bird had to surrender its feelings of self-preservation and to trust in me to take care of it, we also must surrender our fleshly will, yield to God, and fully trust in him to provide for all our needs.  By his own nature, he cannot force us to love him, to desire to serve him, or to live our lives through him.

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A lesson of reflecting God as taught by a setting Moon

Posted on January 6, 2013 by | Comments Off on A lesson of reflecting God as taught by a setting Moon

Ohio River at Moonset

[Author’s note:  This year, I am making a conscious effort not to do anything on Sundays except for church and spending time with my family.  As a Christian, I feel that it is important to make the day that Christians choose to worship – Sunday – different than the rest of the week.  With this in mind, although this entry is posted on a Sunday, it was actually written beforehand.] 

This picture was taken back in late November as the mornings began to grow colder with the approach of winter.  As the moon was setting early in that cool and crisp morning I was captivated by the dark blues, purples, and hints of various shades of pink that accompanied the moon as it passed below the horizon.  I took this picture not knowing if it would even capture the slightest beauty of the moment.  A few days later, when I was uploading the pictures to my computer, I noticed that not only was the moment captured, but it turned out remarkably well – including the reflection of the moon on  the Ohio River.  As I look at that picture, I think of how we are called to reflect the love of Christ in our daily lives – not just to fellow believers but to all that we come into contact with during the day.

I know that in my own life I have struggled with this continually.  How can one reflect the love of Christ to those who have hurt us in the past?  How do we reflect that love to those who do not understand our dedication to Christ and openly ridicule our commitment to attend church and actively participate in its programs? How can we reflect the love of Christ to those who have not accepted what Jesus has done for them?  This is where I have learned that true Christianity is not just a religion but is also a life philosophy.  True Christianity should shape how we understand and relate not only to God, but to ourselves, to others, and to the world around us.  It is a real struggle for many, including myself, to willingly reflect the selfless love that Christ has shown to those that we have deemed unworthy to accept such unmerited grace.  However, just as the Ohio River didn’t have to think about reflecting the moon’s light on that cold November morning, we should not have to think about reflecting the love of Christ; it should come naturally and with very little effort.

I am reminded of the story of Moses and how during the exodus out of Egypt he went to the top of Mount Sinai and stayed for forty days and nights in the presence of the Lord.  As recorded in the book of Exodus: And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him (Exodus 34:29-30). Moses’ shining was the direct result of him being in the presence of the Almighty God; as he communed with God he began to take on the characteristics of God – the same light we read about Moses radiating was nothing more than a reflection of the holiness of God. In the New Testament we also see Jesus radiating light in Mark 9:3 as he communed with Moses, Elijah, and his three disciples.  The only difference is that while Moses was simply reflecting the light, Jesus IS the light: Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).  When we have the light of life that Christ gives, we too, should be able to reflect that great selfless love that he willingly gives us.

As we go about our daily routines, there are two basic types of people we come into contact with – those who have been saved by accepting the free gift of salvation as offered by God, and the others are lost.  The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessaloniki: And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints (I Thessalonians 3:12-13).  Not only are we to reflect the love of the Lord Jesus Christ to fellow believers but also to those who are lost.  For those who are lost, the love of Christ we have within us should be drawing us to bear witness of that love: And of some have compassion, making a difference:  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh (Jude 22-23).  Our heartfelt desire should be to see others accept the same salvation that was freely offered to us.  We should desire that others come to know and enjoy the unmerited grace and mercies of God through the completed work of Christ Jesus.

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Rooted, growing, and established in the faith

Posted on October 2, 2012 by | Comments Off on Rooted, growing, and established in the faith

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ (Colossians 2:6-8).

Ask anyone around where our apartment is, where my wife or I work, or even our church:  I love plants.  Each spring, I enjoy the thrill of re-potting the houseplants before bringing them outside for the season.  I enjoy picking out new plants for the window boxes and pots that I keep in front of our apartment.  In the early spring and in the last few weeks of fall, I even give away cuttings to friends and neighbors.  There are a few things that this hobby has taught me that not only apply to plant care, but also about life and my walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before I give any plants away, the cuttings must be prepared.  They must be trimmed, potted, take root, and have new growth before I give them to anyone.  Nothing would hurt my reputation more than to give someone a small plant than to have that plant die a few days after I gave it to them.  Right now, we have a few cuttings that we are preparing to give away – but the sure-sign they are well rooted is new growth.  I believe that this concept of being “well rooted and growing” is very similar to Paul’s rooted and built up in him instructions he wrote for the church at Colossus and Christians everywhere.

As the cuttings take root they begin to sprout new growth.  Depending on the type of plant, this can be new leaves, new stems, or even blooms – each is an indication that the cutting has taken root in the soil and is now, in the words of Paul, building up – becoming bigger and stronger than what it was when it was originally planted.  As Christians, we are supposed to do the same thing – we are supposed to allow our faith to take root and grow.  Just as a cutting needs sunlight, potting soil, dirt, and a container to grow in, Christians need to read and study their Bible (II Timothy 2:15), attend church services (Hebrews 10:25), prayer for ourselves, our families, and friends (Philippians 4:6, James 5:15-16), and to learn from elder Christians (Titus 4:2-10).  Too many Christians, once they have accepted Jesus as their savior, think that their commitment to their Lord and Savior does not extend beyond that.  This is why there are many Christians that are weak in their spiritual walk; instead of growing in their faith, they return to living like they did before they accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

WhileI was attending graduate school at Southern Illinois University, I had a neighbor in graduate housing that claimed to be a Christian.  In several conversations we had discussing the role of faith, religion, and academic study, he told me that he had come to the realization that there was no way that most of the Bible was accurate.  He said that from a scholarly point of view, the Judeo-Christian view of marriage, homosexuality, origins of life, and stories of Noah’s ark were all tools designed to control the minds and fears of crowds.  He further stated that he believed in what he referred to as “liberation Christianity” where there were no absolutes and all that mattered was not your relationship with God but how you treated your fellow man.  This thinking is what the apostle Paul warned about in his letter to the church at Colossus Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ (Colossians 2:8).  Unfortunately, this man had not known enough of the basics of the teachings of Christ to withstand the false teaching prevalent in the academic world.

Right now in the windowsill of our family’s kitchen, I have two glasses that contains cuttings from plants.  My daughter, who just had her second birthday, loves for me to lift her up so she can look at the plants and the cuttings.  This morning, she noticed the roots that are beginning to appear on the stems of the cuttings of Swedish Ivy, exclaiming “whoa, that?” and then repeating “woots!” after I told her what they were.  As long as I remember this morning’s lesson, of the importance of teaching her about the things of God now while she is young, when she does make the decision to trust in Jesus Christ as her savior, she will not only have a strong foundation to build upon, but will have the ability to look back at the simple lessons taught through our shared enjoyment of caring for houseplants.

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