Hearing the Music

Burn Out or Rust Out?

Amy Carmichael, missionary to India, made it clear that she "would rather burn out than rust out." This attitude has often been interpreted in Christian circles as the life of a "true believer".  Though, it should be noted, that it is not only Christians who adopt this as a mantra to live by. In fact many attribute the notion of burning out over rusting out to rocker Neil Young and his song "Rust Never Sleeps." Whether specifically Christian or not, burning out represents a passionate and dedicated pursuit of something, even if it leads to exhaustion, while rusting out symbolizes a life of inactivity and stagnation.

Of course generations of Americans did subsequently burn out pursuing all sorts of ideals, Christian or otherwise, with all sorts of attendant consequences (burnout, broken families, etc...). This then gave rise to the pendulum swinging back the other way, boundaries being set, Netflix dates kept, and the notion of rusting out pushing to the fore. In this anti-burnout world, busyness is no longer a virtue, even if it comes at the cost of no longer serving others.

You may be thinking that those are broad generalizations, both of two ways of living and of past or current times, and of course you are right. My point in setting the table this way is more or less to lay out the extremes as we consider this little vignette from Mark 6:30, 31, "The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat."

Here we see both sides of this pendulum. On the one hand, the disciples and Jesus were, as they often did, working and serving to the point of exhaustion. While on the other hand, Jesus is setting a boundary, calling his disciples away to rest and re-create themselves in fellowship with him. How are we to interpret this or apply it?

I suppose there is a lot that could be said, and we will be looking at the whole of the passage from Mark 6:30-44 this coming Sunday. For now, let me plant this thought and hopefully some fodder for reflection. Many want to talk about balance when discussing burning out or rusting out. However, if by balanced we mean a perfectly aligned, tepid lifestyle, that never gets too hot or never gets too cold, I think we are missing the mark. But if by balanced we see, as I think we see in Jesus' own life, intense periods of laying down your life for a (Gospel) cause to the very point of exhaustion and alternate times of intense, intentional retreat, to rest and re-create with our Savior (Sabbath anyone?) -- then I can get on board. As I said, I hope that there is some fodder for personal reflection there?

Your Kingdom Come

One of the great gifts that we have as God's people is the Lord's prayer. This was the prayer that Jesus taught to the disciples in response to their request that he teach them how to pray (cf. Lk 11:1-4). Central to this prayer, as it was central to Jesus' ministry is the petition, "your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven". In fact, Michael Goheen, in his book A Light to the Nations reformulates the whole prayer around the notion that the petition, your kingdom come, is the central petition of the prayer. He writes, "May your kingdom come so that your name may be hallowed throughout the earth as the prophets have promised. May your kingdom come so that your will is accomplished on earth.  May your kingdom come so that the earth may again abound in prosperity, the hungry may be fed, and the needs of people met. May your kingdom come so that the world may be liberated from sin, and that forgiveness might wash over the earth. May your kingdom come; and when it encounters powerful spiritual resistance, keep us from succumbing to the temptation and trial, to the power of the evil one. May your kingdom come fully one day –  and may there be signs and evidences of its power even now."

As we wrap up our missions emphasis week this Sunday, it is appropriate that we land back in Mark, particularly chapter 4 verses 21-34. Throughout Mark, Jesus has been focused on the mission of his kingdom. In Jesus' formulation, the kingdom is both a gift and a command, both a petition and a prescription. Or to put it another way, the kingdom is both to be enjoyed and marveled at as it takes root and bears fruit in our lives and communities, as well as being a way of life that requires radical and unqualified devotion as God's people orient themselves to God's ways in God's world. In the parables that we will look at Sunday we see both the incredible promise of the kingdom, as well as hear the clear call to be faithful in spreading the seed of the word throughout the world. 

Your kingdom come; may this petition captivate our hearts afresh!

Photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash

Celestial City

In John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, "Christian" and "Hopeful" are two main characters who finally reach the "Celestial City" at the end of their pilgrimage. As they make their approach, they are met by a couple of "shining ones" who seek to give them a vision of what is to come that they may be spurred on their way and given courage to cross the river (death) that every person must cross. As a congregation we have recently seen so many either arrive at that river, or have already seen those we love cross over; I thought it might be good to fill our minds and hearts with Bunyan's allegorical vision:

The talk that they had with the shining ones was about the glory of the place; who told them that the beauty and glory of it was inexpressible. There, said they, is “Mount Sion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the innumerable company of angels, and the spirits of just men and women made perfect.” You are going now, said they, to the paradise of God, wherein you shall see the tree of life, and eat of the never-fading fruits thereof: and when you come there you shall have white robes given you, and your walk and talk shall be every day with the King, even all the days of eternity. There you shall not see again such things as you saw when you were in the lower region upon earth; to wit, sorrow, sickness, affliction, and death; “For the former things are passed away.”

 “You are going now to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, and to the prophets, men that God hath taken away from the evil to come, and that are now “resting upon their beds, each one walking in his righteousness.” The men then asked, What must we do in the holy place? To whom it was answered, You must there receive the comfort of all your toil, and have joy for all your sorrow; you must reap what you have sown, even the fruit of all your prayers, and tears, and sufferings for the King by the way. In that place you must wear crowns of gold, and enjoy the perpetual sight and vision of the Holy One; for “there you shall see him as he is.”
 
“There also you shall serve him continually with praise, with shouting and thanksgiving, whom you desired to serve in the world, though with much difficulty, because of the infirmity of your flesh. There your eyes shall be delighted with seeing, and your ears with hearing the pleasant voice of the Mighty One. There you shall enjoy your friends again that are gone thither before you; and there you shall with joy receive even every one that follows into the holy place after you.

“There also you shall be clothed with glory and majesty, and put into an equipage fit to ride out with the King of Glory. When he shall come with sound of trumpet in the clouds, as upon the wings of the wind, you shall come with him; and when he shall sit upon the throne of judgment, you shall sit by him; yea, and when he shall pass sentence upon all the workers of iniquity, let them be angels or men, you also shall have a voice in that judgment, because they were his and your enemies. Also, when he shall again return to the city, you shall go too with sound of trumpet, and be ever with him.

May the Lord give us eyes of faith to see that death is only an end, it is not the end. To be with our King forever is THE end for every believer!