God is Great and Good

“One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.” 

—Psalm 62:11-12a

Teaching my almost two year old granddaughter to pray has been interesting and instructive. She is now programmed to pray before meals. Addi’s version goes something like this, “Goddie great; Goddie good; thank Him, for food, AMEN!” In the same way I used a celebratory clapping reward to teach her to say “Pappy,” (which she says regularly with great affection) we cheer and clap wildly after she closes each mealtime prayer with “Amen!”

Probably because of all the excitement and cheering, Addi likes to say grace several times during the meal. She puts her hands together and questioningly asks, “Pray?” Pappy is a big pushover. When I hear her pray so innocently, I cannot refuse her multiple requests even if the rest of the family is thoroughly annoyed.

At first I felt embarrassed that, as a seminary trained Bible scholar, the best I could do in teaching my grandchildren to pray is “God is great; God is good.” But when I think deeply about it, the two main things we need to know about God is God’s greatness and God’s goodness. Steven Furtick, founding pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC, writes in his book, Sun Stand Still, “If you overlook the way good and food don’t really quite rhyme…this prayer is actually a remarkably elegant summary of the character of God (97).

I didn’t realize this childlike grace paraphrases Psalm 62. “Two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.” There it is—a fortune worth of theological training summarized in a child’s prayer. God is strong (great) and God is loving (good).

We may believe that God is able to do far more than we think or imagine. God can heal, God can deliver, God can open doors, God is able, but we question whether God will do it for me: in my life, for my family and in my circumstances. Is God good? Is God loving? Jesus revealed God to us as our Heavenly Father. In teaching on prayer, Jesus says if human fathers give good gifts, “How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matt. 7:11).

Which truth about God do you struggle to believe? God’s power or God’s goodness? This simple affirmation from the mouth of babes declares both. God is able to overcome whatever challenge you are facing today. Lean upon God’s divine power. The Lord is more than able.

God is also good and will meet your needs. God is loving and will fulfill His promises in your life. Romans 8:31-32 says it powerfully, “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Yes, my friend, you can trust the Lord. God is great and good.

Pride and Humility

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”   —Romans 12:3b

As I write these words, I am attending the annual gathering of our denomination. During the second week of June, every United Methodist clergy from western Pennsylvania and an equal number of laypersons (nearly 2,000 delegates in all) meet at Grove City College for worship, legislation, and fellowship. The conference ends with the Bishop ordaining new ministers and “fixing” the appointments (that is where the Bishop officially tells us where to go).

Each year at Annual Conference, I experience what I call the yo-yo syndrome. As I begin to greet my colleagues leading different-sized ministries from all over western Pennsylvania, I feel intimated in one moment and puffed up the next. As I observe eloquent and charismatic pastors from large innovative churches, I feel very small and insignificant. Down I go. Then I hear about pastors serving declining churches in depressed areas of the state, and I lift my head a little higher and think, “We’re not doing so badly.” Back up again. I know pastors are not in competition with other churches and ministries, but it’s human nature to look around and compare ourselves to others. We all do it with our children, school, and work.

The Scriptures urge us to think of ourselves with “sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given.” To think of ourselves soberly means in a serious and restrained manner. When seeing someone we look up to, we must not minimize our gifts and maximize their strengths. Likewise, we dare not compare ourselves to someone who is struggling. We may be tempted to overlook our own faults and fail to recognize the other person’s strengths.

I seek to think of myself soberly by comparing myself to no one but Jesus Christ and judging my successes and failures according to the gifts God has bestowed upon me. By remembering not to make human comparisons and by understanding my God-given Spiritual gifts, I have been able to break free from the yo-yo syndrome.

This eliminates two problems we often face in the Christian life in particular and everyday life in general. The first is the “I can’t do anything problem.” Because someone around us is experiencing some measure of success, we think we have nothing. We are all uniquely gifted with a certain measure of faith by God. Unique means God has special plans and opportunities that only we can experience.

The second problem is the “I can do everything problem” with its two corollary problems: “You can’t do anything” and “I must do everything.” If we look at our own life soberly according to the grace of God we have received, we will find our place in life and will more readily accept ourselves and others.

Christian, you are a child of God. You are uniquely gifted by God for a life and ministry just suited for you and needed by others. Keep your eyes on Jesus. You will avoid the dreaded yo-yo syndrome and will find a healthy balance between pride and humility.

Holy and Pleasing Worship

 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”           —Romans 12:1

I have always been inspired by heroic stories whether they are in the Bible, movies, or real life. The British movie, Chariots of Fire, portrays Eric Liddell, a college athlete and Christian. Liddell was a son of Chinese missionaries and a very fast runner. He told his sister and ministry co-worker, “Jenny, I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast and when I run I feel His pleasure.”

Liddell competed in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. He was slated to run the 100 meter dash and join his fellow Englishmen in the 4 X 100 and 4 X 400 relays. Because some preliminary heats were on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, Liddell refused to run. He withdrew from the 100 meter dash, his best event, and from the relays. He did, however, win a bronze medal in the 200 meter race and gold in the 400 meter race. Before running the 400 meter, not his best event, a paper was given to him that quoted 1 Samuel 2:30, “Those who honor me I will honor.”

One of my favorite scriptures and powerful description of worship is Romans 12:1, “Therefore, I urge you, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” A living sacrifice to me is someone who surrenders their life, talent, time, and will to the Lord to be used as God chooses. Further on, Romans 12 urges Christians to consider who they are in Christ and how the Holy Spirit has gifted them for service. Eric Liddell knew God created him for a purpose but also knew God created him to run. By running Liddell glorified God.

The movie does not tell the entire story. After winning medals in the 1924 Olympics, Liddell gave his life in missionary service in China from 1925-1943. He died in February of 1945 at the age of 43 in an internment camp five months before liberation. While in the camp, Liddell taught the children and organized the distribution of food and medicine that were in short supply.

In his last letter to his wife, written on the day he died, Liddell wrote that he was suffering a nervous breakdown due to overwork. He actually died from an inoperable brain tumor. Overwork and malnourishment probably hastened his death. In 2008 near the time of the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese authorities revealed that Liddell had refused an opportunity to leave the camp insisting a pregnant woman take his place. The news of his act of sacrifice came as a complete surprise to his family members.

We have been uniquely created and gifted by God. Holy, God-pleasing worship involves surrendering our talents and gifts to God to be used in blessing others. Each of us has been made for a purpose. We have special God-given gifts that make us best in some particular area. Surrender is not merely giving God our best efforts, but allowing God to use what the Spirit has given us for His glory. If Eric Liddell would have competed and won all his best events, people may have simply thought, Eric is very fast. But because he competed and won in races he was not expected to win, people gave glory to God.

True worshippers acknowledge our Lord’s gifts in their lives and give themselves totally to God’s purposes. Will you allow God to be glorified in your earthly body? Will you become the hands and feet of Jesus to a lost and hurting world? This is acceptable and pleasing to God.