Bottom line up front: “That’s How the Light Gets In”

Introduction: One of my favorite songwriters is Leonard Cohen. He died in 2016, but his songs remain. “Hallelujah,” e.g., has been covered by countless performers. In Cohen’s song “Anthem” he has these wonderful lines:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

You can add up the parts
But you won’t have the sum
You can strike up the march
There is no drum
Every heart, every heart
To love will come
But like a refugee

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

“That’s how the light gets in” is the refrain. Cohen was steeped in Scripture. I have a volume on my shelves at home of Cohen’s poetry. He had the mind of a theologian, the spirit of a poet, and an imagination set aflame by the muses.

How does the light get through? Well, it’s rooted in the fact that our world is spiritually broken. There are chinks in the armor. There’s a crack in everything, you see. Because this is a fallen world, we groan. “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom 8:22-23).

That’s how the light gets in, you see. Because we’re all spiritually broken, we need to be made whole. And how does that happen? Is it by bootstrap theology where we, Stuart Smalley-like, self-talk spiritual bromides in the mirror, muttering, “I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. And doggone it, people like me”? Um, no. Al Franken was hilarious as that character from SNL but that’s abysmal theology. Life’s too serious a matter for sweater vest sentimentality.

What Scripture Says: So, back to the question: How does the light get in? You remember the ending of Matthew, don’t you, when Jesus was crucified between two robbers?

And over his [Jesus’] head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Mt 27:37-40).

Just when all seemed darkest, when the good appeared vanquished by Satan and the powers of hell, when darkness descended, guess what was happening? The light was breaking through, you see. How do we know? Well, the bodily resurrection occurred three days later, of course. But even before then, we have this marvelous verse 54 in Matthew 27:

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and sad, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Mt 27:54). See what was happening? A hardened soldier, a Roman military man accustomed to witnessing crucifixions, was converted. Why? The light was breaking through, you see. That’s how the light gets in—one soul at a time.

Encouragement: Cohen’s song ends this way:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in
That’s how the light gets in
That’s how the light gets in

Are you battling the darkness? That may be a good sign. Know why? Because that’s when the light gets in.

Bottom line up front: A Time for Everything

This Cultural Moment: Like you, perhaps, I am watching the events in Minneapolis, New York City, and other flashpoint cities. Will the slide into tribalism continue? Scores of thinkers are labeling this era as a ‘cold civil war.’ Regardless of one’s worldview, if that diagnosis is accurate, it spells danger. Battlelines are being formed. Some folks are cheering the murder of Charlie Kirk. Some folks don’t want free speech; they actually demand silence and submission. They want to gag the whole foundational freedom of America’s cornerstone: liberty and freedom of expression.

These are, if one is honest, perilous times. Will we be a nation of free people or will we succumb to the mobs and tribalism and a cold civil war where the respectful exchange of ideas is smashed and replaced by ruthless power? I cringe when I hear the levels to which debate has sunk. It seems that the free exchange of profound ideas has been replaced by ad hominem attacks and sound bites. Where’s wisdom?

What Scripture Says: My longstanding favorite book of sacred Scripture is Ecclesiastes. Why? Well, it’s part of the Wisdom Literature in the canon. Surely most people have some familiarity with the lines below:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to go to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace (Eccl 3:1-8).

Encouragement/takeaway: Even as I type the familiar words, I hear the song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds running in my mind’s ear. When we survey our day, it’s vital to know the times and what we ought to do (1 Chr 12:32), is it not? The whole idea of Ecclesiastes is that we are to fear the true and living God and live by his Word. That’s how Solomon ends the 12 chapters: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccl 12:13-14).

A “time for every matter under heaven,” the refrain goes in this Solomonic wisdom. When we study the life of Solomon, he did not end well. He very often succumbed to licentiousness and license. He went, as I’ve often preached, from hero to zero. But he left us warnings about what happens when an individual or a nation abandons godliness; it suppresses truth and descends into paganism and moral melee is the result. Scripture attests that “there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl 1:9b).

My prayer is that our nation would, against all odds, learn from history, and not go from hero to zero. But that hinges–whether folks wish to admit it or not–upon how we respond to God’s revelation. If you want to know what it looks like when a people reject God, look no farther than what’s happening in each day’s headlines.

Bottom line up front: Persevere

Context: Like thousands of other federal workers, I have gone without pay for over a month. It’s been less than a joyful experience. One’s limitations become more acute. The whole situation stings. I have been through days where I battled bitterness towards politicians. After all, they’re still being paid … to do what exactly? To talk, to point fingers, to blame shift. It’s an ugly business, politics. I don’t want any part of it except to vote for those who (ostensibly) reflect my values. Sometimes that’s a pot of pretty slim pickings. What to do when you are largely powerless to turn the tide? How ought we to think and behave?

Connection: In Scripture, God is not silent. Near the end of the list of imperatives the apostle Paul pens at the end of his letter to the Ephesians, he writes that God’s people are to be “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Eph 6:18). Persevere. In other words, press on. Don’t quit. Persist. Fight on in faith.

The half-brother of the Lord Jesus said the same thing in his way: “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (Jas 1:12).

Context is crucial, always. In both cases, the issue being addressed is about perseverance, about continuing the mission, about pressing on amidst trials.

Encouragement: I will not speak for others, but as for me, I am learning at least three things through this time of government shutdown:

• My finitude
• God’s goodness and that goodness shown through other people
• The need for perseverance

Takeaway: This morning when I checked the news online, there was a glimmer of hope the shutdown may end, at least for a few weeks. I hope so, not just for my sake but also for the thousands of others who likewise have been working for nothing. Why? Well, maybe it’s not for nothing, after all. It could be that God is doing exactly what Scripture says, namely, that “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:3-5). In sum, persevere.

Bottom line up front: “The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.”

Teaching: In the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7), Jesus taught many principles about what authenticity looks like. He didn’t just brief the slides; He lived the slides, if you will. Jesus said to his hearers: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt 5:17-18).

In v. 18 above, we see that attention to detail is a principle of excellence. As we soldiers engage in MDMP, as we scrub slides from our respective lanes, etc. this principle of attention to detail is crucial. Attention to detail. Why’s it crucial? Because war is inevitable in this fallen world. Conflict is just part of the way things are. And as soldiers, we’re the ones who’ve sworn to engage our enemies and emerge victorious. But that victory won’t come if we’re not meticulous in our attention to detail. In biblical language, that’s one of the principles Christ addressed in the Sermon on the Mount about who He was/is. Not an iota, not a dot was neglected. Iota is the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet and has the long “ee” sound. And that’s why Jesus used that metaphor. It’s come down into our language and parlance to mean “a very small amount/point of detail.” In other words, details matter. Profoundly.

Encouragement: The founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, remarked that “Details matter. It’s worth waiting to get it right.” But in our lane, we don’t get the opportunity to wait. We have to execute and with excellence. That’s why attention to detail in our daily regimen is vital. Very often the difference between success and failure hinges on the legwork we do in countless, consistent, repetitive, unsexy ways. But it’s that meticulous grind for excellence via attention to detail that positions us to lead the formation with excellence.

Introduction: In just a few weeks now, I’ll be a grandfather. I look forward to it in a way I struggle to articulate. There’s something profoundly humbling about it. You realize that life goes on quite readily without you, that another generation goes away and another generation comes, and a new set of eyes will gaze into my eyes as Papa, and in turn I’ll gaze into her eyes as Lennon, and I’ll wear another hat as a grandfather, and do all I can to love her as I did her mother.

That’s what Solomon wrote about too in one of his most moving passages:

A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises (Ecclesiastes 1:4-5).

Spiritual Infancy vs. Spiritual Maturity: Towards the end of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he uses the analogy of infancy to maturity to illustrate God’s command for Christians to be people of depth and discernment:

“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Corinthians 14:20).

How clear is that? Crystal. Spiritual infancy vs. spiritual maturity.

We are not to be childish thinkers. We’re to think deeply. We’re to cultivate the life of the mind in order that we may discern the times and know what to do, and then do it.

That’s why the men of Isacchar were lauded, remember? “Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).

Yet in many places, it’s spiritual TED Talks with Jesus-y sprinkles. No depth, just talk, talk, talk. It’s blather. And now with AI, it’s often computer-generated prattle.

How much more important is it, therefore, that Christians not be children in our thinking.

We’re to be mature in our thinking, to discern, to practice wisdom.

As Spurgeon wrote, “Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.”

Introduction: One of the many blessings I had when I married decades ago is that my wife’s family was deeply Christian. One of her grandfathers was a Christian minister of decades. Her dad was among the godliest of men I’ve ever known. He has since gone on to be with the Lord. Her mother was and is as committed of a Christian woman as you’ll find. Her family, in almost every direction, is shaped by the transforming power of the Christian gospel. When Ray, my wife’s maternal grandfather, retired from ministry, he spoke at church and delivered some of his parting remarks to the body of people he had served for years. He told us, in short, these words: “I’ve been in Christian ministry for decades, serving churches throughout the South and beyond. A passage of Scripture that has sustained me through years and years of ministry is Proverbs 3:5-6.” He went on and spoke on those two verses.

If you’re like I, I don’t remember ever not knowing Proverbs 3:5-6. For folks perhaps unfamiliar, here are the verses:

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths. (Pr 3:5-6)

I don’t remember the rest of Ray’s talk that day. But I do remember him using that text. Ray’s point was simple: Trust the Lord and just labor to be faithful.

Question: Have you ever been at a place in your life where you told yourself you were trusting the Lord but you still felt that your future paths were anything but clear or straight? That is, if we are honest, there are times of confusion about where to go, whether to endure toxic leadership, etc. As a friend of mine at work says, “That guy is compromised, Chaplain.” How to navigate waters where dangers lurk beneath the surface demands wise, discerning, mature Christians, rather than puerile upstarts.

Ray’s talk comes back to me often: Trust the Lord and just labor to be faithful.

Encouragement: Many, many moons ago when I was ordained by my fellow elders and some of my professors into Christian ministry, one of my mentors preached in our church that morning on two verses from Acts 20. They were verses 29-30 of Acts 20:

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Ac 20:29-30)

What my professor was teaching me is what perhaps you, too, have discovered in years of trying to minister faithfully–namely, that many times, people come in but their real reason is what the Bible says there in verse 30 … “to draw away the disciples after them.” In other words, it’s not about the glory of God. The motive is, in fact, altogether different. Paul spells it out plainly in verse 30.

The apostle Paul knew it. He taught about it extensively. He would be martyred for telling the truth. And still I hear Ray’s voice in the back of my mind: Trust the Lord and just labor to be faithful.

Though thoroughly Protestant, it is nonetheless valuable to learn from other traditions. In one such tradition there are “Seven Deadly Sins.” They are the following:

• Pride
• Greed
• Lust
• Envy
• Gluttony
• Wrath
• Sloth

It’s the fourth one I want to focus upon here. Why? It’s because envy is the word used in Scripture to describe the crowd in Matthew 27:18. The crowd demanded Pilate release the “notorious prisoner called Barabbas” (Mt 27:16) instead of the lamb of God, Jesus the Christ.

Envy. Scripture says that Pilate “knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him [Christ] up” (Mt 27:18). Envy.

Envy is defined as “from Old French envie “envy, jealousy, rivalry” (10c.), from Latin invidia “envy, jealousy” (source also of Spanish envidia, Portuguese inveja), from invidus “envious, having hatred or ill-will,” from invidere “to envy, hate,” earlier “look at (with malice), cast an evil eye upon.”

That reveals so much about why God inspired Matthew to use that word (envy) to describe the madness of the crowds at Jesus’ betrayal, doesn’t it? The crowd was so envious of Jesus’ holy life, so envious of Jesus’ honor, so envious of Jesus’ integrity, so envious of Jesus’ selfless service, that they demaned the “notorious prisoner called Barabbas” (Mt 27:16) be freed in order that Jesus might be crucified. Just let that sink in. What does that reveal about the hostile human heart when it comes to the holiness of God?

The great theologian John Gill wrote about this episode this way: “He [Christ] stood before the governor to receive the sentence of condemnation on himself so that, sin being condemned in his flesh, the whole righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in them.” That’s precise and accurate. The innocent Christ was condemned so that we guilty that repent and believe upon Him are freed.

In other words, this is the heart of vicarious, substitutionary atonement. In our place, Christ stood. He bore the wrath so that we sinners might be forgiven and declared righteous. And His atonement covered heinous sins like envy.

If you have seen what envy does to a person, a military unit, a corporation, a business organization, a church, a team, etc. it is horrible. It poisons. If elicits wiles and schemes that sabotage godly influence. It’s termed a deadly sin for a reason. That’s what it is.

Encouragement: I have been privileged to work for, with, and alongside some truly wonderful men. The best ones raised everyone (or nearly everyone) with whom they served. How? It was not by envy, I assure you. It was by investing in the team, by living the call, not just talking the call. Envy has no place in the life of Christian ministry. God gave gifts to men in order that we might serve others rather than serve self.