David Bahn – Reflections

[Note: There is no audio version of this blog post today.]

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23

It can be counterfeit. It can be confused with feelings. It can be twisted into something that feels good but is not. It may not be recognized as such. But love is the purest expression of the character and nature of God. It is the greatest – even greater than hope and faith. And, although it’s not all you need it is essential to our relationship with God and with one another (sorry, John Lennon). 

When Paul writes to the church in Corinth, he must take on a number of issues in the church. They were a troubled church. He takes on issues about marriage, incest, division, schism, worship, spiritual gifts, the role of women, his authority as an apostle, and the Lord’s Supper. These are no small matters. Any one of them would be worth a serious treatment and discussion. They all come up in this letter. And toward the climax of the letter’s exhortations, he shows them “a more excellent way.” 

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,^[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^{[b] 6} it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part,¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

I like to share at weddings the idea of putting one’s name in place of the word love in this chapter. Then I ask if that describes either of those before me – or anyone in the congregation at that point. If anyone says it does, I would invite them to take my place. For on a good day, I might embody patience, kindness, no record-keeping of wrongs and the like. But not every day is good. And even on the best days I don’t always manage to keep the characteristics of love evident in my actions, word, or heart. Sigh… I cannot claim to be perfectly loving.

But Jesus can make that claim! Substitute Jesus’ name for the word love in Chapter 13 and you get a description of Jesus’ true character. He is patient, kind, does not boast, is not arrogant or rude. Ever. He is the embodiment of love itself. After all, “God is love (1 John 4:8). And Jesus is God in the flesh. And he keeps no record of wrongs. Read that again, he keeps no record of wrongs.

If I want to express more love to my wife, family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ, I need to hang around Jesus more. Abiding in him. Looking to him. Allowing his love to define my relationship with God. Allowing his love to shape my heart. 

That means looking away from the things of this world. Rejecting the idea that the newest lens, fastest computer, coolest car, most desirable vacation, or most alluring flight to fantasy will fill my heart. They won’t. I’m thankful for God’s love in Jesus. I need it, and need for it to shape my heart, mind, and actions more and more. Starting with those closest to me. But not stopping there. 

O Holy Spirit, bring forth that fruit in me today! Amen. 

No audio versions of this blog post.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23

I knew I needed an excursus. Yesterday’s offering was almost a throw-away. Not personal. True. But not passionate. Edifying, I hope. But I doubt it was deeply insightful. So just today in the car as we were on the second day of our road trip, it struck me: I need to focus on the Fruit of the Spirit this week in an effort to cultivate that in my heart and life. Two observations might be helpful. First of all, the word “fruit” is singular. This is the result of being connected to Christ, the True Vine. Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). I notice also that the fruit of the Spirit is laid out in this chapter of Galatians in contrast to the works of the flesh. I love the thought of one commentator in this regard. He points out that the singular fruit of the Spirit “isn’t achieved by working, but is birthed by abiding” in Jesus. 

He further notes that

• Fruit is fragile.
• Fruit reproduces itself.
• Fruit is attractive.
• Fruit nourishes.

Second, the construction of the verse leads us to think of this singular fruit of love to express itself in the eight that follow. Martin Luther says, “It would have been enough to mention only the single fruit of love, for love embraces all the fruits of the Spirit.” 

So this week I’ll be reflecting on love. It is the essential fruit of the Spirit. Love is of God’s essence. Love is greater than faith and hope. God is the source of love. So I want to pay particular attention to being close to Jesus, abiding in him, and bearing fruit by abiding. So hang on. I need this. And we preach (write) best what we need most. 

[Note: An excursus again this week. The limits of my current time and space will not allow me to record easily, so the audio version of this blog may not be available. Today’s thoughts come from the lessons I’m working on for Evangelist 301 for the Texas District of the LCMS.]

Note 2: I preached on Sunday, October 17 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Houston. Click here for the podcast recording of that message.

When the church was growing in its earliest days, a conflict arose between two groups of people. The widows of the Greek-speaking believers were thought to be overlooked in the daily distribution of food. Luke records this in Acts 6:1-7.

But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

² So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. ³ And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. ⁴ Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

⁵ Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). ⁶ These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

⁷ So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too. [New Living Translation]

God’s people take a difficult situation, a crisis, an interchurch conflict, and turn it into an opportunity to show Christian love. And God brought even more people into the kingdom.

They did that because they believed and were living out the truth that Peter would later write: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” – 1 Peter 2:9

As a believer comes forth out of the waters of Baptism, priesthood comes along as well. The three-fold dimension — sacrifice, prayer and teaching — still marks the priesthood, but the New Testament priesthood portrays these responsibilities differently. There is no reference in the New Testament to any priestly office other than the royal priesthood of the baptized. In the New Testament individuals are still called and authorized for the public ministry on behalf of the royal priesthood, but “priest” is not included in the various titles applied to the church’s public ministers. The Royal Priesthood by the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations 

If we relegate all ministry in the congregation only to called pastors, we hobble the body of Christ, and the love of God may not be as fully expressed and experienced. No one is exempt from sharing God’s love. Loving God and loving neighbor are the two great commands of God. The care of our neighbor is not to be relegated only to official church workers. That reality is shown in a number of Bible verses:

Matthew 28:16-20 Even the doubters are given the Great Commission.

Revelation 22:17 Not only the Church (bride), and the Holy Spirit call people to come, but also those who hear the invitation are to invite others to come and receive the water of life.

John 15 Jesus teaches his followers a new command, to love one another.

Matthew 7 Jesus teaches us to love even our enemies.

So although I’m no longer serving a congregation as a pastor, I am still sharing God’s love. I may do it in formal ways, but whenever you or I listen patiently to a lonely friend, pray earnestly for a neighbor in need, provide care for a child in a young family, or point someone to Jesus as their Savior and only true hope, I am sharing God’s love. Help me, Lord, to do that…to your glory, and my neighbor’s good. Amen!

For your personal meditation and edification on this Lord’s Day

Psalm 17:7-8

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But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

– Genesis 22:11-14

God provides. More often in the day-to-day orderly workings of the universe. Evening and Morning. Seasons. Plants and animals grow. Seedtime and harvest. Life. Add people who provide the for orderly function of society. 

Sometimes in the nick of time. Sometimes in amazing and miraculous ways.

Three 100-dollar bills wrapped in a ½ sheet of paper with a message, “The Lord cares about everything.” Just in the nick of time. When we were at a crisis point, and ready to take a major turn in our future plans.

A NEGATIVE test result when we were worried about dealing with a grave genetic disease.

A friend who opened a door to faith, photography, and future just when I needed direction most of all.

An opportunity to serve a congregation with great potential, many challenges, wonderful people, and opportunities I thought I’d never get. At a time when I could make one final run career-wise.

Opportunities to serve congregations in the larger Houston area which allows me to impact the Kingdom on a rewarding part time basis. Just when I wondered how I would continue to serve following retirement from full-time pastoral ministry.

Abraham experienced a miraculous and merciful provision of God. But this wasn’t his first. He was a man of great wealth. He had a wife, other family members, many slaves, and animals: All provisions of God. He had, by this time, also two sons. He had been preserved from the destruction visited upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He had much from God.

It may be that because he realized that God’s blessings and favor had been so bountifully and graciously given, he thought nothing of sacrificing Isaac because God had been so faithful and gracious. We know he believed that God could raise him from the dead (Cf. Hebrews 11:19). As it turns out, however, there is no need for a resurrection miracle here. God provides an out for Isaac and Abraham. 

Few times in life are we tested to the extent God tested Abraham. If we are, we who wait, hope, and trust in God will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. Perhaps we can find strength to wait and hope in him as we recall his daily provision, along with those special touches of his grace along life’s way.

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When Abraham and Isaac reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

– Genesis 22:6-14

Diane and I are teaching an English as Second Language (ESL) class through Cypress Assistance Ministries, a local human care ministry. Last night was test night. There are many challenges in teaching ESL, not the least of which is understanding thick Asian accents. Then there’s the matter of successfully communicating instructions to the class members. Sometimes we just laugh at each other … in a good-natured sort of way. 

Their performance last night was really quite good. After we did a second run at two questions – which I believed they simply misunderstood – they got 100% correct. Well, mostly. Little things like the rule about spelling out numbers less than 10 (“three,” for example rather than “3”) proved to be easily forgotten. But we’re making progress.

Abraham was being tested by God. But the stakes were much higher than passing an ESL test. His son was on the line. His faith, too, was being tested. And so was his willingness to obey. Abraham passed the test. According to Hebrews 11 he believed that God could even raise someone from the dead if Isaac had actually been killed. Abraham is, after all, the Father of Faith. 

I’ve been tested plenty of times. Sometimes I’ve passed the test. I’ve remained faithful. I’ve kept the faith. I’ve been courageous. Sometimes I’ve not. Abraham has had his moments of failure (as have I). This was not one of them. He did not withhold his son. He was willing to give him up. And God honored his faith.

That’s the hope we can bring to any test of our faith. If we remain faithful God will show up. He will be present. He will see us through. And, thankfully, even if we fail, God will not deny himself. 

The statement is trustworthy:

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Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God,because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

– Genesis 22:6-14

“I got nothin.” Have you ever felt that way? No excuse. No strength. No resources. No answer. Final Jeopardy answer: Blank. 

It’s either a feeling of grave deficiency, embarrassment, or…relief. You’re off the hook one way or another.  The path forward is out of your hands. You may be held responsible for no answer, but you will not be blamed for the wrong answer. 

Abraham is on the way to the burnt offering sacrifice. He has wood and fire. He has no lamb. He has Isaac. And when asked about the lamb, he has something better than “nothing.” He has faith. “God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice,” is his answer.

God will provide. What a powerful testimony of faith. And look at how it will unfold. At the last minute. In the middle of the unimaginably horrific act. As the knife is ready to plunge into his son, Isaac. The child of the promise. His only son. The son he loves. Laid on the wood. Frightened. Unbelieving. Terrorized. How do you even get over that? 

God will provide. What a powerful promise. Isaac saw that up close and more personally than any of us could ever imagine. He saw it at the last moment. When there was no way of escape. Except God provided. It was a dramatic show of God’s providential care and faithfulness – even as it was a test of faith and obedience for Abraham.

But we don’t call this mountain The Mountain of Obedient Faith, we call it the Lord will provide. We remember Abraham’s faith. But we are pointed toward God’s faithfulness. We are reminded of God’s grace. We are grounded in God’s provision of a lamb.

That reminds me of another mountain – a hill really. Nothing majestic. Certainly nothing glorious. Not quaint or evocative in the manner of the Mount of Olives. But the hill called the Place of the Skull. On that hill God provided the lamb, his own Son. But he did not hold back the hands of those who would pierce his flesh and crucify him. He did not save his Son at the last minute. In fact, he forsook him. And his Son remained faithfully obedient. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

God provided him. And if God did not spare his own Son, but freely gave him up for us all, will he not freely give us all things we need (Romans 8:32)? Maybe at the last minute. Maybe when we’ve “got nothin.” Maybe today. Certainly when the end comes. He will provide. You need nothing but him.

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Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” – Genesis 22:1-4

Judge Robert Bork wrote a scathing assessment of the current state of the culture and morals of the United States several years ago. Titled, Slouching Toward Gomorra, he offers a prophetic and unprecedented view of a culture in decline, a nation in such serious moral trouble that its very foundation is crumbling: a nation that slouches not towards the Bethlehem envisioned by the poet Yeats in 1919, but towards Gomorrah (from the Amazon listing of his book). 

Abraham’s trek from his home to the mountain that God would show him is anything but a slouch. Nor is it toward Gomorra. This is a long trek of faith toward an incredible test of faith and a resolute devotion of obedience to God. Three days. If it’s me, my stomach is in knots after the first day. I am thinking through every possible scenario. I’m planning contingencies. I’m working out explanations. I’m wondering deep in my soul, is this really the voice and command of God? Did I hear him right? Did he really say that? 

Today the only way we can know if a thought or idea is of God is by testing it against God’s word. And then we can only know that the thought is not from God – if the thought is contrary to a clear command of Scripture. If it is not contrary to God’s word, it may be from God, or it may be sanctified reason bubbling up in our minds. 

But Abraham has no scripture. Moses is yet to write the Pentateuch. God is dealing with him directly. So there is no norm against which he is to test this word. Somehow he knows it is from God. Somehow Moses learns of it and writes it down for us to read and ponder, centuries, millennia later.

And so he goes. Day one. Day two. Day three. Stomach knots give way to…who knows. Maybe he was resigned from the beginning. Perhaps he was hopeful for God’s provision from the outset. After all, when Isaac asks about the lamb, Abraham says, “The LORD will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

And so he did. God provided a lamb for the sacrifice. But Abraham does not know this for three days or more. He simply must head for the mountain God would show him. He has to make provision for the sacrifice with wood and fire. And he will travel up the mountain with his son. 

I can’t imagine holding such conflicting emotions and knowledge inside on such a trek. Knowing what God had required of him. Traveling with his son, and not telling him that God had told him to sacrifice his son. Keeping the information from his servants and his wife. Entrusting himself only to God. But that’s what Abraham did.

Sometimes we must live like that. We cannot tell everyone all that God has put in our hearts. We may hold some deep wounds or a shameful past that no one needs to know about. We may be heading toward our own Mount Moriah, where we will sacrifice something to God that is very precious to us. But we can tell only God about it. 

As we trek with Abraham, or watch him in this journey, we can take great comfort that God is not only good, but trustworthy. We can let him have all our anxiety, pain, yearnings, fears, and wounds. He will handle them well. He will not chide. He will not turn us away. If only we come in humble faith, trusting him along the long trek of life until life’s end. 

In the end we will discover that God has provided a lamb for the sacrifice. The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world has been sacrificed for our sins. He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. In him alone we have hope. And our long and faithful trek is fully justified. 

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” – Genesis 22:1-14

God is a maniac! My friend was making a point because of events unfolding in her family. As soon as she had things figured out God moved the family dynamics in new directions. One prayer was answered only to uncover the need for yet another intercession. Maybe you’ve been confused about God’s direction in your life. Things you thought would go one way end up going in a new direction. Plans change suddenly. Opportunities evaporate. One need is answered only to be replaced by another. 

Maybe Abraham felt that way. He and Sarah had waited decades for a son. Finally Isaac is born: the son of promise. He would be the one through whom God would make a great nation. Everything is hanging on this son. Now God tells Abraham to take his son and sacrifice him. 

This will be a journey of faith. Abraham has to believe that God is good and will honor his promise that through Isaac a great nation would come. He had to believe that God would lead him to the mountain on which Isaac was to be sacrificed. He had to believe that if God did require him to go through with the sacrifice, God would make a way for Isaac to remain the son of promise. In fact, he believed that God could raise people from the dead (Hebrews 11:19).

I simply cannot imagine how all this is true. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe it’s true. But I certainly don’t understand it. Maybe that’s what Paul had in mind when he wrote: 

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

For your personal edification and meditation on this Lord’s Day

Psalm 10:17-18

Psalm 40:4-5

Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord,
    who have no confidence in the proud
    or in those who worship idols.
⁵ O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us.
    Your plans for us are too numerous to list.
    You have no equal.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds,
    I would never come to the end of them.

Psalm 70:4

But may all who search for you
    be filled with joy and gladness in you.
May those who love your salvation
    repeatedly shout, “God is great!”

Psalm 100

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
²     Worship the Lordwith gladness.
    Come before him, singing with joy.
³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
    He made us, and we are his.^[a]
    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
    go into his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Psalm 130