Piper on Grieving the Loss of a Child

“But there is another way God is honored in our grieving. When we taste the loss so deeply because we loved so deeply and treasured God’s gift — and God in his gift — so passionately that the loss cuts the deeper and the longer, and yet in and through the depths and the lengths of sorrow we never let go of God, and feel him never letting go of us — in that longer sorrow he is also greatly honored, because the length of it reveals the magnitude of our sense of loss for which we do not forsake God. At every moment of the lengthening grief, we turn to him not away from him. And therefore the length of it is a way of showing him to be ever-present, enduringly sufficient.”

—Read the whole thing.

Thoughts on Romans 5:1–5

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 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 5:1-5 ESV)

V1a — This verse begins with a “therefore” which shows that it is tied to the previous four chapters. The previous four chapters articulate justification by faith. Chapter 1 says that we are sinners, sinners who have exchanged the glory of God for a lie. Chapter 2 shows that even the Jews were guilty, even though they are the chosen of God. Chapter 3 unites all people, both Jew and Gentile, into the same sinful boat. We are all guilty and deserve wrath. Yet, towards the end of Chapter 3, Jesus Christ shows himself to be our propitiation with God and we are saved by him through faith. Chapter 4 argues that this salvation comes by faith. Justification is by faith alone, and the example of Abraham proves it. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith…

V1b — The inference to this reality of being justified by faith is two-fold. First, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This peace is an amazing reality. The truth is that before we were justified by faith, we were at war with God. He was set against us. We deserved hell. But, since we have been justified by faith, we are at peace with God. Second, we can have peace in our own hearts. There is both an objective outward reality to the peace we have and a subjective inward reality to the peace we have.

V2a — Paul can’t seem to stop himself and further elaborates something that we have through Jesus Christ. We have peace through Jesus Christ, and by the way, we also have obtained access into the grace in which we are standing. We are no longer standing in a place where grace doesn’t occur, but we are physically in a new realm. The entire world is in a realm of common grace; it rains and the sun shines and doctors heal our bodies. But for the Christian, there is another realm, a realm of grace. A realm where particular grace happens. This other realm can only be entered one way, by faith in Jesus Christ. So, our faith not only justified us in a past tense sense, but also in a very present sense, our faith is the means to our present standing in grace, our present sanctification.

V2b — That was really an aside, though, because Paul comes back to the second major inference from the reality that we have been justified by faith. That second inference is that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. This is the future reality. The word rejoice comes from the Greek word that is literally boast. We boast or we glory in the hope of the glory of God. We revel in it. There will come a day when we will fully and finally see and partake in the glory of the living God. What a wonderful day to look forward to. Yet, this hope, this boasting in hope, is only a reality because we have been justified by faith.

But wait, there’s more!

V3a — I have not been able to wrap my head around this fully, but I will try. Paul says, literally, “Not only this, but also…” He really says, wait there is more. Amazingly, though, the more doesn’t seem as helpful as we would like. The “more” is that we rejoice—which is the same word used in v2—we boast, we glory in our sufferings. Tribulations and trials happen. Suffering happens. Friends lose babies. Many have questioned their faith or have doubted the goodness of God. A dear friend of mine gives one definition of suffering as anything that shakes ones faith or causes one to wonder at the goodness of God. But, Paul, here says “since we have been justified by faith, we glory in our sufferings.” That is stunning. It is not an easy saying.

V3b–4b — Paul does not leave us without a reason though. I think he anticipates the what and why questions that we ask. So, he says, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” My reaction when I first read that is so what? What do I care about endurance or character? I would rather not suffer. Obviously, that is a very crass thing to say. Jesus says that you must endure to the end to be saved. We want to have a deep, Godly character so that we honor Christ. Notice that the third piece of the chain is hope. Peter writes, “be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” So, then, this chain—endurance, character, hope–is extremely important and valuable. It is Christ-centered and God-glorifying. But is it really “not only this, but also”?

V5a — The ESV simply says “and” at the beginning of v5. I think it should be “Furthermore, hope does not put us to shame.” In other words, there is a lot more to this hope. Suffering does not just make you a better person who can endure and who has a good character. I believe that suffering can do the first two things for a non-Christian. Non-Christians can gain endurance and character from suffering. The thing that makes suffering as a Christian different is hope. Hope does not disappoint. Hope does not put you to shame. Hope is something different entirely. Hope is not an “O boy, I really hope it happens…”, but hope is something sure, a settled belief that what God says is true. Hope is sure that the last Adam, Jesus Christ “has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:20–22). We hope in that.

V5b — Paul does not leave us with no argument for why hope does not put us to shame. He gives us a reason, “because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” The love of God in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. This brings us full circle back to our justification by faith. This love is both God’s love for us and our love for God. Our ability to look on Jesus in faith, to hope in him, indeed, to love him, is his work in us. We will not be put to shame, fully or finally, because it is his love in us that he put there by the Holy Spirit. Hope is no small thing. Hope is a certainty of the future resurrection, of the future glorification, that we know to be true, because God’s love is in us via the Holy Spirit. We have the stamp of final salvation upon us. We will endure to the end. Our character will be proven in suffering.

This Morning's Encouragement

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37–39).

The Human Being as Wayfarer

I am reading a collection of essays titled, Wayfaring: Essays Pleasant and Unpleasant, by an author, blogger, essayist that I increasingly enjoy reading, Alan Jacobs. In the introduction he explains his title and paints an accurate picture of the Christian life...

An old phrase holds that to be a Christian is to be homo viator: the human being as wayfarer, as pilgrim. Wayfarers know in a general sense where we are headed: to the City of God, what John Bunyan, that great chronicler of pilgrimage, called the Celestial City—but we aren’t altogether certain of the way. We can get lost for a time, or lose our focus and nap for too long on a soft patch of grass at the side of the road, or dally a few days at Vanity Fair. We can even become discouraged—but we don’t ultimately and finally, give up. And we don’t think we have arrived. To presume that we have made it to our destination and to despair of arriving are both, as Jürgen Moltmann has wisely said, ways of “canceling the wayfaring character of hope.”

The last sentence deserves contemplation. A wayfarer has a character of hope. The wayfarer who believes he has arrived and the wayfarer who despairs of arriving both destroy that character of hope. They both, in some sense, have lost hope.

Hope comes from knowing that there is a way—and that we didn't make it. This is why the road’s unexpected turnings need not alarm us; this is why it’s possible even to enjoy the unpredictable, whether it comes from without or within.

This makes me think of Romans 8:24–25, “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

May the Lord grant us both hope and patience.

The Last Enemy

One of my elders at Bethlehem is one of those Godly men that you point to when someone asks you what a Christian is. At this point in my life, I know I don't trust Christ as much as he does. I pray that if and when I face suffering that God will be gracious to give me a heart like Mitch's. Here is what Mitch posted last night on his wife’s Caring Bridge site.

There are times when the question why is not going to be answered. We just need to move forward trusting in the path God leads us. The LORD gives and the LORD takes way; blessed be the name of the LORD. At 6:39pm on May 14th my beautiful wife while in my arms, went to be with the LORD. As only God could plan Phillip, Emily, Cassie and I were all present when the LORD took her from us. Janelle was at one of her friend’s house and we were able to get her soon after and we gathered around our Mom, my Wife and prayed for the mercy, grace, and strength to move forward. It is strange how fast things change, and over the last few days we knew the treatment was not going as planned. There is only so much a body can take and after fifteen and a half months of chemo, drugs, and infections, her weakened body could take no more. The nurses and the Doctor tried to do all they could, but Jesus was calling and Mary answered. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. The days ahead will be difficult and we will need to make many adjustments. We are thankful to be the children of God. We have a hope in things to come when we will put on an imperishable body when things like Leukemia will be gone forever. We will have no more tears, no more death, and we will reign in His kingdom, worshiping the King with Mary and all the saints forever.

Worshiping through tears,

Mitch, Phil, Emily, Cassie, and Janelle

Tears of Joy and Expectation for the God Who Loves the Lame and Outcast

19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors.
And I will save the lame and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together;
for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.

—Zephaniah 3:19–20

My son and the repentance of God

I am working at home today and my son came down and asked if he could ask me a question. Sure.

"I am reading 1 Samuel 15 for Omnibus today and I read that God regretted that he made Saul king over Israel. Since God ordained everything that takes place, how can this be real regret?"

What does a father say? With a big, thankful gulp, I offered a silent prayer of gratitude to a God who would bless me with a son who thinks while he reads and is not afraid to ask hard questions.

I grabbed my Bible and turned to 1 Sam 15. I then pointed out not only the verse at 1 Sam 15:35, but also 1 Sam 15:29. "Son, how can God not be able to regret and regret six verses later?"

Blank stare. The dawning recognition of a deeper complication. "I don't know."

I would have loved to just tell him what I believe. But I wanted him to go read it somewhere. Maybe that is still telling him, but it would be good for him to read someone other than me.

I sent him here.

Praise God.

Filled with people muddling through

Our brains have an amazing capacity to be messed up. The mental problems that normal people face can be excruciating. Of course, the mental problems that people consider outside the pale of normalcy is even more so. Simply look at the number of self-help books on the shelves to see the reality of this. The counseling, psychotherapy, and psychology fields have exploded in the last fifty years.

The thought, then, is this: if our brains have such an incredible capacity to be messed up, then how incredible will our brains be on that day when they are fully healed and fully functioning and a person can see himself, his motivations, and his affections clearly?

As I look out my office window this morning on the skyline of Minneapolis, I am awed by the minds that created buildings hundreds of feet tall, girded by glass. I am awed by the minds that devised ways to get water up that high so that faucets run and toilets flush. I am awed by the fact that on -15 degree days, the inside of those buildings is a comfortable 70 degrees. Or on 94 degree days, those buildings are still a comfortable 70 degrees.

Yet, I am saddened and dismayed that those same buildings are filled with people muddling through heartache, guilt, broken relationships, and messed up heads.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.