Name It and Claim It, Part 2
I love those police stories about how some witty officers managed to capture wanted criminals by luring them into a waiting "sting" by calling these criminals and informing them that they were the grand prize winner of some sweepstakes. Just as these lawbreakers arrive to claim their "prize," the officers spring from behind the door to escort them away to jail. Well, that is exactly how I would describe the "Name It and Claim It" philosophy. Less than genuine preachers lure people to "Christ" with promises of nothing but prosperity and healing, wealth and power.
I would venture a guess that many of us are quite familiar with the "Name It and Claim It" philosophy. Additionally, I would venture that most would agree in my analysis that this view is very distorted. As Kyle Idelman stated, this philosophy turns God into a "glorified vending machine." Just pick out what you want, believe enough, and PRESTO! Peanut M&M's. Or a new liver. Or $318,000. Or any one of a billion "miracles" for which one could ask.
While much has been said, written, and otherwise opined concerning the downfalls and erroneousness of this belief, what I wish to do has little to do with making one of these arguments. What I propose is a second go at this philosophy - we need a revamped version. This revamped version is simple: Call on Jesus for salvation, and PRESTO! you get to claim all that comes with this salvation. Biblically, this is very sound. Romans 8:17 states that "if we are children, then we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." All we have to do is believe in Christ, and then wait to claim our inheritance! We can claim our glory, our eternal security, our Help and Strength, our healing and honor.
But here is where my message is different. We need likewise to teach people to "claim" our share of the suffering. Oh, yeah! Get you some beatings and public beheadings! Try on some ashes and runny, itchy, burning boils. Get you some lynchings, sickness, wrongful imprisonment, car accidents (Paul would have been driving instead of sailing had the automobile been invented), animal attacks, poverty, and much, much more! Sure, we will receive the crown of glory and more like it some day "up yonder," but today we, like Paul, can expect some good ol' suffering. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul stated: "you know quite well that we were destined for [these sufferings]. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know." And even JC told us that "anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." And the apostles, after spending years with Jesus, took this message to heart - they claimed their promise! After they were flogged for speaking the name of Jesus, they "left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." And, again, Paul told the Corinthians that "as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." Notice how Paul did not commend his ministry to the Corinthians in 3,000 shekel robes and 500 shekel sandals, at huge synagogues or lavish tent meetings, or with great pomp and pageantry.
Yes, I could go on ad infinitum, but I will spare you that. As I look back at the past few months, my first tendency is to have a pity party for myself because of all that has gone wrong. When something goes bad, I want to know why and understand the purpose, and when I don't, I admit that I become upset. But why am I so surprised when things go wrong or when times are tough or when I suffer? After all, most of the time my sufferings are just my harvest of the seeds that I have sown. And even then, I know that my sufferings are but a drop in the bucket to so many other people. However, this is surely not always the case, so what of that? Could it be that God is absent at best or even dead or not who we think He is? Why should we suffer for no reason? Are we mere pawns in this cosmic game of chess between Good and evil?
My point to all of this purely to posit the idea that as Christians, we must change our thinking. We have no problem expecting good things, prosperity and riches, honor and glory. But if ever we were taught that we could expect hardships and tribulation, how soon we forget it! In reading Job, we see the greatest conflict with the problem of evil ever recorded. In Jesus, we see the greatest example of undeserved suffering. And what was the response by Job and Jesus? Job said "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." Job could not match the wisdom, knowledge, might, and justice of the Almighty. And what of Jesus? What was his attitude toward his impending hardship? "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
I am in no way saying that it is wrong to admit that we don't understand our circumstances or that we should not long to "have the cup pass from us." I am not saying that parents with dying children should find comfort knowing that this is all just "part of the deal." My heart goes out to all those who are afflicted with illness, especially young children and their families. I have never experienced this personally, but I have been in the pediatric intensive care units and the neonatal intensive care units. I have seen little babies with more tubes and wires and lights and alarms than one could imagine their frail bodies could handle. I have seen young children fighting for their life against terminal cancer. I have been in the room where the only sounds are the ventilator, heart monitor, the loud hum of the ultra-HEPA filtration system of the room, and a father's quiet sob. I have waited outside the room while the Priest pronounced the last rites.
Suffering is hard. We often never know why, nor do we understand how God could allow such evil and pain. But one thing I know: I am not alone. No, I do not mean that I have friends, relatives, and fellow Christians with similar stories there to support me. I have the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the First and the Last, the Prince of Peace, the Eternal Creator by my side. It is He who suffered and was tortured and spat upon. He was murdered at the hands of an angry mob. And He was able to call it all off, to free himself from this oppression. But he didn't. He endured all of this for my sake. I can't understand sickness and pain, but even more I can't understand why the God of all the universe would send his Son to die for fallen, sinful me. I can't understand this, but I rejoice in it.
I know that someday I will understand. Someday I will see the plan and the purpose behind the injustices of this world. But more importantly, some day I will be able to say, like Job, "my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you." It is because of Christ and His ultimate sacrifice that I can endure hardship and trial. It is because I worship a living God, a loving God who identifies with our pain and tears, that I can claim happiness and joy. Even in times of suffering. I am nowhere near those who are able to "rejoice" in times of hardship. I hate it; I hate it when things go wrong. I hate "trials and persecution," not that I know much about either. But I pray that someday I might. And in the mean time, I pray even more that I would be a comforter for those who are hurting and a friend to the outcast and downtrodden. I want to concentrate not on my problems and worries, but on clothing the cold and abandoned children, feeding the starving babies, and bringing water to those who thirst. What is more, bringing Living Water to those who thirst so that they will never thirst again.
As Christians, we need to understand both the love of Christ and the sufferings of Christ. We have to know that with salvation and an eternity in Heaven, we have to endure life on this earth, which is fallen and difficult. I suggest that we look to those less fortunate then us, name their illness, their debt, their frustrations, and then put a claim on shouldering some of that burden. We need to go to where the hurting are. I believe then the world would really see Christ and what it means to be a Christian.
I would venture a guess that many of us are quite familiar with the "Name It and Claim It" philosophy. Additionally, I would venture that most would agree in my analysis that this view is very distorted. As Kyle Idelman stated, this philosophy turns God into a "glorified vending machine." Just pick out what you want, believe enough, and PRESTO! Peanut M&M's. Or a new liver. Or $318,000. Or any one of a billion "miracles" for which one could ask.
While much has been said, written, and otherwise opined concerning the downfalls and erroneousness of this belief, what I wish to do has little to do with making one of these arguments. What I propose is a second go at this philosophy - we need a revamped version. This revamped version is simple: Call on Jesus for salvation, and PRESTO! you get to claim all that comes with this salvation. Biblically, this is very sound. Romans 8:17 states that "if we are children, then we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." All we have to do is believe in Christ, and then wait to claim our inheritance! We can claim our glory, our eternal security, our Help and Strength, our healing and honor.
But here is where my message is different. We need likewise to teach people to "claim" our share of the suffering. Oh, yeah! Get you some beatings and public beheadings! Try on some ashes and runny, itchy, burning boils. Get you some lynchings, sickness, wrongful imprisonment, car accidents (Paul would have been driving instead of sailing had the automobile been invented), animal attacks, poverty, and much, much more! Sure, we will receive the crown of glory and more like it some day "up yonder," but today we, like Paul, can expect some good ol' suffering. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul stated: "you know quite well that we were destined for [these sufferings]. In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know." And even JC told us that "anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." And the apostles, after spending years with Jesus, took this message to heart - they claimed their promise! After they were flogged for speaking the name of Jesus, they "left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." And, again, Paul told the Corinthians that "as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." Notice how Paul did not commend his ministry to the Corinthians in 3,000 shekel robes and 500 shekel sandals, at huge synagogues or lavish tent meetings, or with great pomp and pageantry.
Yes, I could go on ad infinitum, but I will spare you that. As I look back at the past few months, my first tendency is to have a pity party for myself because of all that has gone wrong. When something goes bad, I want to know why and understand the purpose, and when I don't, I admit that I become upset. But why am I so surprised when things go wrong or when times are tough or when I suffer? After all, most of the time my sufferings are just my harvest of the seeds that I have sown. And even then, I know that my sufferings are but a drop in the bucket to so many other people. However, this is surely not always the case, so what of that? Could it be that God is absent at best or even dead or not who we think He is? Why should we suffer for no reason? Are we mere pawns in this cosmic game of chess between Good and evil?
My point to all of this purely to posit the idea that as Christians, we must change our thinking. We have no problem expecting good things, prosperity and riches, honor and glory. But if ever we were taught that we could expect hardships and tribulation, how soon we forget it! In reading Job, we see the greatest conflict with the problem of evil ever recorded. In Jesus, we see the greatest example of undeserved suffering. And what was the response by Job and Jesus? Job said "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes." Job could not match the wisdom, knowledge, might, and justice of the Almighty. And what of Jesus? What was his attitude toward his impending hardship? "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
I am in no way saying that it is wrong to admit that we don't understand our circumstances or that we should not long to "have the cup pass from us." I am not saying that parents with dying children should find comfort knowing that this is all just "part of the deal." My heart goes out to all those who are afflicted with illness, especially young children and their families. I have never experienced this personally, but I have been in the pediatric intensive care units and the neonatal intensive care units. I have seen little babies with more tubes and wires and lights and alarms than one could imagine their frail bodies could handle. I have seen young children fighting for their life against terminal cancer. I have been in the room where the only sounds are the ventilator, heart monitor, the loud hum of the ultra-HEPA filtration system of the room, and a father's quiet sob. I have waited outside the room while the Priest pronounced the last rites.
Suffering is hard. We often never know why, nor do we understand how God could allow such evil and pain. But one thing I know: I am not alone. No, I do not mean that I have friends, relatives, and fellow Christians with similar stories there to support me. I have the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the First and the Last, the Prince of Peace, the Eternal Creator by my side. It is He who suffered and was tortured and spat upon. He was murdered at the hands of an angry mob. And He was able to call it all off, to free himself from this oppression. But he didn't. He endured all of this for my sake. I can't understand sickness and pain, but even more I can't understand why the God of all the universe would send his Son to die for fallen, sinful me. I can't understand this, but I rejoice in it.
I know that someday I will understand. Someday I will see the plan and the purpose behind the injustices of this world. But more importantly, some day I will be able to say, like Job, "my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you." It is because of Christ and His ultimate sacrifice that I can endure hardship and trial. It is because I worship a living God, a loving God who identifies with our pain and tears, that I can claim happiness and joy. Even in times of suffering. I am nowhere near those who are able to "rejoice" in times of hardship. I hate it; I hate it when things go wrong. I hate "trials and persecution," not that I know much about either. But I pray that someday I might. And in the mean time, I pray even more that I would be a comforter for those who are hurting and a friend to the outcast and downtrodden. I want to concentrate not on my problems and worries, but on clothing the cold and abandoned children, feeding the starving babies, and bringing water to those who thirst. What is more, bringing Living Water to those who thirst so that they will never thirst again.
As Christians, we need to understand both the love of Christ and the sufferings of Christ. We have to know that with salvation and an eternity in Heaven, we have to endure life on this earth, which is fallen and difficult. I suggest that we look to those less fortunate then us, name their illness, their debt, their frustrations, and then put a claim on shouldering some of that burden. We need to go to where the hurting are. I believe then the world would really see Christ and what it means to be a Christian.
posted by Aaron Hernandez at
7/24/2006
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