Do-Gooders, Part 2: All Things

 

Hey, Cobblestone,

     Let me introduce you to the scariest verse in the Bible:

I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some (1Corinthians 9:22).

     The narrator in this verse is the apostle Paul, the mighty man of God. He’s the “I” who became all things to all people. Wow. That puts me on the level of… let’s see… chopped liver. Maybe lower. I have a hard enough time being anything to anybody, let alone all things to all.

     It’s a tough verse, and I’ve wrestled with it for many years. How could one person become all things? Like the Salvation Army’s current slogan – “Doing the Most Good” – it makes me think the good I do doesn’t count. But like Jacob, wrestling with God at Peniel, I’m ready to end the match and receive the blessing.

     The scariest verse in the Bible has a drain plug, and if we pull it, all the scary runs out. Here goes: Not even Paul had become all things to all people at the same time. At times he was among Jews; at times he was among the weak; at other times he was among those who were outside the law. The key to moving easily among the various groups is found in verse 19: For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all… Bottom line: Paul was attentive to whoever he was with – at a given time.

     Ephesians 2:10 says, For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. In the mind of the Father, there exists a good-works list for each of his kids. And each kid’s list is perfectly scaled. The Father knows who you are.

     For our part, I believe the best we can do is to be…

            …available…

                        …and attentive.

 

    Just like Paul. Or George. Or Suzie, or any other Christian. To ask more questions. Do more listening. Be willing to connect need with supply. Nobody has to scratch and claw or suffer angst to gain superstar status. Rather, superstar status is conferred in the simple blessing of the Master: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’ (Matthew 25:21).

     Whew, what a relief! Do you feel it? I hope so. You don’t have to prove that you’re doing More Good, or the Most Good, or the Most-est Good. Only be faithful over a little.

     Of the many conversations I hope to have in eternity with my brothers and sisters, some of them will be with Paul. I want to ask him what it was like when God inspired him to write – and live out – the scariest verse in the Bible. I expect he’ll let loose a quick chuckle, and say something like, “It turned out to be way simpler to pull off than I thought it would be. How was it for you?”

     “Yeah, pretty much like that.”

  

Grace and Peace (in the simplest of terms),

 

John

Do-Gooders, Part 1: Quitters' Day

 

Hey, Cobblestone,

     The New Year’s resolutions kicked in two days early at Planet Fitness in Hamilton. With January First falling on a Wednesday, it seems many folks had the first half of the week off from work. In any case, on Monday the Thirtieth, the place was humming. The same phenomenon, we can reasonably assume, was in play at other fitness centers: people getting a running start on resolutions to be more fit in the new year.

     The same day, I learned a new term. In a TV commercial for Apple Watch products, the second Friday in January was designated “Quitters’ Day.” The idea, apparently, is that people will go guns-a-blazin’ into the new year – for about two weeks. And then the second weekend happens, and there’s post-season football, and sales of Doritos and queso dip go through the roof. By Monday, well intentioned fitness fiends realize they dropped the habit three days ago – on Quitters’ Day – and now it’s too late to restart. “Oh well, there’s always next year,” is the last sigh of resignation.

     Checking the 2025 calendar, we see that Quitters’ Day falls on… holy smokes, that’s today!

     Stick with me, dear Church, this is not a guilt-laden letter I’m writing to you. I won’t be insisting that you huff-and-puff up the next hill, chanting, “I think I can, I think I can…” What the Father has in mind for us, best I can tell, is to understand his instructions to do good for one another – those interlocking, community-building deeds of support and encouragement found in Scripture, especially the New Testament letters from the Apostles to the churches. Understand them, that is, not be flattened by them.

     There is no Quitters’ Day on God’s calendar. Instead, he links promises to mandates, promises made in perfect love and unmitigated power. Over the next few letters, I’m going to highlight the promises. The mandates are easy enough to see on their own. And I know me; and I know you pretty well, too, Church: I know our propensity to get the mandate, print it on a coffee mug, and take off under a head of our own steam. Be advised: Quitters’ Day looms in a future that doesn’t take the promises into account.

     Last week I shared the following prayer/blessing with some friends:

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (2Thessalonians 1:11-12).   

     Where, like Waldo, is the promise? The words “resolve” and “work” leap from the screen. Indeed, every hardworking person I’ve ever known would latch onto those right away. But resolve and work are not the ends; they are the means. Let me encourage in you a keen awareness toward a certain delightful phrase in Scripture: “so that.” These two wonderful words introduce the promise – so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him.

     There are dozens of motivations to good works, maybe hundreds. I could build an exhaustive list, but that would be exhausting… for you and me both. Instead, as a major fan of scientific method, I’ll present a hypothesis; then, you and I together can search for biblical evidence to confirm or deny.

     Hypothesis: “The purest motivation to good works is a desire to glorify Jesus.”

     As a starting point, let’s pray for more desire to glorify Jesus. Maybe you’re lacking, maybe you’re not. One thing is for sure: we get distracted. Not saying it’s a sin, only fact. Logically, then, there’s room for more. And it can’t hurt.

     To that end, please see again the prayer/blessing from above. Here, I’ll copy and paste, so you don’t even have to scroll back up:

    To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ (2Thessalonians 1:11-12).  

     Nineteen-point-five centuries ago, Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy were praying that over the Thessalonian Christians. Jesus – who is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25) – is praying it over you and me right now. Our eldest brother wants his younger brothers and sisters to succeed.

     The crowds are already thinning at Planet Fitness. No surprise. I saw an interview with the owner of a different fitness center who said his whole year’s revenues are set in January and February. Wow. Maybe his clients pay a year at a time. Maybe they stay away from Apple Watch commercials longer than I did. My advice on Quitters’ Day is:

 Ignore it.

 

 Grace and Peace (to pray instead of quit),

 

John