Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

Save the Paper!!!

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“It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you…”
(Deuteronomy 7:7-8)

This was the reminder every Christmas at Grandma Anderson’s house. Each year, as by brother and sister and I would race to the tree to divide up the presents and tear into them like a pack of hungry monkeys on a banana, the voice would boom from over head, “Save the paper!” That was usually enough to settle us down, so that we would calmly open our gifts in an orderly fashion, careful not to tear the paper unnecessarily.

Grandma grew up in the depression, so saving something like Christmas Wrapping paper made sense. She told stories of putting cardboard inside her shoes when she had worn a hole in them, of growing up on the farm and eating things like cows tongue, and heart, and – for some reason – pickled pig’s feet. Plus, the wrapping paper grandma used felt like it might have at one time been wallpaper, so it had an enduring quality to it, so it made sense to save the paper. It made sense to save the paper. She and grandpa worked hard and saved everything they could, and they had a lot to show for it. They had a beautiful house full of refurbished antiques, and the Christmases there were absolutely incredible.

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Here’s a picture of their house today. It is now a B&B. I spent a lot of my childhood here, and I think this is where my love for old homes began.

Their penchant for saving things at Christmas didn’t stop at the paper on the gifts. The tree, which itself was held together by generous amounts of wire, tape and prayer was covered by ornaments, tinsel, and a variety of decorations that had been made by my mom and my siblings and I. There was one “ornament” that looked like a glued ball of yarn that had so faded in color and lost its shape we were not really sure it was an ornament after all, but it still went on the tree. Nothing that still retained some semblance of usefulness was ever thrown out. So we would always “Save the Paper!”

Why don’t we save the paper anymore? Wrapping paper is so cheap to purchase, and so thinly made, saving it really doesn’t seem practical. It’s not worth the time and the effort to save something like wrapping paper today. And so it gets discarded after one use, shredded as the last flimsy obstacle to Christmas morning bliss, and never thought of again.

There is no intrinsic value in the paper, and yet I still hear my Grandma say, “Little E, save the paper!” So on Christmas morning, when all the presents have been opened, you’ll know where I sat, for the paper will be neatly piled and preserved, just in case you need it for the coming year.

In Deuteronomy 7, as the people of God are preparing to enter the Promised Land, the Lord gives them a reminder saying, “The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him to a thousand generations” (Deut 7:6-10).

We are not the gifts in the story. We are not the tree or the decorations. We are the paper. Torn up by sin, thin and worn by abuse, cast aside by the powers of this world which seek evil; good for nothing but kindling for the fire. Yet when we were wasted by the world, still dead in our trespasses and sins, God set His love upon us in Christ (Rom 5:8). When we were lost and without hope, Christ came to save us, to deliver us, and to return us to the fold of God (Luke 15:3-7; 19:10). The cry has gone out from the beginning of creation, “Save those who are perishing,” and because of God’s love and covenant promise in Christ, we have been saved!

This Christmas, know that Christ has come for your salvation. Receive that gift and rejoice. And save the paper while your at it.

SDG

Our Common Salvation

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“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”
(Jude 3)

I was re-reading the letter of Jude yesterday, you know, that little one just before you get to the Revelation according to John.  It’s only 25 verses long, but it is loaded with an incredibly deep and timely message.  It takes little time to read, but a lifetime to exhaust the richness and depth of its teaching.  (If anyone’s interested, I’ve got recordings of Dr. John Gerstner teaching through the letter of Jude, in a mere 12 lessons.)

Jude starts his letter telling us that he was eager to write about our common salvation, but instead found it necessary to write an appeal to contend for the faith which was under attack.  The rest of the letter has Jude revealing the destructive influence of the false teaching of those who had crept into the church, and a call to persevere for the faith that is demonstrated in love, prayer, and holiness.

This reminds me of something I heard a while back about Pastoral Ministry: It is the ministry of interruptions.  A pastor plans his day and works to meet the goals he’s set before himself, but often finds the real ministry comes in answering the unexpected phone call or visit.  Most real ministry happens in the interruptions.  I think Jude’s letter is a good example of this. 

As I was reading, however, my mind wandered, as it often does.  I kept thinking, “I wonder what Jude’s original letter would have been like?”  We’ll never know, but I think it is helpful to stop and consider what is meant by his phrase, “our common salvation?”

The word here for common is “koinos.”  When you study Biblical Greek, you are studying koine Greek, the common Greek that was spoken in the marketplace of all the nations conquered by Alexander the Great.  So “common” suggests the ordinary, everyday stuff of life – things that are shared or common among all people.

So what is our “common salvation”?  There is nothing common or everyday about our salvation.  It is the glorious gospel of God’s redeeming work for His beloved in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:7-10).  Paul talks about the height and breadth and depth of God’s love for us (Eph 3:18), the mystery of the gospel of Salvation – surely no common stuff!

But it is common in that this salvation is shared by all who are in Christ Jesus through faith.  Salvation is the free gift of God’s grace to all who are in Christ (Rom 3:22-24) regardless of race, status, gender… regardless of the depth of sinfulness before Christ, those who are in Christ are saved from their sin and the wrath of God’s judgment upon them.

I read somewhere once, “The harlot, the liar, the murderer, are all short of [the glory of God]; but so are you. Perhaps they stand at the bottom of a mine, and you on the crest of an Alp; but you are as little able to touch the stars as they.” There is a common sinfulness – and there is a salvation that is shared by all who are in Christ.  Everyone falls short, but everyone can be justified freely by His grace.

Matthew Henry once wrote, “The gospel salvation is a common salvation, that is, in a most sincere offer and tender of it to all mankind to whom the notice of it reaches… Whoever will may come and drink of the water of life freely, Rev. 22:17. The application of it is made to all believers, and only to such; it is made to the weak as well as to the strong.”

We share a common salvation for the redeemed have “one body and one spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-7).

Jude could not write at length about this because he had to address a false gospel that had crept into the church, threatening the very heart of that common salvation. It is pure speculation what he might have said, but we can see from other letters what he might have included.

Philippians 4:4–7 “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 12:9–13 “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

Romans 15:7 “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

Hebrews 10:23–25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Ephesians 5:1–2, 21 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God… submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Colossians 3:12–17 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Those are just a few that came to mind.

Jude could not write the letter, but praise the Lord others could, and that God’s Word still speaks to us of our common salvation, and of the uncommon life we are called to share.

SDG