Thumbs Up

Not quite two years ago I hurt my right thumb. I endured. Then, I received injections. There were splints. Then, I began self-splinting. The thumb never healed properly.

In time, I started buying Western shirts with snaps. First, they look cool, but second, my thumb can manage snaps, buttons not so much.

My thumb keeps me awake at night—like I need help with that. It drops things, dislikes holding my toothbrush, won’t do buttons, detests putting on socks. It won’t even tap the space bar without complaining.

You see where this article is headed.

Thursday is surgery day.

The procedure is called LRTI. It’s been around for 50 years, has a good success rate, but a difficult recovery according to the doc.

First, the physician cuts my arm off at the shoulder. Then, he carries my hand over to the table…

Just kidding, but it’s not every day a man has surgery. Why not be dramatic?

The doc will remove a bone called the Trapezium. He then will use a tendon in my wrist to make a sling for the thumb so it doesn’t fall into the hole where the Trapezium used to be. There is a cast, and a splint, and rehab before I’m ready to use my thumb again.

Start to finish, useful recovery is about three months, significant recovery in six months, and final outcome a year from now.

So, why am I telling you this news?

First, after you summon up copious volumes of sympathy, I would appreciate you praying for my surgeon, Dr. Ryan Reardon.

Second, it would probably be a good thing if you prayed for my wife, Dianne. I’ve told her I will try hard to be an exemplary patient—but she looks at me like wives look at their husbands sometimes that causes us to understand we need to find a project in the garage.

I am hoping to use voice activated software to send you regular articles. I’m also considering some short video pieces to stay in touch.

I also plan to use my inability at the keyboard to spend time in the recording studio. Before you envision something glorious, my studio is in the upstairs closet. My good buddy Abe Martinez will join me to produce these recordings, i.e., make me sound better than I am.

Thanks in advance for your prayers.

Now. We were at dinner Saturday with our dear friends the Hagans. After the table was cleared, our conversation drifted into a discussion of what the glory of God is. Our thoughts turned to what John says of Jesus in the first chapter of his book, verses 14-18.

In verse 14, John states that the Word became flesh—Jesus—and lived among us. This was, he notes, glorious.

John is a solid writer. His reasoning is tight. His Gospel is unique. He obviously sat down to ponder what he wanted to say before he put pen to paper. He presents Jesus as the living Word of God, but then he must develop that idea, which he does, and terms Jesus the incarnate Word who brought us “grace upon grace.”

Then John expands his introduction of grace to include truth as well. He says “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ,” then associates this with God’s identity. He completes the section saying, “No man has seen God,” but Jesus Christ “has explained Him.”

John is saying grace and truth are key components of who God is. With His incarnation in Christ, not only did God come down to us, He explained Himself to us. This is glorious.

When John says grace and truth were realized through Jesus, he uses a grammatical construction indicating that Jesus is Himself grace and truth. When Jesus explains God to us, He is explaining as well who He is as grace and truth personified.

So, to know Jesus is to know grace and truth. To encounter grace and truth is to encounter Jesus—and since Jesus is God incarnate, to know Jesus or encounter grace and truth is to know and engage with God.

Thus, when Jesus introduces grace and truth, He is telling us about Himself. Bridging the gap between God and mankind, the grace and truth who is Jesus explains to us—demonstrates, engages, makes way—the means by which we know God, gain access to Him, all the while anchoring ourselves in grace and truth. This is glorious.

Could there be any two things more critically important right now to our lives than grace and truth?

For me, there are two words to describe life today: ungraciousness and deceit.

Nothing is at it seems. Any question is met with vitriol. Disagreement is vanquished and dissent is relegated to a metaphorical Siberia.

How do you manage this as a Believer?

Let’s be candid: Resolving to voice truth is a nonstarter. Given that civil discourse is absent in society, no one is listening. If you love truth, this is hard to accept. It leaves you speechless. What can you say?

Further, society has embraced the notion that truth is relative—to you. So, don’t put up with anyone who questions your [version of] truth. Make truth whatever you want/need it to be. Who’s to question you?

For years, society has told our children, “You can be anything you want to be”—and our children took this to heart, just like Rousseau foretold.

In the world of relativism—relative truth—men can give birth, murdering an infant on an exam table is your right, sex with a minor is permissible, history is whatever you want/need it to be, science is pointless, children can be any gender they want. As the notion of personal truth, relative truth, advances, law and human rights and societal standards must be abandoned lest they point out the foolishness of relativism.

Presenting Jesus as grace and truth embodied is intolerant and uncivil. Why? Because this compares and contrasts personal truth to divine standard.

The person who embraces darkness can make anything truth. Jesus is considered intolerant and uncivil because He is light shining into the darkness. His light reveals grace and truth anchored in divine standard and character that the Apostle John associates with God’s identity.

So, if you can’t speak truth or present grace, what are you to do with your faith?

Hide? As I’ve written in Rigorous Grace, the church has cloistered itself within its brick and mortar and its leaders have embraced political leaders as the hope for America.

Dumb-down the message? A number of “grace” teachers are doing just this by teaching that grace is all about you, its benefit to you, and your release of personal responsibility as you trust in their idea of grace, which they define as salvation and new identity in Christ.

They teach that if you will focus on the salvation-level grace you’ve received, then you will not struggle. Some are implying that you will no longer sin.

For those who’ve received salvation-level grace, there is no journey in life, no struggle against the flesh, no battle between flesh and spirit, no spiritual practice, and no tension that grace won’t resolve. Romans 7 does not apply to Believers. Galatians 5 is outmoded. Oy vey! These teachers sound spiritual, but what they present is not Jesus as John, et al, portrays. Meanwhile, their Bible is unraveling like cheap rug.

I had a group of these grace teachers declare to me that two thousand years of church history was not important—did not apply—because the Believers who preceded them “did not know the message [of grace].” This is pretty arrogant, but…

…if you are determined to make Christianity be what you want it to be, it is imperative that you remove all standard, historical and otherwise, in order to make faith relevant to you. To manage the grace and truth that is Jesus, these teachers must define grace and truth as relevant to them, as they wish it to be, need it to be, and as it best serves their purposes.

Pay attention folks! All who declare “Jesus” are not necessarily presenting Jesus as John presents Him. When teachers compromise Scripture to make their teaching sound right, spiritual warning lights should start flashing.

What to do?

Given that you are filled with Jesus Christ as a Believer, and given that He is grace and truth, and given that He is committed to explaining grace and truth, then your next steps are clear: Ask Him for an explanation when you need it.

I literally mean ask Him for an explanation.

It’s His decision how He answers your prayer, but it’s your privilege to come to Him with any need.

Who is Jesus? How are grace and truth personified?

He is the one who understands, the one who knows—knows both you and God. He is the one who always comes to you, always cares for you, and the one who always speaks to you about your heavenly Father. So, come to Him with your questions.

This manifests itself in a variety of ways in my life…

I don’t pick up anything to read, and I don’t listen to anyone, but that I don’t pray/think, Brother, give me discernment please. Show me truth and help me respond accordingly.

I mean by this that I don’t read the news without praying this prayer. I don’t listen, even to a trusted voice, without praying this prayer in my thoughts.

Regarding life in general, my prayers go like this: Brother, I’m confused and disillusioned. I don’t know what I should do next. Would you please guide me, inspire me, and give me understanding?

Sometimes—no frequently—I encounter something, some fact, some story, etc., and I say, Brother, what should I do with this? How should I respond/reply/react?

In everything, never shy from saying, Brother, I don’t understand. Or saying, Brother, I believe, but please help my unbelief.

More than anything, anything at all, your Older Brother, Jesus, wants you to engage with Him. He wants to walk with you, and for you to walk with Him. He wants to hear from you, and in your thoughts and reading of Scripture, He will let you hear from Him.

Show up. Listen. Engage with Him. Talk with Him. Listen twice as much as you talk. (This is why God gave you one mouth and two ears.)

Personally, I say to the Holy Spirit: I’m counting on you to help me comprehend. As I understand it, you are within me to lead me into all truth. Since my Older Brother is truth, help me understand Him.

Returning to John 1:14-18, I can’t imagine Jesus is anything but honored when you say, Brother, tell me more about grace and truth. This is another way of saying, “Tell me about yourself.” Jesus is no different than any other person in that He loves it when you say, “Tell me about yourself.”

Is there a word for this relationship and revelation? I believe there is. John used it. The word that captures all of this is, glory.

Okay, I’ll stay in touch the best I can. Thanks for your prayers.