Dale Cresap's blog

Have you ever spoken to other people and said ‘We need to be more loving, (or to be less quick to judge, or take safety seriously, or any other suggestion)’? Is that what you really meant? Isn’t it easier to phrase it this way when what you really mean is that ‘You need to (fill in the blank)’? How many people are really eager to identify themselves as a part of the problem? If you are then you can use this terminology, but you should make it emphatic by going on to say that you include yourself in the offenders.

Do you want peace? Everyone does, but not everyone is a peacemaker. The most bloodthirsty tyrant would love to have no opposition to his wars of aggression, but without justice there is no peace. Where do conflicts come from? Everyone has principles and preferences, and you will find that those of others will conflict with yours. Do you find that more conflict arises from differences in principles or preferences? You shouldn’t abandon your principles in the interest of making peace, but how many of your preferences are you willing to release?

Do you take the Bible literally? Do you insist that everything be interpreted at face value? There are people of good conscience that view some things in the Bible metaphorically. Even I taught in parables. Perhaps this issue isn’t as important as you think. The most important thing is to understand and embrace the underlying transcendent truth that is the point of the story. If you miss that, what advantage is there to insist on the literal truth of it?  If you understand the story and incorporate the lesson into your life, then it isn’t as necessary to defend it as a literal account.

What do you think of as the first commandment? You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and have no other gods? What about you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? That preceded any other commandment, and it was only one, rather than 10 or more. To keep it is to live in relationship with me, and to break it is to live according to your own reasoning. Do you think that one commandment is enough? You wouldn’t expect unbelievers to follow this commandment at all. How closely do people in your church follow it? How about you?

When I was crucified I was referred to as the King of the Jews. Do you think this title was appropriate and honorary? Do you recall that this took place in occupied territory, and that the Jews were ruled over by  the Romans? This title was not regarded as a compliment under these circumstances, but it was still appropriate. You live in two realms. Do you realize that in the realm most visible to you that I was rejected from my rightful place? Yet in the transcendent and eternal realm my Kingdom was recognized and secure.

Do you think of the church as an army? There are Bible verses to support this, and many more references  in hymns and other forms of Christian culture. Yet churches do not go to war in the conventional sense. So what martial aspects are appropriate for a church? Soldiers are trained to commit themselves to and sacrifice for a mission. They are trained to act as one under a unified command. In this way a small group of soldiers can dominate a larger but disorganized opponent. You don’t need a uniform or a rank to function as an army for a common mission. All you need is unity.

Are you familiar with the story of the prodigal son? Are you aware that it is unfinished? For at the end of this story the father is still outside with the pouting and indignant elder brother, entreating him to come in and join the party. Do you rejoice in the mercy and grace you have received? Are you as eager to rejoice in the mercy and grace received by others who were equally undeserving? Have you ever acted against your own best interests because you were upset or feeling slighted? So what do you think?

Could you endure a one percent loss? Most people would be able to absorb that even if they would not welcome it, but I told a story of a shepherd who had 100 sheep, one of whom was lost. He left the 99 and searched for the lost sheep until he found it, apparently no matter how long it took. Did this make sense in practical and economic terms? Most people would commit to search for a while but be prepared to call it off if it took too long. A shepherd thinking of his own interests would have to be practical, but a shepherd who loves his sheep would not quit.

Are you familiar with the reformation of the church? Historians treat this as a well-defined period of time. But should you think of it as a single interval? I told a story about new wine and old wineskins. This combination doesn’t work, and my audience understood that, but they didn’t understand the deeper meaning, that their familiar forms and structures were about to change in a big way. Do you think this story refers to a one-time event, or is it an ongoing process? The concept of new wine and old wineskins is enduring.

You are familiar with my commandment to honor your father and mother. Do you do this? It does not say that you need to pay them back for the sacrifices they made to raise you. That would be a much greater burden than just to honor them. Yet if you are aware that much was invested in getting you to adulthood you can still do something about it. You can pay it forward in the raising of your own children. But this does not apply to all.