Present, Prominent, or Preeminent?

Courtship, to use an old-fashioned term, can be an intriguing process. Boy meets girl, they look into each other’s eyes and sense a strong connection. So, they go out on a date for the first time, to get acquainted and see if there’s “chemistry.” At that moment we could say they are “present” in one another’s lives.

 

They agree to move to stage 2, which involves going out together on a regular basis. If they continue to enjoy one another’s company, they may decide to make the other person “prominent,” even though there’s no formalized commitment. They can still see others if they wish, but are moving toward becoming a “couple.”

 

In stage 3, things get serious. They become exclusive to one another, perhaps become engaged, and when they feel the time’s right, exchange “I do’s” and marry, hopefully to begin what will become a lifelong journey together. At this point they’ve shifted from prominent to “preeminent,” seeing each other as the one and only, fully committed to each other.

 

This serves as a simple metaphor for the kind of relationships people have with God – present, prominent, and preeminent. It’s not always easy to identify which of these three stages others are in; we might even struggle to discern in which we ourselves fit. But I’d like to offer some observations to at least give us something to think about. The Bible has much to say about this, but the examples of three churches described in the book of Revelation might be especially instructive.

 

For many people, God is present. They believe in him, at least in an intellectual sense. They might be “C and E’ers,” going to services every Christmas and Easter without fail. Or they may attend church with some consistency, aiming to give the Lord an hour or two of their time as often as is convenient. The rest of the time, however, they may or may not look and act as if they believe in Him at all.

 

That described me for the first 30-plus years of my life. Unless I could think of something better to do, or if I was too tired from the night before, I’d show up, figuratively punching my attendance card. Then after an hour or two, I’d walk out the doors back into “the real world” where I felt I was pretty much on my own.

 

The ancient church in the city of Laodicea, addressed in Revelation 3:15-16, might fit this category: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Not a very flattering description. God doesn’t much like complacent, apathetic people.

 

Far fewer people have a relationship with God in which He is prominent. For them, this might involve aiming to attend church on a weekly basis, or even more often. They might also participate in prayer meetings or Bible studies. For them, worshipping the Lord is a significant part of their lives. One important question for them is, what role does God play in their lives when they’re not in religious gatherings?

 

For an example of this, we can consider the church at Ephesus, described in Revelation 2:3-5, where God declares, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you. You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

 

At first glance, we might think the folks in the Ephesian church weren’t doing too badly. They had persevered, clung to their faith despite unspecified hardships. But then come the crushing words, “You have forsaken your first love.” Maybe early on they were filled with zeal, but over time other concerns and interests had captured their attention, relegating Jesus Christ to second place – or lower – in their lives. Kind of the way some folks are after the honeymoon stage of marriage.

 

Then there is the last group of Christ followers, ones we could classify as making the Lord preeminent in their lives. There are many ways of looking at this. For some it means answering a call to full-time vocational ministry, such as pastors, worship leaders, missionaries, or parachurch ministry. But it doesn’t necessarily require such a step. 

 

I’ve known many people of incredibly strong, unwavering faith who lived for Him in the so-called “secular world.” They understand that from God’s perspective, there’s no distinction between sacred and secular. As His followers, we’re all called to serve Him, not just on Sundays but seven days a week, 24 hours a day. “Full-time Christian service” can apply no matter where we work or live.

 

Meeting this description, it seems, was the ancient Greek church in Philadelphia. God says in Revelation 3:8-10, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you and open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name…. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.”

 

Present. Prominent. Preeminent. Three very different types of relationship with the Lord. The question for each of us is simple: “Which one describes mine?” 

More Suggestions for Growing

In my last post I discussed the value of setting spiritual goals, recognizing we can’t truly measure our personal growth. But reasonable, realistic goals can get us moving in the right direction.

Devoting daily time to pray is important. But I’ve found spending at least a few minutes a day reading the Bible is equally valuable. If we want to build a relationship with someone, we need to talk with them – and afford them time to talk with us. God is not an exception.

If you’re ambitious, you might even attempt something like reading the entire Bible over a period of a year or two. I’ve done that, and it’s been very enlightening to gain an overview of the Word of God from start to finish.

However, I’d recommend not reading front to back as we would with a typical book. Genesis and Exodus, written in narrative form and consist largely of stories, are very engaging. But frankly, when I’ve ventured into Numbers, Deuteronomy and Leviticus there have been times when I’ve felt like I was wandering in the wilderness with the wayward Israelites.

If you want to grow, you must be willing
to let it go.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t read those books of the Bible, because I believe they’re just as important as any of the others. But it might be good to try to balance reading a portion from them while also reading a chapter or two from another book, like Psalms or Proverbs, or something from the New Testament. That way, you can “come up for air” when a passage from Numbers or Leviticus starts seeming confusing, or too obscure and irrelevant for life in the 21^st century.

If reading the entirety of the Bible, 39 Old Testament books and 27 in the New Testament, seems too daunting, select a single book to read, not just for information but also for inspiration. Try reading thoughtfully, meditating on what you come across and asking God to speak to you personally. You might even pray the verse I’ve cited before: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law” (Psalm 119:18).

If you read something you don’t understand, don’t let that bother you. I’ve been reading the Scriptures almost daily for more than 30 years, and find it’s like peeling an onion. You remove one layer and discover there’s another layer underneath, ready to be explored. And because the Bible is “living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword…” (Hebrews 4:12), a passage that doesn’t seem to make sense or have much meaning when you read it will suddenly become alive when you read it again some other time.

One other suggestion: Don’t keep what you learn to yourself. Share it with others. This accomplishes two things. First, what you share with others might well be a special blessing to them. You can do this in the context of a small group, while mentoring someone, or just in the course of a conversation. Second, when we’re willing to share what God has taught us with others, He then promises to entrust us with more understanding.

In a little New Testament book, Philemon, it says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ” (Philemon 6). Whenever I read this verse, the words “so that” seem to jump out – if we are obedient in sharing what God has given us, then He’ll give us more.

Jesus affirmed this in Luke 16:10 when He stated, “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities.” I understand this to mean, “Why should I give you more if you’re not willing to put into practice what I’ve already given to you?” Or in other words, use it or lose it.

Is one of your goals for this year to grow spiritually, to draw closer to God? Then pray. Read His Word. And share with others what He’s teaching you along the way. Growing will follow.

Goals or Resolutions?

What’s a resolution worth? I’m pretty sure if you take one of the resolutions you make for the new year, along with $5, you can get a medium-sized latte at your favorite coffee shop. If we all had a penny for every resolution made at New Year’s, we’d all be able to pay off the national debt.

But it’s understandable. At the beginning of each new year, it seems like we’ve got an opportunity for a new start. So many of us do make resolutions – “I resolve to…” or “I resolve not to….” The problem is once they’re broken, we feel like we’ve failed and we give up. “I knew I couldn’t keep that commitment. Why did I even try?”

I prefer to establish goals to pursue all year long. My annual practice is to sit down within the first week and review the year just past, consider how I did on in important areas of my life over the past 365 days, and create new goals for the next 12 months. That way, even if I get off to a slow start, or get interrupted at some point, I still have the remainder of the year to work toward meeting my goals.

A worthwhile goal is to grow spiritually.
But how can we measure that?

Often it’s helpful to break down goals according to categories, like physical, vocational, financial, family, social, and personal growth. One other area is spiritual, a dimension of our lives definitely worth considering.

What kind of spiritual goals can we reasonably set? Long ago I learned it’s futile to try and quantify matters such as spiritual growth, or our walk with God. Our relationship with Him can’t be evaluated by the number of hours we devote to religious activities, or the amount of money we give to support spiritual causes.

And spiritual maturity can’t be measured with a ruler, or a scale, or some kind of chart. There have been times I’ve felt like I was making good progress spiritually, only to discover a day or week later, even 15 minutes later, that I’d taken two steps backward.

Does not mean we can’t set specific goals to help in strengthening our connection with our Lord. No, but they have to be realistic. As the Scriptures tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). God is the only Judge of the heart.

That being said, let me suggest a few reasonable goals that could enhance your spiritual growth during the coming year. As with any valued relationship – a marriage, parent-child, or a friendship – there’s no substitute for time. So if you want to grow in your relationship with God, you have to be intentional about spending time with Him.

Going to worship services, Bible studies and small group meetings are fine, but they’re a secondhand form of communication. Make a point to spend at least a few minutes a day alone with God in pray and reading something from the Scriptures. Where you do this, and when, is up to you. What works for one person won’t work for someone else. But we all need time to talk to the Lord – and allow Him to talk to us.

Years ago a friend came up with an acronym – ACTS – that he used for his daily prayer time: Adoration (praising God); Confession (acknowledging our sins); Thanksgiving (expressing gratitude for who God is and all He has done); and Supplication (presenting our requests and concerns to Him). I’ve found this to be a helpful formula. We can do this continually. As 1 Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us, “Pray without ceasing.”

Too often, however, we skip the first three and go straight to supplication, treating the Lord like a short-order cook (as another friend once put it). Since God in His omniscience already knows what we need and want, it’s good to place our focus on Him first. Once we’ve done that, we might even find the things we ask for are different from what we’d originally intended.

As for reading the Bible, you can start anywhere. In my next post, I’ll offer a few suggestions that I’ve found useful through the years. But don’t wait for my ideas – get started. Adopt the request found in Psalm 119:18, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” Why wait? There’s no better time than the present.

Adoption: We’re All Candidates

Maclane's family "support group"

This weekend we’re holding a special celebration to officially welcome our grandson, Maclane, into the family. He’s been with us for months, but his adoption was finalized last week.

What a delightful, happy little baby he is – and how blessed we are to have him in our extended family. God has wonderful surprises for us as we move through life, and he’s one of them.

Before Maclane’s arrival, I never thought much about adoption. In the ‘80s my wife and I were foster parents to two foster babies while arrangements were being completed for adoptive families. But the idea never hit home, so to speak, before Maclane. Even Bible passages about adoption didn’t seem particularly meaningful. That’s changed, however.

Dad, Mom and Maclane

Romans 8:23 states, “…(we) groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:5 adds, “…we might receive the full rights (adoption) of sons.” And Ephesians 1:4-5 declares, “For he (God) chose us in him before the creation of the world… predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.”

There’s deep theology in those verses, but what stands out to me is although Maclane was not born biologically into our family, he was specifically chosen by his mom and dad, Sarah and Alan, to become their son. Maclane had no voice in the matter – but as you can see from the photo, he’s good with their decision.

His DNA is different, but he has full rights of a son – and always will. His biological parents could not keep him, but Maclane has a loving home where he’ll receive the nurture any child needs.

In John 15:16, Jesus told His followers, “You did not choose me, but I chose you….” Maclane didn’t select his parents, but they’ve accepted him, offering a life he couldn’t have imagined.

Those of us that are children of God also share the privilege of being chosen, handpicked by the Lord to become “heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7).

The singing group, Third Day, has a video, “Children of God.” In it, adoptive children slowly appear on screen wearing t-shirts that read, “ADOPTED.” By the end of the video, everyone – even their parents – wears the same shirt. Because if you’re a member of God’s eternal family, you’re adopted.

We might not fully “get” what that means right now, but the Bible assures that’s as good as it gets.