Not a dusty subject

You know how history class was in school.  Names, dates, and places.  So boring.  Well, sometimes the teacher showed a film.  That was a little better.

Over the years, my understanding of history has completed morphed into something vibrant and radically important.  Utterly essential for life.

It's not just for school--which means this post is not just for educators or students.  All of us need it.

History is a map.  If someone picked me up and dumped me at random into some city, I would have a hard time navigating.  But if I had a map, I could easily figure out what to do.  History is the map to the present.  It shows you how we got here.

When we get into a car, we might think of nothing past the steel and upholstery and our destination.  But if we know history, we know about Henry Ford, the invention of the assembly line, and the United Auto Workers' union.  We know about OPEC and the economy of Russia.  We can then better understand today's headlines relating to fracking, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Tesla Motor Company.

Granted, all this is still a bit boring.  But it gets better.  Because history is also a map of ideas.  And ideas are at least as important as technology (cars) or battles.

Julius Caesar is considered the first Roman emperor in what was originally a republic somewhat similar to our own.  He didn't call himself the emperor.  But we know what he did.  He disregarded the rule of law and illegally crossed the Rubicon river with his army.  The first Caesar counted on his personal popularity to keep himself in power in spite of his action.

The rule of law is the idea that all men, even the highest ruler, is subject to the law.  We can trace it down through history.  It sent down roots in England and later in the nascent United States.  Does it still hold sway in the minds of Americans?  It will affect our decision-making.  For whom should we vote?  The one who looks best in a suit, or the one with a firm belief in the rule of law?

Okay, maybe it's still a bit of work to disentangle plot threads like this.  But what about the great men and women of the past?  Traditionally, one purpose for teaching history has been to hold up exceptional people to the consideration of the student: models, heroes even.  It may seem old-fashioned.  But we don't have to white-wash the story to benefit from biographies.  Sometimes the faults of a Sam Houston or the health issues of a Teddy Roosevelt make their subsequent accomplishments all the more remarkable and inspiring.

And reading about people is just plain fun.  Poring over a well-written biography not only acquaints the reader with the historical personage, it painlessly infuses a knowledge of the culture and thought-life of the time and place.

I haven't even gotten to the best part yet.  The best part is the overarching truth that all history is governed--planned out even--by God.  We can indeed call it His Story.  That doesn't mean that all things that happen are good in themselves.  But it gives us a fundamental philosophy from which to start.

We know that the Bible reveals the purpose of history.  We see sin from the get-go.  But we also see the redemptive work of God from eternity past to eternity future.  All of history glorifies God.  The details of history don't always make much sense to our eyes.  But we know God is in control. We can also study history with the perspective that the redemptive work of Christ is the most important part.   We see around the world how the Truth influences lives and whole cultures.

The cross itself is that unique place in history upon which all else hinges.  At that point in time the  God-man entered our time-space continuum and gave His life for His enemies.  The Gospel is both the touchstone and the goal of history.  We can study history and worship.

Fluff and Flowers

I love weddings.  I love the fluff and the flowers and the lace.

But flowers don't make a marriage.  Flowers die.  All the sentimental romantic stuff we enjoy in movies just doesn't cut it when shoved up against real life.

Not even Victoria's Secret can help when you have a disabled child or no money to pay the bills.  Sometimes it doesn't take a crisis to erode a marriage, just the everyday pettiness of our own selfish selves.

We get irritated at our spouse's habits.  We feel constricted by the other's wants or needs.  Our affection can get eroded and replaced, slowly, by bitterness.

I like to watch romantic movies in which, against all odds, Cinderella gets her Prince Charming and they live happily ever after.  I like these movies because this is how marriage ought to be, first of all, and also, because it is a prophecy of things yet to come (more on this later).

"But I thought you said marriage wasn't fluff and flowers."  Romance goes deeper, way deeper than the flowers.  True love is embodied in the vows.  Listen to them again: ". . . for better or for worse . . . "  Do you hear what this is saying?

It means that when your spouse makes a really bad decision, you stand by him or her.  It means that you stick close when that child is in critical condition or when the money is tight.  It means that you won't allow your innate selfishness to get in the way of your promises.  You will be there, not just physically, but wholeheartedly, all the days of your life.

This mistake we make is this: that feelings are enough.  We don't say this, but it is how we act.  Psychologists describe the symptoms of "falling in love" in harsh, biochemical terms.  In the best of circumstances, the hormones will subside.  

Christian love is described in I Corinthians 13.  "Love is patient, love is kind . . . love endures all things . . . love never fails."  In the Bible we get the clear picture of a kind of love that does not rely on hormones for its power, but on the Holy Spirit of God.  It is not selfish, but self-less.  It gives and doesn't take.

If you are reading this and thinking, "Impossible.  This kind of love is impossible," then you are on the right track.  It is impossible in ourselves.  Only Jesus Christ can give us this ability to love.  And it's not by magic.  It's not the kind of transaction in which God magically pours this ability into you.

Instead, it works like this: you come to God through Jesus Christ, acknowledging your sinful state. Your condition before God is really your only true need.  Through the blood of Christ we can be forgiven and reconciled to God.  Once we have this life in Christ we walk by faith, obeying His word.

If our focus is on Christ and not our marriage, there is hope.  I know it sounds paradoxical, but it is true.  If two people are walking together with their eyes on Christ they are walking in the same direction.  They have the power of the Spirit to put to death the sins of the flesh--the biggie here is selfishness, which comes in many forms and will destroy a marriage.  Even when your partner is not a Christian, there can still be a quiet joy as God overrules anything and everything for good.

And the end game?  Cinderella and the Prince lived happily ever after.  Our Prince is Christ.  One day the picture, the type, of earthly marriage will dissolve away and we will be a part of the Greater Truth: the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  A perfect, spotless Bride comes to the One Who made her that way.  What a day that will be!