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Original airdate: Friday, September 13, 2019
*** SHOW NOTES (not a transcript) ***
Lead:
How not to suck at either one.
Intro:
Last night I had dinner with a new friend, and I couldn’t help but think of this saying:
A finger is good for pointing to the moon, but woe to him who mistakes the finger for the moon.(1) ~ Zen saying quoted by Joel McDurmon
Happy Friday the 13th, 2019. If you are newer to the program, welcome. And you should know this: In addition to reading the Bible like we’re just having a cup of coffee together, we talk about stuff here that probably doesn’t get preached about on Sunday mornings, and I always cite my sources if you want to check up on me. Often there is something in each podcast program’s corresponding blog post that doesn’t make it on the air. And since we follow the annual reading plan with The Bible Project, you’ll find their corresponding video there, too.
Today we start the book of John, and the first verse contains a Greek word that is foundational to Christianity, logos. John’s using this to describe Jesus. I want you to pay attention to the claim he’s making about Jesus, and when we get to the Think & Reflect segment, I’ll share a thought about how I think this relates to leadership.
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Bible Reading (modified Bible Project plan):
Passage: John 1-2
Translation: NET (New English Translation)
Verses: 76
Words: ~1633
Think & Reflect:
Confession: I recorded this whole show yesterday and realized today that I had blown it. I misquote someone the whole way. I hope you’ll grant me some grace on the following thoughts that may or may not come out right.
Yesterday I had dinner with a friend who’s really struggling with a misdefinition of leadership as authoritarian, except this friend doesn’t realize that’s what they’re struggling with, and so isn’t looking for help. It made me think of Jesus, King of the universe, when he says
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would have none of it! Look, your house is left to you desolate!” ~ Mt 23:37–38, NET (2)
It is no mistake that Logos, Jesus, accords with logic. John is telling us that Jesus is God and is Creator of the cosmos. But remember when, in John 14, John quotes Jesus saying, “If you love me, you’ll keep my commandments?”
I don’t have the space or time here to explore the mystery — when we’re in love will our actions accord with his commandments, or his logic? Or will we sometimes, maybe even when don’t feel like it, keep his commandments as a volitional act of love?
I think it’s both.
Remember, Truth is that which accords with reality, the reality is we don’t have to look far to see that the world needs saving. But it’s not rescued by truth propositions or intellectual assent or religiosity — we’re rescued when we trust the Rescuer, Jesus.
But we don’t have a Rescuer who is just a God of love, He’s also King.
A lie of culture today is that we are autonomous — that we rule ourselves. Ironically, we suck at leadership and think others do, too, when we fail to be good followers. We perpetuate the lie of the Fall in Genesis 3, and what was the Enemy’s message to Adam and Eve? God is holding out on you, holding something back from you. You should be autonomous, deciding what is good and evil for yourself.
There’s just one problem, of course. We aren’t actually God and God, Jesus, is. It’s His world, his logic, his love, and his consequences.
I grieve for my friend because without even realizing it is rejecting Jesus’ authority on some level because of experiencing the failure of broken human leaders. There is no trust of people, but this translates to not trusting, if not submitting to, the leadership of the one person who created us.
Which brings us back to where we began.
A finger is good for pointing to the moon, but woe to him who mistakes the finger for the moon.
Wisdom segment:
Passage:
Translation: NET (New English Translation)
Verses:
Words:
Love you!
-R
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) Joel McDurmon, Biblical Logic in Theory & Practice: Refuting the Fallacies of Humanism, Darwinism, Atheism, and Just Plain Stupidity (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2011), 14. (Thank you for supporting our ministry by using this link when purchasing this book)
(2) Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005), Mt 23:37–38.