Author: kevingdrendel

I am sixtiesh, an English Literature major in college and an attorney by profession. Faith informs my life, and this blog is about my faith journey.

Intellectuals May Enter

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There is a common perception among “intellectuals” that religion is for simpletons and faith requires abandoning the intellect. Nothing could be further from the truth in my opinion. I graduated 2nd in my class in law school. I am smarter than the average bear. I do not mean to boast. There are far smarter people than I in the world. One of those people was a good friend in college. She graduated #1 in our class with a perfect 4.0 GPA. She was a triple major, including Physics, Math and Russian studies. She has a PhD in Astrophysics. She was also a leader in a campus ministry in college.

You do not have to leave your brain at the door of faith, and you should not feel like a second class intellectual citizen to be a Christian. Intellect is not the sole province of the irreligious. Do not buy into that lie.

And for those thinking that Atheists are smarter than people who believe in God, think again:

 

Into the Light

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Psalm 139 is a favorite of mine. It can be very comforting knowing that God is intimately familiar with me. He knows my struggles, my good intentions, what I long for and what I need.

You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.

On the other hand, God knows my demons, my sinful thoughts, my envious, hateful, spiteful and selfish thoughts. He not only sees the good things I do that I want others to know; he sees the bad things I do that I want no one to see. The idea that God knows me so well – even better than I know myself – is both a wonderful and a fearful thing!

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

King David’s question is rhetorical of course. The answer is surely nowhere. Nowhere can I go that God is not present. David takes comfort in that thought.

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

That knowledge is as unnerving as it is comforting. Nowhere can I go that God is not present and nothing can I do, or even think, that God does not know it.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden, their first reaction was to hide themselves from God. People have been hiding from God ever since. It is as futile an exercise as it is foolish. God’s knows every hair on our heads, and He knows every thought that runs through our heads. He surely knows every action that we take. There is nothing we can hide from God.

Jesus lamented, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” Matthew 23:26-28 He sees past the outside – what we do and say for others to see. God sees into our hearts – places that we dare not even look at times.

Jesus also upped the ante: He said, the law states “thou shall not commit murder” and “thou shall not commit adultery,” but one who harbors anger against another person is subject to judgment and one who harbors lustful thoughts for his neighbor’s wife has committed adultery in his heart. Matthew 5:20-28

What is the point? We fool only ourselves and maybe others (certainly not everyone) to think that we are in any way righteous. There is no hiding from God. If the law of do’s and don’t’s is not enough to convince us that we are imperfect, sinful beings, then consider that every thought is measured against perfection. There is nowhere to hide.

Consider also that everything will be exposed. “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.” 1 Corinthians 4:4-6 Imagine a video of all of the bad things you have done, all of the hateful, hurtful thoughts, played in front of God, you and all mankind when the curtain falls on your life.

The terrible truth is that every person has sinned; we have all missed the mark God set for us. Ephesians 2:23 If anyone claims he has not sinned, he is a liar. John 1:10

The devil is a liar and the father of all lies. John 8:44 Satan would have us bury those miserable thoughts and deeds and keep the skeletons in the closet, not admitting them even to those closest to us, not even to oursleves.

God is truth. John 4:24 There is no escaping God, but God desires mercy, not sacrifice and burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 He is not looking for people who do everything right; he is looking for people who have a right heart.

If we step into the light, our condition is exposed. But, that is where we find truth; that is where we find God. Our natural inclination is to shrink back, but God calls us out of darkness into His wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:8-10 In that light, with our sinfulness exposed, we ask for forgiveness, and our sins are forgiven.

God is truth, and we draw near to God when we draw near to truth, even the ugly truth of the sin that lies in our own hearts. Only in the light God’s truth can we find the comfort that comes from communion with God in spirit and truth. “[A] time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24

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“Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Psalm 32:1-3

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:5-6

We Are All Born That Way

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Modern science maintains that gays & lesbians are born that way. Biblical are pretty clear that homosexual acts are sin and not what God designed or intended. Indeed, the anatomy of men and women suggest, at least for the sexual act, that God and nature are in agreement on this.

In my own life, having observed two young women who were close to the family at one time, it seems to me that sexual orientation is something ingrained from an early age. It seems very plausible that people are “born that way.” I have a gay cousin. I have also known gay Christians. I had a gay Christian room-mate in college.

It appears quite empirically that people are born or become sexually oriented at a very early age. At the same time, the Bible is quite clear on homosexuality. It is sinful. It is not what God intended. These are difficult realities to reconcile.

I suppose it should not be a surprise that some people are born or develop a gay or lesbian inclination very early on. The Bible is equally clear that we are all born into sin. As Adam sinned, he spawned a legacy of sin that has been passed down in some genetic and most likely spiritual sense to the present time. It is our lot in life.

Some of us develop lying and deceitful ways from an early age. Some of us develop bullying, envious, angry, selfish, or gluttonous ways. Some of us develop lustful ways at a very, very early age. More likely, we are born that way or with those tendencies, and we all stray down those paths from very, very early on.

We are all sinners. We have all strayed from God. There is none righteous, not even one. Romans 3:10

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8

The good news is that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us on the cross. Romans 5:8 God clearly loves all of us. He loves us so much that He was willing, and He did, die for us. He loves me, though I am inclined every day of my life to be selfish, gluttonous, lustful, unkind and sinful in a multitude of ways.
He clearly loves our gay and lesbian family members, friends and neighbors. We are all “born that way”.

Stepping Into the Light

If we step into the light, our condition is exposed. But, that is where we find truth; that is where we find God

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Psalm 139 is a favorite of mine. It can be very comforting knowing that God is intimately familiar with me. He knows my struggles, my good intentions, what I long for and what I need.

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.

(Psalm 139:1-4) On the other hand, God knows my demons, my sinful thoughts, my envious, hateful, spiteful and selfish thoughts. He not only sees the good things I do and think (that I want others to know); He sees the bad things I do and think (that I want no one to see). The idea that God knows me so well – even better than I know myself – is both a wonderful and a fearful thing!

The amazing thing is that He loves me. He knows me intimately – better than I know myself. and He loves me.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence

(Psalm 139:7) King David’s question is rhetorical of course. The answer is clearly nowhere. Nowhere can I go that God is not present. David takes comfort in that thought.

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

(Psalm 139:8-10) That knowledge is as unnerving as it is comforting. Nowhere can I go that God is not present and nothing can I do, or even think, that God does not know it. David knew this full well. He learned it intimately through experience.

After he was tempted and succumbed to that temptation, seeing Bathsheba from his roof top, inviting her into his home and lying with her, and then plotting to send her husband to his death to cover up the misdeed, David was called to account by God in dramatic fashion. David’s sin was laid bare. He was completely undone by it. So, David knew well these words:

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

(Psalm 139:11-12) When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, their first reaction was to hide themselves from God. People have been hiding from God ever since to this day. Hiding from God is as futile an exercise as it is foolish. God knows every hair on our heads and every thought that runs through our heads. He surely knows every action that we take. There is nothing hidden from God.

Continue reading “Stepping Into the Light” →

The Best and Hardest Things

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Some of the most important things my father told me I did not want to hear.

That is the nature of the father/son relationship, especially when a son begins to spread his wings as a teenager and begins to separate from his parents emotionally. Whether a son listens to the experienced advice of his father will likely contribute to his successes, failures and relative ease or difficulty with which he handles both.

The attorney/client, doctor/patient and many other relationships involve a similar dynamic. Any time a more experienced or learned person gives advice to a less experienced or learned person, the success of the person taking that advice depends on whether they follow it. As an attorney, I can attest that my clients do not always follow my advice, even when they have paid for it; but that is another subject.

I do not mean to suggest that a father, lawyer or doctor is always right. On the other hand, if Vegas placed bets on the advice of a father, doctor or lawyer, and if the results could be readily gathered and calculated on the degree of success following that advice compared to not following it, I would be willing to bet the odds favor the success of following that advice.

Human beings do not like being told what to do. Human nature is resistant to the control and influence of others. We like our freedom. We tend to trust ourselves more than others, even when we should not trust ourselves – even when our track record suggests we should not trust ourselves.

A wise person recognizes that other more experienced and learned people have value to offer, even if they are not charging for the advice they give. A wise person seeks to learn from those people, even when what they say is difficult to accept, even when it nicks our pride and means that we must change how we see or do things.

The worst thing that can happen is that the advice we follow does not bear the fruit we hoped. At that point, the advice can be abandoned for something else. Taking the advice and following it is still a good risk.

As Albert Einstein famously said, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The important thing is that we learn from our own mistakes. We can also learn from others’ mistakes (which often comes in the form of the advice that we receive from those who have made those mistakes) and learn to avoid those same mistakes in the future by changing our ways.

Sometimes the advice we get is hard to accept, but it can be the best thing for us. It can be a game changer.