This week I spoke at the Women’s Bible study on Philippians 4:1-9 (Audio at the bottom). This passage has an interesting beginning to it because Paul starts by admonishing two female leaders in the church. He never specifies what the problem was, but he encourages them to be of one mind and to live together in harmony.

When I first encountered this passage, I was a little frustrated. I mean, women already have the reputation for being catty. Do we really need a Scriptural passage to reinforce it? To be fair, we really have no idea what was going on between these two women–they could have had a genuine disagreement over how to disperse the church’s resources, and their feelings got hurt along the way. No claws necessarily came out. But even so, it caused me to stop and ponder why it is that women are so darn competitive.

I talked about this some in my message this week, but I wanted to highlight a few tidbits from it because I found this information to be so fascinating:

• More than 90 percent of women of different social strata claim that envy and jealously toward other women colors their lives
• 80 percent of women say they have encountered jealousy in other females since they were in grade school
• 90 percent of women in diverse jobs report that competition in the workplace is primarily between women, rather than between women and men
• More than 65% said that they were jealous of their best friend or sister

I found these statistics in a book entitled Tripping the Prom Queen: The Truth about Women and Rivalry by Susan Shapiro Barash. Barash is not a Christian author, but she’s written a lot about female relationships. In this particular book, she included an explanation for female competitiveness that I found to be very insightful. She wrote:

“Our definition of ourselves is bound up in our perception of other women. We see ourselves through comparisons with our mother, our sisters, our friends, and our colleagues. For a whole host of reasons, we have a hard time seeing ourselves as separate individuals with destinies of our own. Instead, we view our identities as a kind of zero-sum game: We succeed where our mothers fail; we gain what other women lose. We can’t envision succeeding or failing on our own terms; we can only measure ourselves against other females. So first we envy the powerful women we see in the media, and then we symbolically triumph over them as they crash and burn.”

In other words, competition between women ultimately stems from finding our identities in something other than Christ. Namely, we are measuring ourselves against one another and against some vague, cultural conception of what “the perfect woman, wife and mother” looks like. Before the Fall, we were free to enjoy relationships, but ever since then we’ve been using relationships for our own broken purposes.

Barash’s comments were revelatory to me. Women do often function in a zero-sum game mentality, as if there can only be one winner. We have a scarcity complex, as if there’s not enough of God’s goodness and blessing to go around, so we need to fight for it.

That is why, in the face of our “threatening” sisters, we need to remember two things:

1. God’s love and grace are infinitely abundant. He will never run out of good, unique plans for His children. We don’t have to feel as if one women’s triumph is at the cost of every other woman around her.

2. God has a different plan for each of us. I like what Barash said about individual destinies. Rather than try to conform our lives to some pre-determined cultural mold, and subsequently feel like a failure when some part of your life does not, focus on the plan God has for you. then you won’t be stuck comparing yourself to others to see how you’re doing.

Some interesting things to think about. But the main thing to remember is that in a culture where women are so highly competitive, this is an area in which we can easily stand out. The first step in doing this is acknowledging that we women are competitive and understanding why: That is, we’re sinners in need of the peace and security of life in Christ.

As Christians, we live in a performance based culture that measures success according to how much you can cram into your life. The more you do, the more you’re doing, so to speak. This mentality has, by and large, infiltrated the church, and you don’t have to look beyond the church’s leadership to see that. Many pastors are over-worked and burned out, and their families suffer as a result.

This over-commitment is also the reason many pastors are more susceptible to moral failures. I recently heard about a study in which participants were given either a 2 digit number or a 7 digit number to remember, and then sent down a hallway where they were presented with two options: a sensible cup of fruit, or a delicious (but extremely unhealthy) piece of chocolate cake. The participants had to choose which one they would accept.

What the study found was this: The participants who were trying to remember the 7 digit number were TWICE as likely to choose the cake.

Why did this happen? According to the scientist who conducted the study, Professor Baba Shiv, “Those extra numbers took up valuable space in the brain — they were a ‘cognitive load’ — making it that much harder to resist a decadent dessert. In other words, willpower is so weak, and the prefrontal cortex is so overtaxed, that all it takes is five extra bits of information before the brain starts to give in to temptation.”

Jonah Lehrer, who authored the book How We Choose and included this study in it, also explained, “The part of our brain that is most reasonable, rational and do-the-right-thing is easily toppled by the pull of raw sensual appetite, the lure of sweet. Knowing something is the right thing to do takes work — brain work — and our brains aren’t always up to that.”

In other words, the more we have going on in our brains and in our lives, the more likely we are to make bad decisions. Or at the very least, it clogs our brains in a way that makes consistent, good decision-making difficult.

This study has very real implications for Christians, but especially for leaders. All Christians should bear in mind that if you cram your schedule instead of making time to rest (Ex. 20:8) and be still (Psalm 46:10), you’re more likely to make some bad decisions along the way. But Christians leaders should especially be mindful that their scheduling choices set an example for the rest of their church. When Christian leaders feed into the performance-based, frenetic pace of the surrounding culture, they risk causing their flock to stumble.

It is with all of this in mind that I was both pleased and blessed to hear about one Christian leader who is breaking the mold and setting a different kind of example with his actions. John Piper has recently decided to take a 6 month sabbatical from preaching, writing, tweeting, etc.–in other words, he’s taking a REAL sabbatical, not just a pseudo-sabbatical from one job so he can spend time working somewhere else.

On his blog he explained his thought process and I want to excerpt it here. I cannot express how much I respect him for this decision:

I asked the elders to consider this leave because of a growing sense that my soul, my marriage, my family, and my ministry-pattern need a reality check from the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, I love my Lord, my wife, my five children and their families first and foremost; and I love my work of preaching and writing and leading Bethlehem. I hope the Lord gives me at least five more years as the pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem.

Noël and I are rock solid in our commitment to each other, and there is no whiff of unfaithfulness on either side. But, as I told the elders, “rock solid” is not always an emotionally satisfying metaphor, especially to a woman. A rock is not the best image of a woman’s tender companion. In other words, the precious garden of my home needs tending. I want to say to Noël that she is precious to me in a way that, at this point in our 41-year pilgrimage, can be said best by stepping back for a season from virtually all public commitments.

While not every person is in a financial position to quit their job for 6 months and have it waiting for them when they return, the heart of Piper’s decision is an important one. We do not measure our schedules according to worldly standards of success. We measure them according to a God who says that rest is good and He designed us to have it. Does your schedule reflect this truth?

Yesterday Cas spoke at WBS about the second half of Philippians 3 and knocked it out of the park! (I’m still working on posting the audio but we’re having technical difficulties. I’m probably the difficulty, but I’m working on it.) Since I can’t post the audio, I wanted to highlight something she said that has not only captivated my imagination but given me new direction in my prayer life.

As Cas recounted the conversion of Paul, she pointed out something rather remarkable. In chapter 3 of Philippians we get to witness firsthand the dramatic change between Paul “pre-Christ” and Paul “post-Christ.” In verses 4-6 he describes his previous status as the ultimate Jew and persecutor of the church, but in the rest of the chapter we encounter evidence of a dramatic transformation. Rather than persecute the church, he now builds it up.

What Cas pointed out that I had never heard before is that the Greek word for “persecute” (v. 6) is the same word used in verses 12 and 14 to mean “press on:”

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

The Greek word there is dioko, and like many Greek words its meaning changes somewhat depending on the context. Clearly, there are two different contexts between verse 6 and verses 12-14, given that they are translated so differently. The irony is that both uses occur within the context of Paul’s life. Paul’s life changed so dramatically that dioko took on a completely different meaning when applied to his converted life.

In practical terms, this means that the same zeal with which Paul persecuted the church was now redirected toward growing the church. And when I think about it, that makes sense. God had created Paul with that passionate drive, but because of his fallen nature he was using it for evil. The zeal was good and God-given, but the aim was wrong. So God changed Paul’s life, and changed Paul’s aim. He saw the potential in Paul to use his gifts for the good of the Kingdom, and He used them.

This story should challenge us in the way we see non-Christians in our lives. It’s so easy to take an adversarial stance, getting defensive or pointing out the things about them that are wrong. But what a terribly hopeless perspective!

Instead, the story of Paul should spark our imaginations. Rather than condemn people or judge them, dream on their behalf! Look for their strengths, the things about them that were clearly given to them by God but have simply been misdirected, and then pray for their Christ-like potential.

Maybe you have a friend who excels in the business world but is consumed by the drive for success. What would their life look like, how could they use their gifts, if God got a hold of them? Maybe you know someone who, like Paul, is extremely critical of the Christian faith and enjoys debating all the reasons that God can’t exist. Just imagine if that same passion to engage issues of truth with fervor and zeal were harnessed on behalf of the Gospel?

God has the ability to redeem ANYONE, so it’s important that we pray with that perspective in mind. Rather than simply dislike unbelievers or see them as lost causes, dream God-sized dreams on their behalf! Imagine what God could do with their gifts, and then pray for those things to happen! Such a perspective will help to stave off the us versus them mentality that we so easily sink to, but it is also far more faithful to the redemptive character of God, with whom we ALWAYS have a reason to hope.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes I received yesterday! The day was not as bad as I thought it would be. I got an amazing massage (happy birthday to ME!) and spent the evening with some dear friends. I couldn’t ask for more!

One of my special gifts yesterday was a conversation with a friend who is single and recently turned 30 herself. Those of you in my friend circle will know exactly who I’m talking about because she’s one of the wisest women I know. Scripture and wisdom just pour out of her in every conversation we have! (She’s probably blushing at this point, but she deserves it!)

Well as we reflected on the challenges of getting older and comparing ourselves to friends who are ahead of us in life, she said something that really stuck out to me. We were discussing the struggle of waiting for the next stage in life, and how desperately we desire to jump ahead of ourselves, when she said, “You know, we’re all waiting beings. We became waiting beings at the Fall. Ever since then, we’ve all been waiting for the return of Christ.”

So perfectly said! As Christians, we live in a state of already but not yet. We have salvation and we share in the riches of Christ. We have hope in a dark world and we are not enslaved to the trappings of this world. We are already saved.

And yet our salvation is not yet complete. We are still stuck in this fallen world, waiting to be set free from it. Many time in Scripture Paul confesses his desire to depart from this world and be with Christ. And sometimes it’s easy to understand that sentiment. We are constantly waiting for the day when there is no more pain and no more tears. No more waiting.

Knowing this, I think it’s important that we wait on the right thing. Yes, waiting is a reality of the Christian life. That is unavoidable. But what are you waiting for? Are you longing for the day when you are perfectly united with God in bliss and worshipful perfection, or are you waiting for your next job promotion, or when you can afford to upgrade your house? Those things aren’t bad, but how woefully small they seem in comparison with eternity!

Allow your focus on Christ’s return to keep your short-term waiting in perspective. Christ-focused waiting is the only waiting that, once attained, will end all waiting forever. No other end to worldly waiting will satisfy us in this way–we will simply find something else to wait on. So be realistic about the fact that you are a waiting being, and then remind yourself just what you’re truly waiting for. You do need a job and you do need a house, but those things will also pass away. What you ultimately need is Jesus.

Well it’s after midnight here in good ol’ NC which means that it’s officially my birthday. I am 29. This is my last year being in my 20′s. I’m freaking out.

Last week I was on Duke’s campus at the gym and as I walked to the parking lot I noticed a student’s car with the following sticker on its bumper: “Duke Class of 2013.” I quickly did the math in my head. That student is a Freshman, and he or she will graduate from college exactly 10 years after me. I’m telling you–FREAking out.

I don’t know why the number 29 has sent me into such a tizzy (next year I’ll probably be a train wreck) but the older I get the more I think, “Wait, how did I get here so fast? Where did my life go?” Then I start to think about all the things I wish I had already done (like become a world famous author…or at the very least write A book) and I get even more depressed. I feel like time is literally slipping through my fingers.

It’s not that I’m afraid of aging (scratch that–I’m totally afraid of aging) but my real fear is that I’ve wasted the time on earth that I’ve already spent. It’s so easy to compare myself to others. Either I haven’t accomplished as much as other people, or I haven’t started having kids yet, or we still live in an apartment instead of a real house. All these comparisons to other people who have done all those things make me feel like I’m behind in life. They create in me an urgency to catch up and do more.

When faced with this feeling, I’ve had to be very intentional about taking my thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). I’ve had to remember that I’m on nobody’s timeline but God’s. He has a perfect plan for me with perfect timing, and rather than judge that plan according to others’ timelines, I need to rest in it. Even enjoy it!

I am working on trusting God in this area, believing that I am exactly where He wants me to be right now. So I encourage you to do the same. If, for instance, you’re one of my friends, you may have even looked at my life and compared yourself to me, using the comparison as evidence that you too are behind. If that’s true, I hope my own confession encourages you. That fear you have is not unique to your season in life. It’s unique to being human. Each one of us has our own uniquely designed timeline that is just for us; each one of us also has the fallen tendency to compare our timelines to others, to desire the greener grass. So don’t feed into it. The answer is not to have that “next thing” but to be satisfied with where God has you now. Otherwise, the cycle never stops.

My heart still accelerates when I think about the fact that I’m turning 30 next year, but I’m on God’s timeline and I know He has good plans for me each year that He’s placed me on this earth.

So here’s to finishing off my 20′s strong!

Ugh, Jesus please help me!

This week at Women’s Bible Study I taught on the first half of Philippians 3 in which Paul confronts some spiritually toxic religious leaders. They are trying to add stipulations to the Gospel–namely the Jewish law–and Paul is irate. His subsequent response to them is both clever and challenging, and I learned a lot in my research this week. In case you missed my talk, the audio is below:

One of the things I mention in my talk that I wanted to highlight on my blog as well is Paul’s testimony. It’s totally different than how we think of testimonies today. Generally when someone is asked to share their testimony at church, it’s because they have a really dramatic story. Before Christ their life was in the gutter, but then they got saved and now they’re completely different. That kind of thing.

Paul’s testimony, on the other hand, doesn’t go that route. If you read Philippians 3:4-6 Paul essentially shares his testimony, but he does so in a surprising way. He describes his life before Christ, but what is striking about his story is that he emphasizes how good he was, not how bad. In fact, his life pre-Jesus was pretty much all that he hoped it would be and more. He was perfectly happy and content. He was on the road to success, and he thought he had a good standing before God.

But then God intervened, opened Paul’s eyes, and the rest is history.

Now I don’t know about you, but I take a lot of comfort in Paul’s testimony because I always thought my testimony was lame. I never had a rebellious phase. I was a good kid who always did what I thought was right. Along the way I heard about Jesus and it sounded right to me, so I began to follow Him.

Not exactly the kind of story that your church will make a video about.

Yet Paul’s testimony reminds us of something very important: EVERY testimony is powerful. You see, we talk about non-Christians as if they’re all miserable and they hate their lives so we need to show them a better way. But that’s simply not true. A lot of non-Christians are perfectly content and happy with their lives. They don’t think they need anything else. To these people, Christianity is merely a lifesaver to those who are drowning–it’s just one more self-help option among many, but not something they really need.

It is for this demographic that “lame” testimonies like mine are important. For those people who believe religion is just an “opiate for the masses,” our lives prove otherwise. Not all of us came to Christ because we’d hit rock bottom. For some of us, we heard the Gospel and knew it was true. That was all it took. And for others, we had everything the world had to offer but we knew that there had to be something more. And then we found Christ.

These are less dramatic stories and they don’t get very much attention, but your testimony is powerful to someone. So own it! Tell you story to people. Why do you follow Jesus? What brought you to him? Your story doesn’t have to be dramatic, but you DO have to have a reason. So don’t be ashamed of the way you became a Christian. If you’re like Paul, then you’re in good company!

This weekend Ike and I got to attend the ACC tournament in Greensboro to cheer on our Blue Devils. My parents also came up for the tournament so we had a blast! There were some nail biters games but we pulled through and won the tournament so it couldn’t have been a much better weekend!

Throughout the tournament we sat in the Duke section (they had the coliseum sectioned off according to each school) and our seats were right on the end of the row. After a few games my dad pointed out that one of the steps just below us was slightly shorter than all the others (Pictured left–that’s right, I took a picture of it! Graphics are nice, I think. It’s the one labeled “KK”), and he’d been watching people trip on it all weekend.

Well after he told me this I started paying CLOSE attention. The Duke section was filled with really old people who probably graduated from Duke 70 years ago and could barely walk, let alone navigate the tricky coliseum steps. I was now convinced that someone was going to fall and break their neck on that step. I was ready to swoop in and grab someone if I needed to.

However, after I watched that step long enough I began to notice something very surprising. The old people weren’t the ones who had trouble with the step. It was the young people who did. The first guy I saw nearly wipe out was probably in his late 20′s, physically fit, well-dressed, had it all together kind of a guy. But he was rushing down the steps, confident in his balance and not worried about taking it carefully. So when he wasn’t paying attention, he tripped on the short step.

The older people, on the other hand, took that step like a champ. Why? Because they paid attention to every single step they took. Each step was taken cautiously and slowly, and they never lifted their head to look around them, never taking a step for granted. They knew that if they weren’t careful they could fall, so they were diligent about each step they took. As a result, I never saw an older person stumble. Only the young people did.

As I watched all this go down I turned to Ike and said, “There’s got to be a lesson in that!” I think he may have rolled his eyes, apparently less in awe of the teaching potential than I was, but I was truly struck by this. While there’s an obvious application to the immediate context–namely, don’t rush down steep steps–I spent the rest of the weekend pondering what the spiritual insight might be.

What I came up with is this: The short step teaches us a lesson about wisdom.  All the natural abilities and strengths in the world don’t make up for wisdom. In fact, our natural abilities can sometimes make us proud in a way that blinds us. We aren’t able to see potential pitfalls or dangers because we are over-confident in ourselves. So rather than seek God, be patient and wait on Him, we cast wisdom aside and rush forward full force.

Practically speaking, this happens when we assume anything without first seeking God. Perhaps we decide to take on a ministry commitment or a job or a dating relationship that just “seems” right or we’re sure we can handle. It’s simple enough or easy enough or all the circumstances have perfectly aligned. Of course this is God’s will, right? Why even seek Him?

However these decisions have more to do with arrogance than wisdom. We aren’t stopping and seeking God. We aren’t searching our hearts for sinful motivations or potential dangers. We are spiritually brash, and as a result we often trip and fall. That’s why the old Duke fans had it right. Yes, their age forced them to slow down, and sometimes God forces us to slow down and pay attention to Him as well, but don’t wait for that. Pray for wisdom. Pray for discernment. Pray for the patience of spirit to stop and seek God before making a decision. And not just in the big things–do this in the small things as well. Be discerning about how you schedule lunches with people or spend money on a new outfit. We must constantly seek God’s wisdom in how we spend our time, money, and energy. That seemingly small thing you commit to might be the short step that sends you tumbling!

In case you’re wondering why I didn’t post any audio from Women’s Bible study last week, it’s because Durham was hit with a snow blizzard. That’s right, a whole quarter of an inch fell on our city during the night and melted almost as soon as the sun hit it. So we responded appropriately by delaying all our school openings the next day.

As a result of our snow armageddon, we had to cancel Women’s Bible study for the week. But now we’re back! This week Cas spoke on Philippians 2 and you can listen to it here:

Cas brought a great message, and as I’ve reflected on the chapter of Philippians 2 this week I’ve particularly been struck by verses 5-11:

5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

This passage, and the story of Christ’s sacrifice, is not only liberating in that it reminds us of our salvation, but it also provides us with a road map for how we should live our lives. This passage is the ultimate example of what it means to be like Christ, but not in the way you might think.

To understand why I’m getting at, begin by considering the following quote by C.S. Lewis:

“The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become…I am not, in my natural state, nearly so much of a person as I like to believe: most of what I call ‘me” can be very easily explained. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own…Until you have given up yourself to Him you will not have a real self.”

In short: Only the One who created you knows who you truly are, so stop trying to find your identity in other things. Once you surrender yourself fully to God, then you will become your true self–what you were created to be.

The reason I included this quote from C.S. Lewis is that his words provide us with a lens through which to read Philippians 2. When Paul says that we should have the same attitude as Christ, he is not referring to Christ’s humility and suffering. Anyone can act humble and anyone can suffer without having any motivation related to Christ. Paul is referring to something else.

The REAL goal, the true way of modeling Christ, and the actual meaning of Paul’s word in Philippians 2, is by doing what C.S. Lewis described above. Like Christ, we should give ourselves up and make ourselves “nothing” so that God has room to move in. Then, and only then, will we be our true selves, what we were created to be. And only then can God be clearly magnified. While it is possible to do this through humility and suffering, it is Christ’s attitude behind them that we are to specifically model.

Christ’s humanity “became nothing” so that God’s glory could shine through. By letting his human body be crushed, he gave us a more clear picture of the ways and character of God. And that is what it means to have the same attitude as Christ. We make less of ourselves so that more can be made of God. We must let go of the things about ourselves that we cling to instead of God so that when people look at our lives, they see Him, not us.

Christ made himself nothing on the cross by the way in which he faced suffering, but there are other ways of making ourselves nothing as well. We can choose to forgive instead of hate. We can choose to be kind to someone who gets our our nerves. We can choose not cuss someone out who cuts us off in traffic! There are countless ways to cling to God’s strength instead of our own human strength, and in doing so make much of His abilities instead of our own.

The way we respond to suffering is only one of the ways that God’s glory can shine through us, so we should neither avoid nor pursue it. The only thing we should actively pursue is the attitude behind Christ’s suffering. It is because of his attitude that we have the clearest picture of God’s nature, character and power when He is nailed to a cross. That attitude is what we are to model every day of our lives.

Just over a month ago Christianity Today published an interview with Gayle Haggard, the wife of former President of the National Association of Evangelicals and pastor of New Life church, Ted Haggard. In 2006 Ted Haggard was exposed as having paid a male escort for sex and methamphetamine. As a result of the allegations, the leaders at New Life church asked Haggard to leave the church and the state of Colorado altogether. Since then, Ted and Gayle have fought for their marriage and are now speaking openly about the experience. Gayle has also written a book documenting the ordeal entitled Why I Stayed: The Choices I Made in My Darkest Hour.

I highly recommend reading the interview. Gayle’s example is both inspiring and humbling. The Haggards’ story challenges us to consider what it means to be God’s church and it raises some important questions, such as the nature of church discipline when dealing with a repentant sinner.

But for the intents of this blog I want to focus on one particular issue that that this story raises: How should the church respond to the wife of a man who strays?

It is difficult to imagine what it was like for Gayle to not only suffer the betrayal of her husband, but the abandonment of her church as well. Though her husband was the transgressor, her injury was two-fold.

What is even more tragically ironic is that she was essentially punished for doing the right thing. Rather than divorce her husband, she chose to fight for her marriage. Had she decided to leave her husband and stay at the church, she might have had a support system to lift her up. But because she made the decision to stay with him, she inherited his outcast status. This cannot be right, can it?

Even more troubling (or should I say disgusting) was the fact that many Christians blamed her for her husband’s infidelity. While marriage is indeed a two-way street that requires the hard work and dedication of both husband and wife, there is NEVER an excuse for a man to have an affair. Nor are we in any position to conjecture.

Which is why it disturbs me greatly that, in the midst of such a dark time in her life, a time when her husband and her local church betrayed her, that the larger evangelical community denounced her as well.

Their story is a wake-up call for the Christian community. It compels us to reconsider the nature of Christian love. Scripture tells us that we are to be known by our love for one another (John 13:35); the way we love one another should look different from the world. We do not stop loving when we are betrayed. We seek to restore when someone is broken. Our love should defy the reason of this world, and it should require us to sacrifice. It means loving when it is distasteful to us, when it gets our hands dirty. When it is hard.

That is the kind of love we must show if we are to be “known” by our love. Too often we respond to the sin of others in the same way that the world does. What we call “church discipline” is sometimes just old-fashioned judgment. We are washing our hands of the things and people we don’t want to deal with. So rather than restore, we crush.

Remember this story. Your friends and leaders in the church will disappoint you in monumental ways. So be prepared for it, not as a cynic but as one who is ready to love them through it. Reach out to them and lift them up so that the watching community around them will see your good works and glorify their Father in Heaven. And don’t forget to care for their spouse, who is going through their own private hell. Rather than be an additional source of brokenness, be a source of healing and grace. That is what it means to be the church, and I am thankful that the Haggards’ humility enabled that message to arise out of their ashes.

Have you ever wondered why Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12, refers to a struggle in his life as a “thorn in his flesh?” Today we take that language for granted because it’s a phrase that people use all the time. But why did Paul coin that phrase? Was there a reason?

This weekend I heard a sermon that sparked my imagination and challenged me to pursue the answer to that question. I know this seems like a really random blog post but stick with me! I think you’ll be amazed by what Scripture has to teach us about this seemingly insignificant thorn.

First, rewind thousands and thousands of years before Paul ever comes on the scene. We begin in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve have just sinned and the world is now under a curse. Women will now suffer through child-bearing and men will have an unhealthy relationship to work. But notice what else the curse entails: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.” (Gen. 3:17-18)

In the very first scene of Scripture, thorns appear as a symbol of the curse, and this symbol will continue to crop up (no pun intended!) throughout the rest of Scripture.

Now fast forward to the life of Moses. At this point in history God’s people are in bondage to Egypt. They have suffered for hundreds of years and they desperately need a savior. So what does God do? He speaks to Moses through a burning bush, and instructs Moses to deliver His people.

Now watch this–the word for “bush” in Exodus 3:2 actually refers to a thorny bush. In fact, this particular type of bush still exists today, and it’s known for its perilous thorns. With that in mind, notice that God is speaking from out of this symbol of the curse, telling Moses, “I have heard my people’s cry. I will deliver them.” What a foreshadow of God’s redemption to come!

But it gets better. Fast forward a little more to Moses’ encounter with God on Mt. Sinai. The word “sinai” literally means “thorny” in Hebrew. And on top of this “thorny” mountain is where God imparts His Law to Moses, a Law that makes it even more clear how desperately cursed and in need of salvation we are. Like the burning bush, Mt. Sinai is a picture of God’s intervention amidst our cursed and thorny state. Again, He reminds us, “I am here! I have a plan! Just hold on!”

This thorn bush appears only one more time in Scripture. This time, it’s in the Gospels. Jesus is about to be crucified, he is beaten beyond recognition, and soldiers are gambling for his clothes. In a final act of humiliation, they twist together a crown of thorns and place it on his head. Then he is crucified, and dies.

I can’t help but wonder if Paul had all this in mind in 2 Corinthians. Paul was a man well-versed in Hebrew Scripture. He would have known the history of the thorn bush and how it always appeared at strategic points in Israelite history, reminding God’s people of the curse, as well as His plan to overturn it. He also knew the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. He must have seen the significance of that crown of thorns atop a crucified Savior.

Which leads me to conclude that Paul’s word choice was intentional in 2 Corinthians 12. He wasn’t simply being poetic. He wasn’t merely creating a helpful word picture. He was making a theological statement. That thorn in his side was a sign of the curse. Until Christ returns we will feel the effects of the curse on all our lives. But like Paul, we can endure that thorn with hope in our hearts, knowing that the thorn was literally crucified with Christ. God has redemptive plans for it. In the same way that God spoke to Moses out of a burning, thorny bush, God has a message of hope and redemption that bursts out of our own struggles.

What is the thorn in your side right now? What have you pleaded with God to take away, and for reasons beyond your understanding He has not removed? I encourage you to cling to the above visual as you battle your own thorns of the flesh. Remember that the very reason Christ had to die was because of that thorn in your side. It rested upon his head as he gasped his final breath.

So view your thorn through the lens of that story, and how that story ended. God hears your cries and He is at work, so rather than let the thorn in your flesh determine how you live, move and breathe, instead rest upon Christ’s victory over it. Then, like Paul, you can proudly boast, “I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”