Perspective

Roy's Reflections
by Roy Boswell

When you’re hurting inside and you want instant relief, who do you turn to? Be honest now and think about the last time things weren’t going too well. What did you do? Who or what did you turn to trying to ease the pain? Was it a pan of brownies calling you at 10:00 at night? Was it that credit card that has nearly reached its limit? Was it the work you thought just couldn’t wait until the next day? Was it the glass of wine? What was it? Think about it. When you hurt, how do you try to deal with it? How do you feel afterwards? Worse? Depressed? Ask yourself. It was only a momentary fix, wasn’t it? And one that doesn’t seem to work very well. Instead of making things better you only feel worse.

Don’t lose heart! You’re supposed to feel worse! That is your conscience talking to you and unless you stop and listen to it you are going to keep repeating the same fruitless, destructive pattern. That depression is supposed to be signaling you that what you are doing is wrong and that you need to change. You are running to the wrong source to relieve your pain. You are running to an idol you built for yourself and guilt is letting you know you have sinned.

“And God spoke all these words: ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God’.” (Exodus 20:1-5a). In case you didn’t get the gist of that last phrase, it’s stated even stronger in chapter 34:14: “Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

What do you think of that? God is jealous of that pan of brownies, of that credit card, of that wine, of your work and of anything else you turn to solve your problems. When you don’t turn to Him, He’s jealous. Why? Because it shows who or what you really love. And it’s not Him. Above everything, God wants your love. Remember the most important commandment? “The most important one,” answered Jesus “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’.” (Mark 12:29, 30) Couple this with what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

You can’t run to that pan of brownies and say you love God. You have to make a choice. If you are afraid that giving up that pan of brownies is too risky, then God has a challenge for you: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” He will not disappoint you. He has already shown how much He loves you by making you feel guilty, pointing you to Him. Now it’s your turn to take the next step.

Confess that you have an idol that you love. That’s right. You have to admit that you love that idol. That’s the truth, isn’t it? Why else would you run to it everytime it calls your name? Second, you repent by choosing to replace that idol with God. You need to fall in love with God and out of love with that idol. King David wrote, “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.”

Ask God to show you how much He loves you. The more you know how much He loves you, the more you will fall in love with Him. It’s no different from when a man meets that special woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. He thinks about her, he wants to be with her, he wants to do things he knows pleases her, he wants to be her comforter and protector because he loves her with an agape love.

It’s no different with God, He loves us with an agape love. Spend time with Him in prayer and meditation. Get to know Him and His will for you. He will become your Love, your Confidant, your Protector and Comforter. Everything else will naturally follow.

If we have been around other students of the Bible very long, sooner or later (and usually often), we’ve heard the phase, “but taken in context” as an introduction to an explanation that is different than one that had just been given by the speaker, or another party. The phrase is a grammatical conjunction (a conjunctive phrase), connecting two views that differ much from each other, and may even totally contradict each other.

In more simple grammar, “but” and “although” are similar contrasting conjunctive words that connect two disparate thoughts in a single sentence. “I thought I would be able to do that quite easily, but I found out it was very difficult.” “They thought I had accomplished it quite easily, although I was actually a nervous wreck inside.” You can substitute the phrase “but taken in context” in the above examples for “but” and for “although”, and still maintain the same thought of each sentence.

The phrase “taken in context” is more explanatory than “but” or “although”, or other conjunctive words, because it forces us to realize that our minds were reasoning with less than all the information necessary to draw the correct conclusion. We come to realize that there is more to the true and complete picture than meets the mind when one has had only a partial picture. “But,” “although,” and other such conjunctive words usually cause us to think of simple contrasts, or even defensive or argumentative clashes. But “taken in context” forces our mind to look at the larger (and hopefully complete) picture. From that perspective we usually can say, “Aha, it really is different. I never saw it in that light before.” And it is often personal experience that moves it from theory to practical application, and thus brings it “into context” for us.

There are many examples of scriptures taken out of context to help us understand the principle of what is “out of context”. One such classic example is combining the scriptures of Mt 27:5 “(Judas) went and hanged himself..”, and Lk 10:37 “Then Jesus said to him, go and do likewise”. With both scriptures taken “out of context” and put together, the absurd occurs in this single context (sentence or thought) when, “Judas went and hanged himself, and Jesus said to him (another) ‘Go thou and do likewise.’”

But “taken in context” of Mt 27:1-10, verse 5 records Judas’ personal reaction to the awareness of the evil deed of his betrayal of Jesus. Having revealed to Judas (now “in context” for him) that Jesus would die as a result of his betrayal, causes Judas to attempt to return the money to undo the evil deed. But that can no longer be accomplished, so in great remorse, Judas “went and hanged himself”. And even the money of this evil deed could not be used in the temple service, so it is used to buy a burial field for those too poor to pay for a plot.

And taking Lk 10:37 “in the context” of verses 25-37, we find the parable of the good Samaritan, which is given to teach what must be done to gain eternal life, and to whom it must be done (verses 25-29). After hearing the parable, the lawyer who raised the question was forced to answer in verse 37 that the “whom” was “he who showed mercy” (the good Samaritan), and to this Jesus adds as instruction to the lawyer, and to all of us who would inherit eternal life, “Go thou and do likewise”. With this, the lawyer can now perceive “in context” the full picture that gives clear response to his question.

It is more difficult to find examples in scripture to show “in context”. This is understood only by studying the full context given in each case, and sometimes requires that one study a number of parallel topical contexts before you can get the full picture “in context”.

The most important context in scripture is the personal context we need to have of being “in Christ”. If we are “in Christ” we are perceiving all our surroundings and perspectives as He would to the extent that we have His spirit and seek only knowledge of the Father’s will for us and obedience to it. And we are also then being perceived much as He was; appreciated but seldom fully understood by his Apostles and disciples (our brethren), and neither appreciated nor understood by the crowds and His enemies (the world and our enemies). What was Jesus’ reward for being “in context” in His day? He was scorned, mocked, slandered, hated, and ultimately persecuted and crucified. We are told also, that if we are “in context” in Christ, wanting to live “godly” as He did, “we will suffer persecution”. (2 Tim 3:12).

This is not necessarily physical persecution or even death, but it is the reaction of separation, restraint, mocking, and even demotion, that the world, our enemies, and even many of our brethren put upon us who do not understand us. It is their reaction to our trying to live “godly”, which is a light (proximity to God) in us (1 Jn 15:7) that points out the darkness (distance from God) in them. The scripture of 2 Tim 3:12, “Yes, and all who will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”, is a self-contained context in that it states a principle. But it exists in the larger context of all of 2 Timothy, which is Paul’s call to Timothy to stay “in context” of being “in Christ” and “in the light”, and not be distracted by the world or Satan, nor move into their darkness.

In the closer context of Chapters 3:10 through 4:6, Paul urges Timothy to “follow his (Paul’s) example; to continue in the things which he has learned, to continue in the scriptures which are able to make him wise unto salvation, and which are profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God (Timothy, and all those he disciples) will be thoroughly equipped for every good work”.

Paul warns that many deceivers will come and cause many believers to fall away. He urges Timothy to “be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry”. Because Paul says, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge , will give to me on that Day, and not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (That’s us!)

I need often ask myself, in what “context” am I? Am I “in Christ”? Is He the “total context” of my life? Are all other aspects of it (family, work, financial security, social life, relaxation, etc) only providences, responsibilities, opportunities, and tests within that context? When this is so, I am aware of it, and it is wonderful, even in the “persecutions” brought about by those who don’t understand my “context”.

But when my “context” is my family, my work, my financial security, my social life, my relaxation, etc, and being “in Christ” is only a occasional providence, responsibility, opportunity or test, then I am not in the most important context of my life, and all is in vain, being worked in the dark. And often in this dark my “context” is very well understood, and I receive no “persecution” because I am not living “godly”.

I would rather be “taken in context in Christ” and suffer persecution, than to be “taken in context in the world” and suffer nothing for Christ. I would rather be “mis-taken in context in Christ” by the world, than “mis-taken in context in the world” by Christ. I too often find myself in this latter position, and I feel the remorse of Judas. But unlike him, I will not despair. Each time I will “come boldly to the throne of grace, that I may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16). And I will obtain that mercy and be “re-taken in context in Christ”, and be strengthened to stay longer, and leave hopefully never. This also is my prayer for all of you. (1 Pet 2:12).

A Daughter's Heart

After a two year bout with cancer, Arlene Horak died on January 3, 2002. Her funeral was held on January 7. Dennis Thorfeldt officiated. Arlene left behind a sister, JoAnn, daughters Lisa, Karyn, and Elizabeth, a grandchild, Rachel, and her husband, Joe. She was brought up as a Bible Student, attending the Chicago class as a child with her mother.

After her marriage to Joe on March 24, 1963, they both started attending the Berean Bible Students Church in Cicero where she remained a faithful member for the rest of her life. The most important event of her life occurred in summer of 1974 when she gave her heart to the Lord and was baptized at the Berean Christian Conference in Grove City.

Arlene worked at Marshall Field’s for the last 19 years in the linens and the gift registry department. She took special delight in helping young couples choose their crystal and dinnerware patterns for their upcoming weddings. Last year she was honored to be voted one of “Field’s Finest” by her managers and fellow employees. Arlene lived life to the fullest. Those of us that knew and loved her appreciated her wonderful hospitality and her enthusiasm toward people and the things that she valued in life. She was fond of music, art, theater, travel and many many more things. She devoted her life to others, including taking care of her invalid mother, Helen Swollak for many years in her home.

But what counted most in Arlene’s life was her love for her Lord, Jesus. Her life centered around her faith and her church. She served as a model of love and compassion for others. Our hearts and prayers go out to her family at this time. We are so thankful that they are comforted by the promises that we have in the Bible.

We leave them with the firm conviction that Paul had in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17:“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again…For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first…And so we will be with the Lord forever.”