When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me, till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. [Psalm 73:14]
Asaph the psalmist watched in dismay as the wicked prospered and life in general just didn’t go as the concept of “fair” would seem to dictate.
Whether it’s tragic plane crashes or unexpected diagnoses or simply the nasty or uncouth getting their way, sometimes this world seems all wrong. Who’s in charge, anyway?
And yet we, like Asaph, need to stop, refocus, and “enter the sanctuary of our God.” It is only there that we can get an eternal perspective.
For your reading accompaniment: “Peter Pan” by Patty Griffin
This is as close to country music as I will ever get: a nice, melancholy song about the difficulties of growing up. As you read the rest of this blog, you’ll see why I chose this piece by Griffin, whom I have enjoyed for years.
Pardon me?
Nowadays pardons seem to be as commonplace as your refilled cup of coffee at the diner. (And just as cheap.) Former President Biden set a new record in presidential pardons before leaving office. President Trump wasted no time in letting his pardoning ink flow as well—even for ALL the rascals who stormed the Capitol on January 6!
I will leave my concern for all these doled-out presidential pardons “left and right” (pun intended) for another conversation. What irks me, though, is that the very concept of a pardon has been cheapened to become something like Monopoly’s “Get Out of Jail Free” cards.
Nothing is really free! Certainly not mercy and justice. Or pardons. Not in God’s divine economy, anyway.
One of the most beautiful and foundational concepts of the Christian faith is God’s offer of a full pardon. It is given freely by grace through faith to the repentant sinner. But it cost Jesus—bearing the weight of divine justice, he took on the guilt of all our sin. It cost him his very life to secure our pardon!
He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him. [Isaiah 53:5]
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. [2 Corinthians 5:21]
And the fraternity is growing
Of new and professing “cultural Christians,” that is. Add popular author and Senior Fellow with the Brookings Institution Jonathan Rauch to the roster that includes Elon Musk, Jordan Peterson, and Richard Dawkins, to name a few.
Rauch, a self-proclaimed “liberal-atheist,” has joined the choir of voices that say they don’t believe in Christ as their Savior but think that Christianity is good for the nation. He and New York Times writer Russ Douthat both recently published books which espouse the importance of Christian values for society in Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious (Douthat) and Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy (Rauch).
While I can concur that Jesus and Christianity’s values can make for a more civil and moral society, with the present national atmosphere I am a bit leery of the imposing of Christianity on a secular, unconverted people.
(An added comment: One can certainly hope and pray that these well-known “cultural Christians” put their faith in Christ and know what a real spiritual life and inside-out change is like.)
Observations
It’s hard being a Cleveland sports fan. Not only because they are rarely champions (or even win very much) but also because the players you come to love regularly leave. As a kid it was Rocky Colavito being traded. Then Warren’s own Paul Warfield… I could go on, but then this blog would become a book.
Recently though, we have seen Guardians favorites Andres Jimenez and Josh Naylor shipped away. And on Monday, one of the best players to ever wear the orange and brown asked to be traded. Myles Garrett has had it with all the losing and dysfunction of the organization that is the Browns. You can hardly blame him.
There is so much sadness in the plane crash tragedies of this passed week. Hearing the names and the stories of the passengers is heart wrenching, isn’t it? All those young ice skaters on the DC flight. A six-year-old who came with her mother from Tijuana, Mexico, to Philadelphia for medical care at a Shriners Hospital was heading back home. And all the other wives and husbands and friends and children…all lost in the blink of an eye. Lord, be with their families.
(Another added comment: Somehow, our elected officials on both sides of the aisle think this is a good time to blame the other side! Really?! Lord, help us.)
But the Beatles got a 2025 Grammy award! The Best Rock Performance Grammy was awarded to the Fab Four (well, Fab Two, with the two deceased Beatles on tape) for their song “Now and Then.” I must be getting old because the only other names of winners I recognized were Beyoncé and Taylor Swift (although if I heard their music, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to identify it as theirs.)
Welcome to Neverland
In James Barrie’s classic Peter Pan, the main character famously declared his intentions to never grow up. He would rather live forever in the safe confines of Neverland. It seems that many young adults are following Peter’s example. Nearly 50% of 18- to 34-year-olds see no reason to have children, and almost one in ten 30- to 40-year-olds still live with their parents. The Wall Street Journal notices these odd trends and hypothesizes various reasons.
(For a final aside, here is a movie recommendation: Finding Neverland is a delightful retelling of the inspiration and story of how Barrie came to write Peter Pan.)
Some of my favorite podcasts
Ask NT Wright Anything
The CS Lewis Podcast (with Alistair McGrath)
The Daily (The New York Times Podcast)
Terry’s Talkin’ (Terry Pluto on Cleveland sports)
Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture
“Our Lord God, do not allow us to harden ourselves to your faithfulness. Continually awaken us from the sleep of indifference and the bad dreams of our pious and impious passions and desires! Do not tire of continually guiding us back onto your path. Through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ.”
[Karl Barth]
