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Higher Things
In This Issue:
The Life You Now Live • The First Time I Died • Sanctification: Jesus Living In You • Great Expectations
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Contents t a b l e o F
Volume 14/Number 2 • Summer 2014
Special Features 4
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The First Time I Died
by rev. donavon riley It’s a normal ambition to attempt to map out our lives. At the tender young age of 18, Rev. Riley did just that but ended up down a path where God took him face to face with Jesus. He died that day, but it was no “Heaven Is for Real” experience—he was “buried with Christ by Baptism into death.” And it was then that his life truly began.
The Life You Now Live
by rev. George F. borghardt Drown, rinse, and repeat. This is the formula for the Christian life. It isn’t about trying to follow God’s law more faithfully. It’s about realizing that, having been baptized through Christ, you follow God’s law perfectly.
Sanctification: Jesus Living in You
by rev. Mark buetow Sanctification is frequently a Christian buzz word. For some it means how we become more holy or sin less the longer we are Christians. With clarity, Rev. Buetow illuminates the Biblical understanding of sanctification that takes us out of the driver’s seat.
10 His Name Is John
by rev. Marcus Zill What’s in a name? Well, in this case, “John” means a whole lot more than meets the eye. John the Baptist’s sole mission in life was to pave the way for Christ, which Rev. Zill explains was an incredible demonstration of God’s grace.
12 Seven Apologists Every Christian Should Know, Part 1
The Lasting Legacy of C.S. Lewis: Why Imaginative Apologetics Matter
by rev. Mark a. Pierson It’s likely that you have had a taste of C.S. Lewis, due to the popularity of the Narnia movies. But Narnia is just the tip of the iceberg. Rev. Pierson looks under the surface and persuades us that an essential part of building an understanding of Christian apologetics is to investigate all that C.S. Lewis, with his incredible insight, has to offer.
14 Jesus.For.You.
by rev. Paul Mumme Yes, it’s true. We aren’t just fans of Jesus. We are committed to Him. But what’s the Christian faith really about: how well we follow Christ or how amazingly He saves us? Rev. Mumme sets the record straight regarding a popular graphic making the rounds in social media.
24 Great Expectations
by bethany Woelmer More miscommunication comes from unspoken or unreasonable expectations. We who are baptized in Christ have truly great expectations that Christ Himself faithfully fulfills for us. And, as Bethany shares, knowing this will help us deal with the disappointment that comes when many of our expectations in this life aren’t met.
Regular Features 14 Poetry Page The Final Strife
by rev. tim lorenz See the death of a child of God through the lens of a pastoral poet.
18 Christ on Campus Your Body Is Beautiful
by annalise harrison The struggle with body image is not a new phenomenon, and most people grapple with it to some degree, but there comes a point where it becomes an idol. Annalise, through her own experience, reminds us where true beauty lies and that our confidence is in Christ.
28 Catechism Table of Duties: Workers and Bosses
by rev. William M. Cwirla You get a job, you work the grind, you make money and that’s it. Right? Well, not exactly. Rev. Cwirla reveals the beauty behind the vocations of worker and boss, and how Christ faithfully loves our neighbor through us.
30 Bible Study Sanctification: Jesus Living in You
Be sure to check out this sample of one of our student Bible studies which links up with Rev. Buetow’s article on P. 8.
HigherThings
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Volume 14/Number 2/Summer 2014 Bible Studies for these articles can be found at: higherthings.org/ magazine/biblestudies.html Editor
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Stan lemon
Higher Things® Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things, Inc., PO Box 156, Sheridan, WY 82801. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2013. 2014. Higher Things® and Christ on Campus® are registered trademarks of Higher Things Inc.; All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. For subscription information and questions, call 1-888-4826630, then press 4, or e-mail subscriptions@higherthings.org. (This phone number is only used for subscription queries.) For letters to the editor, write letters@higher things.org. Writers may submit manuscripts to: submissions@ higherthings.org. Please check higherthings.org/magazine/ writers.html for writers’ guidelines and theme lists.
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“I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
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The First Time I Died By Rev. Donavon Riley
When I was 18, I had planned out my life completely.
First, I’d enroll at the local college. Then when my girlfriend finished high school we’d move to the Twin Cities. We’d get married, finish college, land good jobs, and have a baby. We decided his name would be “Christian.” And if I could just find the right lead singer I’d gig with my band on weekends. The next year, a phone call woke me up from my daydreams. My girlfriend said, “I just want to be free to see other people right now…” After she hung up, I collapsed into bed. I didn’t get up for three weeks. My mother, friends, classmates, professors—no one could coax me out of the emptiness into which I’d fallen. I thought, when I could think, “I will lie here and wait to become nothing. I don’t want to eat. I don’t want to drink. I don’t want to talk, to cry, to live. I feel nothing. I am nothing. I will lie here and eventually die.” That was the plan. Twenty-four years later I try to remember the emotional pain that emptied me of all care for my life, but I can’t. I try to recall what I was thinking to pin all my hopes, all my happiness, on a teenaged girl. But I can’t. I try to picture what it was like to believe I wouldn’t die until I’d seen all my plans completed. I wish I could, but time makes a person’s memory soft and squishy. Some stuff you think you’ll never forget, will just disappear one day. Other stuff you think is unimportant will stick with you for 20 years, like the look on my ex-girlfriend’s face when she learned her grandma died. I try to imagine the look on her face as I sit here fingering this memorial card. I try, but the card has my attention now. The back of the card reads: “In memory of… the son of… she preceded him in death…was a lifelong farmer…survived by…and other relatives and friends.” Inside is a poem—one of those poems people who don’t attend church choose because it sounds religious. Services. Clergy officiating. There’s my name. Music. Casket Bearers. Interrment. Arrangement by…
Eighty-six years of life summarized on a 4 by 5-inch bi-fold card. So learn to count, run as fast as you can, scream at the ceiling, get tattooed, sing “Ain’t No Grave Gonna Keep My Body Down,” but if it doesn’t fit on the card, if somebody in your family doesn’t think it’s worthy of inclusion, then it’s cut out to free up space for a poem by “Author Unknown.” As if it never happened. It’s not really about how you lived and died, anyway. It’s about when you died and began to live. Despite my previous attempts at suicide, I was 28 years old the first time I finally died. The pastor and my wife were there. My mother and little brother were, too. It was quiet—not reverent silence, but muted tones. The faded yellow walls and red shag carpet dulled everything, even our voices. I remember the quiet, mostly, and the mildewy aroma that pervaded the church. Five people gathered round a baptismal font. It’s an odd thing when the pious and the godless stand round a baptismal font. My past and present relations were summoned to stand witness to a public drowning. June 3, 2008. 3:30pm. My death date. I was drowned and put to death. Buried with Christ by baptism into
death. It was very ordinary. Words were said. Water was poured. Then a smile, a confused glare, resignation, a handshake. Then we walked home, me and my wife. The two of us, justified by grace. Heirs in hope of eternal life. That night I died again, and the night after, and the night after that, and… Every night since my Baptism I have died. But every morning I awake to a new life. Every day I suffer, I sorrow, I am poured out for my wife, my children, the couple across the street, this little church: I am repented. I am put to death by the crosses God has laid on me. Yet, hidden under that death is a new man, cleansed and made righteous by God’s Spirit. Life overwhelming death in a flood of grace. Daily I am drowned. Daily I am repented. Daily I am righteoused. A new life, overflowing with the most extraordinary ordinariness. For “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). When I die the little death, if you should happen to attend the funeral, receive the little memorial card offered to you at the door. Turn it over. On the back you will read: “Donavon Riley was baptized into Christ. All the rest was chaff.” Rev. Donavon Riley was born and raised in Minnesota and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota. Rev. Riley and his wife recently celebrated the birth of their fourth child. He can be reached at elleon713@gmail.com
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The Life You Now Live By Rev. George F. Borghardt
You’ve already died. You did! Death’s already happened to you. There was no angel of death, no Grim Reaper, no Oscar-winning last breath. No, you died in the Baptismal Font. You were drowned in the water and in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
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Jesus suffered for you. He was beaten in your place. He was crucified. He died. They pierced Him with a spear. The punishment which should befall you fell upon Him and, by His stripes, you are healed. You died in the flood of blood and water flowing from Jesus’ crucified side. You were crucified with Christ. You died with Him. You no longer live—at least not the way you used to live before your Baptism. You are dead to your sins.You are dead to having other gods. Dead to trusting to your works and stuff. You are dead to misusing God’s name and despising His Word. You died to disobeying your parents, hating and hurting others, fornication, porn, sleeping with those to whom you aren’t married, stealing, downloading music you don’t pay for, cheating on your taxes, lying, gossiping, slandering others, pushing others down to push yourself up, and wanting to have the things that belong to others. Oh, you were that person. You did those things. You lived in that death and you called it “life.” You don’t any more. You’ve died with Christ. You are alive to God. He rose from the dead on Easter morning. You were raised with Him in the water and the Word. He is sinless. You are sinless, in Him. He cannot sin. You cannot sin, in Him. He is holy. You are holy, in Him. He is righteous. You are righteous, in Him. He lives and you live in Him. But you don’t live like you’re alive, do you? You live in your sins, as though you were still enslaved to them. You hang around the grave where your sins were buried with Jesus. Your world is a prison with shackles of the iniquity and filth that you feel you “must” do. You want to stop. You can’t—not on your own, anyway. You know you are better than this, but you really aren’t, because if you were better then you wouldn’t be committing the same sins day after day. It’s time to die again! Repent of your sins— that is, confess them to God or your pastor or your neighbor and then beg the Lord to have mercy on you. Hold your sins under the waters of your Baptism. Drown them. And if they should float back up again, drown them again. Pop up. Drown. They resurface. Drown again. You die to sins. Jesus raises you from the dead again. Rinse and repeat. This is the Christian life. It’s dying to your sins and rising again in Jesus. Die to the way you are doing things on your own, to the sins that enslave
you, and be raised to new life—His life. Repent and believe that Jesus saves you. He must. He promised that He saves you in your Baptism. His life is then lived in your life lived for others. It’s not you doing it, but yet it is. It’s your life lived in Christ. The life you now live you live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave up His life for you. In Him, you fear, love, and trust in God above all things. You cherish the Lord’s Name and His Word. You honor Mom and Dad and all the authorities around you. You don’t hurt others but rather help and support them. You lead a chaste and decent life in all you say and do. You help improve and protect your neighbors’ possessions and income. You defend your friends, you speak well of them, and put the best construction on everything they do and say. And coveting? It’s not even something that comes to your mind. When you fail, die and rise again in your Baptism. When you don’t fail, die and rise again in your baptism. For you have died to this world, to your sins, and you have been raised to new life in Christ—a life lived for the sake of others. When you do die again, you won’t actually die, because you’ve already died once in Holy Baptism. Death will be just a nap. You will wake up. Jesus will awaken you to an eternal life where He is. You will be as you are now in Holy Baptism by faith—holy, perfect, and forgiven. You will live eternally on that day because you are alive in Jesus right now. Right now, you are dead to your sins and alive to God in Christ. You have been crucified with Christ and now live in Him. The life you have now you live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave up Himself for you. Rev. George F. Borghardt serves as the Senior Pastor at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in McHenry, IL. He is the president of Higher Things. His email is revborghardt @higherthings.org.
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