Brown Bench
INTRODUCTION
At some point in the aging process we cross the line where we are no longer learning or acquiring new knowledge or understanding, but start to rely more and more on what we have already learned. This is the beginning of the mind’s end. For the primary characteristic of life is growth and when we stop learning for the sake of learning, we stop growing. Correspondingly, the knowledge we previously acquired that sustained us in a moment, begins to produce diminishing returns. The same is true with our spiritual life.
For the “Super Christian,” everything seems urgent and important in the moment. That man or woman who is always on the go, doing, doing, doing, absorbed in ministry activities, may never be able to take time to sort out priorities. Apart from the compulsion to achieve or survive the day, the inner life is nearly non-existent. For the “Super Christian” there is no time to waste. But spiritual busyness in God’s kingdom is not a substitute for intimacy with God. For many, keeping active in the Name of the Lord only serves to keep them at a distance from the Lord.
Growth and understanding come, in part, through contemplation and reflection. Time alone, seeking solace and communing with God through the observation of his creative world, expands the boundaries of fixed knowledge by opening our senses to the mysteries of God otherwise silenced by the noise of this world. Contemplation is uniquely human, existing only because God exists. It is a discipline with purpose, a door that closes out the noise of the world while opening our minds to the lyrics of Heaven.
Every Christian should have a garden place for the soul - a place to retreat from the noise of the world - a place where the rhythms of Creation resonate alone. Moments of seclusion does not remove you from the world, but brings the world’s busyness into perspective. Gary and Anne Marie have such a garden place for the soul’s renewal - the Brown Bench. This is a place of seclusion where thoughts, like unfitted elements, wait to be fitted together in meaningful ways and where God’s creative order envelopes two souls, fueling spiritual growth rather than spiritual aging. The Brown Bench is their place of solace from where the contemplations below find their source.
Seeking Solace
Within my soul a deep hunger stirred for solace away from the things of man. I must think of Him. I slipped out of bed and dressed silently so as not to disturb my wife. I dressed and quickly descended the back steps as the faintest scent of ocean playfully brushed my nose. The sun had not touched the Eastern horizon, yet points of light already painted the western sky with hues of pinks and blues. The busy creatures of the world embraced the new day. The land birds had begun their morning-song, while silently overhead blue herons flew on their daily trek to the water’s edge.
I stopped. Why? There around me pink and purple petunias grew in the shadows of Carolina jasmine. Just below the stone work, I caught a glimpse of movement. Faint. Did I really see something or was my imagination at work? I stared again and saw nothing. But I sensed something. The mind has a way of sensing things that the eye cannot see. Was this creature more patient? I stood perfectly still, moving only my eyes, for my father taught me early that the slightest movement of the head would give away my presence. There it was again, a hint of movement. Then I saw the small creature perfectly fitted to the shadows. It knew of my discovery and quickly turned to faced me like an adversary. It feared me as much as I feared it. As if some signal compelled a response, the small creature slithered away between the stonework and back hedge.
I started down the red brick pathway leading to the white picket fence. Through the gate I passed swiftly and silently. Only the sound of old hinges gave notice to my passing. The footpath led to a second gate, opening to the long dock. The goal sat vigilant just one hundred yards through the marsh. The rich green marsh opened to the blue calm of the river. It’s surface smooth as glass. Shad played here and there creating a shimmer in the water.
At last I came to the place I sought - the inviting Brown Bench - a friend awaiting my arrival. The Author’s signature is found in creation. It reveals His majesty. Here by the water’s edge all was calm. My soul found rest and my mind contemplated the Creator’s work as the colors of Heaven offered a promise of morning blessings.
Surely the Lord knows the soul of man. He knows of my struggles and fears, when I am hurt or flooded with joy. He sees how I live my life in public and in private and His love is not restrained by my sin. He is a wonderful God abounding in mercy, who loves and knows the best and worst about me, yet loves me anyway. It is this place of solace, a place away from man, that I have found a greater intimacy. It is there that I have begun to put His love into perspective.
In the Beginning
At some point, before time, before eternity, He existed and at some point before eternity, He decided out of His Nature of Love there would be another – made after His image. Before time or eternity, he unfolded all that He is and a billion-trillion rays of light flooded a new universe. He placed the stars in the sky and called them by name. Was this the moment recorded as “In the beginning”?
But what came before the beginning? Love-thoughts! In a moment of untraceable time, He decided we could be the object of His fellowship and joy. What sort of love is this? It is indescribable. I must stop for this reflection of “before time” overwhelms for my senses. To see God more clearly is to love Him more. My prayer for this day is that somehow through my life I will communicate His love to all. To that end I leave these thoughts with the Holy Spirit. I will come again to this place and think.
Emptiness and Nothingness
The Brown Bench with the smooth slats awaited my company. I sat. Inches below, the ageless ebb and flow of the sea gently rocked the bench. Morning birds had already begun their day-song when the faint sound of “Phoof” attracted my gaze. I looked up and saw the beautiful creatures of the morning. They swam, bound by their primordial senses, in a synchronized harmony – the dolphins had come to feed. Their heads and dorsal fins rose and fell in unison. They’re magical presences a reminder that I was not alone - I shared this place with others.
Contemplating the person of God is not easy. The world is filled with distractions. Busyness keeps our minds occupied and fatigued. My only rescue is the place of peace and calm where the gentle rocking of the ebbing tide subdues a restless soul. Here I cry out, “Lord teach me about yourself. Teach me beyond the commentaries and writings about your name.”
You are before time, space and eternity. You existed in nothingness. It is difficult to imagine nothingness. We can imagine emptiness but sometimes struggle to embrace the concept of nothingness. Emptiness, like all the emptiness in the universe, before there were planets and stars and greater constellations, can only exist in something. But nothingness exists outside of everything. Emptiness has boundaries. Nothingness knows no boundaries. Nothingness is what preceded eternity. It was there, when there was nothingness, that out of your divine nature of love you decided there would be another fashioned. But unlike yourself, this one would be created – created in your image by your hands.
I am struck with both awe and fear. I am awed by an amazing God who has no boundaries. Eternity is your footstool. Nothingness was your abode until you created eternity and a new dwelling place called Heaven. Equally, I am fearful that I limit you because of those first three words: “In the beginning.”
If I make “In the Beginning,” your starting point, I make you finite. Less finite than man but still finite. “In the beginning” is not my starting point for before the beginning you thought of me. But you are before time and eternity. You existed alone before the first mark of time. As I dwell more on your amazing love other attributes become clear. I am wrapped in your bountiful grace and unmeasured mercy.
Value Knowledge - Virtue of Knowing
Small puffs of fog hung in patches along the streams western bank then slowly drifted between the trees. Daytime birds were becoming more active and the air is was alive with their song. The Author was preparing a beautiful morning. The Brown Bench is always a good place to mediate and learn beyond the commentaries.
We recently had dinner with a man who knew the Scriptures exceptionally well. He could quote them and was a leader in Bible Study fellowship. He knew the Old Testament and the New Testament. He even knew a little Greek and Hebrew. He had an impressive resume of Bible knowledge. What he lacked was manners. Even with all his Bible knowledge he knew less about the application of “Be courteous to all men,” and “Love is not rude” than the average Growing Kids God’s Way six-year-old. It seemed to me that my friend was a victim of the Christian culture of knowledge.
Though our friend is a wonderful man, his life lacks virtue. Godly virtue is the imitation of Christ. Biblical knowledge without virtue is like a body without breathe. Lifeless! How often do we see this among those who flaunt their Bible knowledge? How many foolishly believe accumulated knowledge equates to accumulated virtues? In this way they have deceived themselves into thinking they have acquired a form of righteousness through knowledge, rather than living in Christ’s righteousness.
Might this be a symptom of the problem Jesus confronted in John 5:39-40? “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life: and it is these that bear witness of Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life.” It was the great deceptive switch. Somehow, religious leaders turned their love for God into a love for his Word. Somewhere they crossed the dangerous line and became “Word” centered instead of “Christ” centered. Their devotion to the written law, (literally the ink and type of the page) became more important than their devotion to living out the virtues of God.
It seems my friend is has become a victim of a culture of Christian knowledge where the details about Bible facts have been elevated in value above the details of the character of God. To know much about God is wrongly equated to knowing God. This is an amazing paradox: people strive to gain more knowledge about God, but fall short of knowing Him intimately. Godly wisdom is out of their reach. How frightening! I will think more on these things.
Deceived by Proximity?
The Brown Bench this morning is dry in spite of the night’s humidity. The sounds in the shadows slowly retreat from the breaking light beyond the Eastern horizon. The water is still this morning except for the faint sound of lapping against the dock. Calm is everywhere except my heart. There is a question to contemplate.
Why are the virtues of Christ not preeminent in Christendom? Might it be a carry over from the Bible wars of the last century when Evangelicals worked tirelessly to rescue the Scriptures out of the hands of liberal theologians? Have we made the preciousness of sound doctrine its own little god?
Our ecclesiastical experiences of the past suggest that possibility. Some rely on their accumulated Bible knowledge, as if it was the “savings account of their faith.” They equate accumulated knowledge of doctrine with accumulated virtues and their standing in the Kingdom of God. In this way have they deceived themselves, thinking they acquired a form of righteousness through knowledge, rather than a life lived out in Christ's righteousness. How frightening this is!
Can the Lordship of Scriptural knowledge becomes the substitute for the Lordship of Christ? I know the lives of the Pharisees points to this reality. They were religious, possessing great zeal, (c.f. Act 22:3; Romans 10:2). They were masters of Scriptural knowledge and yet, they were, according to Jesus, like empty white coffins, lifeless - fruitless, (Matt. 23:27). Frightening is the possibility that a person might actually fall prey to the misguided notion that accumulated Bible knowledge sanctifies and will make him or her more attractive to God. Does a life style tension exist between those who seek to know about God by accumulating knowledge and those who seek to know God personally by internalizing the Scriptural precepts of Christ and applying it them to their lives?
This is a dangerous place to be. The Pharisees were so close to truth yet deceived by proximity. They found security in their knowledge, but lacked the understanding of virtue. Their passion for knowledge about God was greater than their passion for godliness. God’s how became their why, for they let the word about Christ dwell in them richly instead of the Word of Christ (i.e. the living Christ). They prefer the miracle over the miracle worker, the healing over the healer, the proclamation of truth over truth. Mentally digesting the printed advantages of eating whole-grain cereal as noted on the outside of the box is not the same as actually eating the cereal. This type of ornamental knowledge is not fruitful, nor does it give life. To the contrary, it starves the soul.
From the Bible we learn about the person of God, (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit). But can a person make biblical knowledge the journeys end rather than a means to the end? Sadly, some do. When the Apostle Paul encourages Christians to “Put on Christ” he was not speaking of simply gaining knowledge about God, but about putting on the Character of God. Living out Christ virtues is holiness in action. Biblical knowledge that doesn’t lead to holiness is only academic knowledge that feeds the flesh of arrogance. Knowledge that leads to the virtuous imitations of Christ is knowledge feeding the soul and fulfilling the call to “be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22). Let each man and woman do his or her own assessment. At the end of the day, if knowledge leaves you empty, you may have reversed Scripture’s why and how.
Fellowship and Association
About these two important concepts, we believe it is incumbent on every Christian to conduct him or herself according the manner pleasing to God. “Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians: 4:1ñ6). “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Romans 12:18). “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself” (Phil 2:3). Therefore we believe:*
1. Our fellowship starts with the person of Christ more than one’s creed, doctrine, opinion, or denomination. Those who are joint heirs with Christ are joint heirs with us. The oneness in Jesus Christ is greater than simply being “one of us.”
2. We consider the act of fellowship and association to be indicative of the love of Christ but fellowship does not signal a total agreement of our brother’s creed. We use our fellowship to discuss our differences, to lead or be led by the light of the Word of Christ, but we do not look at our differences to determine the rightness of fellowship nor our ranking with God.
3. We do not withdraw our fellowship from any Christian except in the case when a belief requires us to violate our conscience in order to maintain or be accepted in fellowship. We will not separate ourselves from members within God’s family any further than what they separate themselves in conduct from Christ.
4. Genuine biblical fellowship is not based on one’s perceived rightness of doctrine any more than one’s perception of a brother’s lack of knowledge. Our fellowship is based on the humility of Christ, and the love of God, not one’s treasury of Scripture knowledge.
5. Our loyalty to Christ is greater than our loyalty to a creed; our loyalty to the family of God is greater than our loyalty to the world; and our loyalty to truth is greater than our loyalty to friendship.
6. As it relates to our associations and fellowship, we want to be known more for the things we stand for than the people we stand against. Therefore we commit ourselves to contemporary agreement of unity in the essential doctrines, liberty in the nonessentials, and charity in all things.
* The articulation of our views was aided by the work of Keith Price and Anthony Norris Groves, a missionary to Baghdad in the 1830.