Fauning Forgiveness

There once was an expert woodworking Faun named Nick who had set his mind on a particularly challenging project. He had a special pride for his tribe (for the Fauns in these parts were organized into tribes) and the small village that they had built. He wanted to build a wooden model of the town that could be put on display in the village archives. This was to be a time-consuming project, as he planned on using very delicate wood for his very detailed plans. 

He was excited about the prospect of being able to offer this gift to his fellow tribesfauns, who he looked upon as his family. He sacrificed his other work to try to complete the model as soon as possible and see his town honored. For weeks he toiled long hours, and, finally, he finished the project after two months of nonstop work. The completed model was about a square meter in size and had been carved down to the minutest details. No part of the town had been left out. The benches along the river, the bell of the local temple, and the blades from the windmill were all marvelously represented with intricate carvings. It was the greatest work the woodcutter had ever produced, and it made him happy that he could give it to the people he loved.

He desired to keep it secret until an official unveiling could be arranged, but he couldn’t resist showing someone. He looked out of his window and saw a young faun passing by. It was his nearest neighbor, Ian, dribbling a ball as he walked down the road. He threw open the window and called him.

“Hey Ian! Come inside for a minute and see my latest work!”

Ian, startled, lost his dribble at the unexpected voice, but then recovered. He spun his ball on his finger and smiled at Nick.

“You have a new work? I have been wondering what you have been up to over there. Of course I would love to see it.” He turned up the path, bouncing his ball as he approached Nick’s front door.

“Be careful with that ball,” Nick said. “This particular piece is very fragile.”

“It’s no problem. I’ll be careful.”

Nick couldn’t keep a grin off his face as Ian entered his home. He had created what would be considered one of the finest pieces of woodwork that any faun had ever produced and someone was about to see it. He led Ian through the hall to his workshop where the model was on a table in the front of the room covered by a cloth.

“I’m going to show you, but I want you to be quiet about it. I want this model to be a gift for the town so that all of our village may be proud of what we have built here. I’ll save it for just the right time to give it to the archives.”

“A model,” Ian smiled enthusiastically. “I feel honored to get a sneak preview. Why do I get such a special privilege?”

“Because you were the one who was passing by,” Nick chuckled.

“Lucky me, I guess.”

“Well, without further ado,” Nick said as he pulled the covering off the model. “Voila!”

It was Nick’s absolute joy to watch the eyes of Ian take in his model. Ian’s countenance lit up with wonder as he gazed upon the miniature version of his town. His eyes first noticed the city hall standing in the center, right next to the courthouse. He saw the market area and his favorite park. He moved closer to inspect further.

“This is magnificent!” Ian said. “How did you manage to be so detailed?”

“I took several walks around town, to be sure,” Nick said. “Be careful, this piece is very fragile.”

Ian was perusing through the neighborhoods of the model searching for his own house. He got very excited when he found it, but unfortunately this excitement was fatal to him. He jerked up in glee, but then lost control of his ball. It flew up into the air, directly over the model. His hands shot out, trying to snag the ball before it could fall and do damage. This sudden surge, however, betrayed his balance, and he himself fell onto the model and shattered it to bits.

A despair filled gasp escaped involuntarily from Nick’s mouth. His eyes searched the broken remains, trying to find some part of his piece that was salvageable. Ian had destroyed it completely, and his eyes widely conveyed the knots that were turning in his stomach. The gaiety that had existed in the room a few short moments before had turned into an oppressing awkwardness.

“I-I am so sorry,” Ian mumbled, horrified by what he had done. He wanted to say more, but all the words his mind suggested to him were deemed inappropriate by his heart. Unfortunately, his heart was also telling him that the silence that had infected the room was just as inappropriate. It was one of those awful situations where nothing seemed right.

Nick just stared in disbelief. Finally, his mouth hardened into a stoic line. “Get out,” he said. Ian didn’t want to chat anymore. He grabbed his ball and scurried out of the room.

Nick, now alone in the room with his destroyed masterpiece, was unable to process what had happened. He stood paralyzed in his thoughts, trying to imagine that what had just occurred hadn’t actually come to pass. The work, which would have made him a world renowned faun and would have offered his tribe a degree of fame, was now shattered.

As he left the room and sat down to dinner by himself, he reflected on what had happened. His stoicism finally gave way to emotion. His food was untouched as his heart swung like a pendulum between sadness and anger. One minute he was weeping over his lost piece of art, and the next his blood was boiling over Ian’s clumsiness. Eventually, the last tear was cried and he was left in his anger.

Nick, however, was a faun who grew up respecting the great faun teachings. He believed that the gods had left clear instructions about how fauns ought to live their lives, and normally he sought to follow these teachings strictly. In this instance, however, he found that he very much wanted to disobey the teachings of the gods. It was written that fauns ought to always forgive others. Nick did not want to forgive Ian. He anger was the only thing he had to hold on to.

The next morning, however, Nick woke up ashamed of how he felt but still feeling most comfortable in his anger. To add to this shame, an unexpected event happened. He heard a knock on his door, and upon opening it, he saw Ian standing before him.

“May I come in for a minute,” Ian asked, looking at the doormat.

Nick nodded silently and allowed Ian in. He showed him into his den. “Can I offer you a tea?”

“No, I will just be here for a minute. I don’t want to burden you any more than I already have.”

“Alright. What’s this about?”

Staring at Nick’s feet, he started, “When I got home last night I was very sad. I realized how wrong what I did to you was. You had asked me to be careful, and not only was I not careful, I was careless. I should’ve never taken the ball in. You were honoring me and I disrespected you, and a very sad thing happened. There is absolutely nothing I can do to make this right. I can’t make you a new model or give you the honor you would have received from the magnificent work you did. I can’t even afford to reimburse you for the materials you used. You have every right to hate me forever. “

Ian paused for a few seconds. Nick, being still angry, did not respond, but allowed the moments that passed to stay charged with tension.

Ian began again. “I have a lot of shame in myself, and this next part is difficult for me to ask. Part of me feels like I am wrong for even asking, but I have no choice. I don’t want you to hate me. I don’t want our friendship to be broken. And, since there is nothing I can do to make things right, I have to ask for your forgiveness. I am so, so sorry for what happened. I wronged you and I need your pardon."

Nick looked at Ian. He was still mad, but very much appreciated Ian’s humility and courage. On top of this, Nick knew the teachings of the gods. He knew he had no choice but to forgive him if he was going to be obedient to their teachings. He felt as if he had been backed in a corner. He couldn’t deny his anger, but Ian had come to him humbly and confessed the wrongness of what he had done.

“I forgive you,” he mumbled, and a few moments of silence passed.

“Of course I forgive you,” he restated, as if he was trying to convince himself that he had done so. 

“We all make mistakes, and yours was a big one. But I must forgive you, so I will.”

A smile came over Ian’s face and he said, “You are truly a gracious faun. It seems your character is as good as your woodworking skills.”

Ian got up, and, after exchanging in the customary pleasantries, left.

Nick stood at the door and watched him walk away. Under his breath, he mumbled, “I forgive you, but I am not going to forget.”

The next day Ian was in town at the market. He was reaching for the two reddest tomatoes in the basket and was going to try to trade some apples from his family’s orchard for them.

“Oh no you don’t!” a voice shouted as he grabbed the tomatoes.

“Excuse me?” Ian questioned as he loosened his grip on the tomato.

“We will be conducting no more trades with you,” the vender faun explained. “Nick told us what you did to his model. That would’ve brought many new opportunities to our town and would have made Nick famous, and you destroyed it! You should be thanking the heavens that Nick forgave you! He didn’t forget though, and neither will we! It’s all your fault! From now on, we’ll get our apples from elsewhere!”

Ian was hurt by this tirade and wondering how word could’ve spread so fast. Yet he couldn’t argue with the justice of it. Sadly, he found similar reactions to him everywhere he went in the market. He returned home that day with only his apples, which is what his family had to content themselves with for dinner.

The next day after Ian finished his work in the orchard he got his ball and went to the park to play. Several of the fauns his age would meet there to play sports together regularly, and there was always room for more players. Ian was a particularly athletic faun and always one of the first to be chosen. On top of this, he had the nicest ball to play with, so he was always welcomed.

This day, however, Ian met a different attitude when he arrived at the park.

“What do you think you are doing?” said one faun.

“He can’t be serious! As if we would let him play!” said another.

“You might as well go home,” added a third. “You are no longer wanted in our games.”

“What?” responded Ian, confused. “What’s the problem? Did I do something wrong?”

“Did you do something wrong?” said the first faun sarcastically. “Nick came to our house yesterday and told us all about what you did wrong. Good ‘ole Nick never hurt anyone and worked so hard for our village, and you just wrecked everything!”

“That’s right!” another joined in. “I can’t believe he forgave you! It’s a good thing he didn’t forget about it so he could tell us. He may have forgiven you, but we will make you pay for what you did! You won’t be playing with us anymore.”

“Look,” said another. “That’s the ball that messed up everything! Get it!”

Another faun ran at Ian and seized the ball from his hands. He then tossed the ball to another faun, who had a knife. He stabbed the ball right in front of Ian’s face. “That’s what we think about what you did!”

Ian was distraught and ran all the way back home. While he was sad, he couldn’t fault the fauns for feeling the way they did.

“At least Nick forgave me,” he thought.

The next day Ian was walking through the town center where he ran into Nick. He was in a conversation with the village chief.

“Well there is the little culprit now!” the chief said as he was waving him to approach. “Nick was just telling me all about what you did.”

“Ah,” Ian said, his shame-filled eyes pointed toward the rocks on the ground. “He told you about that, did he?”

“And a good thing he did!” said the chief. “After all, he forgave, so he can’t make you pay for your crimes. Now that he has told us, however, we can make sure you get a just punishment for this!”

Nick then put his hand on Ian’s shoulder. “Just know, my dear faun, that whatever happens, we can still be friends.”

“I am going to discuss this with the elders, and when we reach a decision on the matter you will know.”

Ian kept his head down and went home. He knew that the punishment he was going to receive would be severe. He had thought that when Nick had forgiven him that he would not suffer for the wrong he had done. It now appeared that he would face all the justice that was due to him. He concluded that he did not actually know what the word forgiveness meant, as it did not seem that Nick’s forgiveness actually meant anything at all. Despite vowing to forgive, he was still spreading the word of his offense all over town to make sure he paid for his clumsiness.

 Later that evening Ian heard a great noise outside his house. He exited the front door to see a mob of his own tribesfauns assembled in his yard. They were carrying torches and had the town’s warriors with them. Standing before them was the chief.

“Ian, the tribe has reached a decision concerning your case.”

“So I wasn’t forgiven?” Ian responded.

“Your deeds have been forgiven, but not forgotten. We find ourselves remembering your sin and unable to live with it. As long as we are remembering what you did, I am afraid you cannot live amongst us. We must ask you to leave.”

“Then you should stop remembering my offense,” Ian said. “Isn’t that what you are saying when you promise to forgive?”

“Certainly not!” the chief laughed. “If we stopped remembering your offense then we wouldn’t be able to make you pay for it or have cause to be angry. The fact is, Ian, that what you did really infuriates us, and the only thing that we have in memory of our great work of art is our anger towards you. We certainly don’t want to give that up. We would rather hold on to our anger with the memory of your sin than you and a suppression of those memories. Since this is the case, you can no longer stay here. We cannot be friends. We cannot live together.”

“What then, does it mean that I have your forgiveness?” Ian pleaded.

“It means we have said the words, ‘I forgive you,’ to you.”

Ian, dejected, looked at his former friends. They had promised to remember his sins and be angry about them. Their torches and stern faces told him he really had to leave, so he packed his things and left. He left knowing he would never see his friends or his family again. The remembered sin would always be a cancer in any relationship.

As he walked out of the town, he thought sarcastically:

“Well, at least they forgave me.”

The Insanity of God, by Nik Ripken : A Review

What it’s about

This is the story of Nik Ripken (a pseudonym) and his family. It chronicles the story of his own walk with God and how it led him to become a missionary in Somalia. After experiencing all the horrors that could be imagined going to a place like that, he and his family were forced to leave. Left with many questions about God, including whether God can and does work in such darkness, he came home and decided to search for answers. He began to travel all over the world, interviewing Christians who were being persecuted for their faith. Significant portions of the book are dedicated to his experiences in these countries, especially Russia and China.

Why this book is important

The Insanity of God is a grown-up view of persecution. In a health-and-wealth gospel world, sometimes I have difficulty finding a balance between an arrogant lack of faith in the miraculous and a naïve belief that God will heal all diseases and fix all situations miraculously according to the quality of one’s own faith. The first is letting yourself be dragged in to the naturalistic assumptions that plague the western world. The other is something my pastor aptly called “adolescent Christianity,” which is unwillingness to let God be sovereign over evil and pain. It is a failure to trust His wisdom for the way He chooses to act in this world.

The Insanity of God wages war on both errors. Concerning naturalism, there are clear accounts of the miraculous things that God is doing all over this world. There are reports of acts of healing, answers to prayer, and even testimonies of people being raised from the dead. If God is indeed all-powerful, He is not bound by the laws of the world He created. He can and does act in miraculous ways just as He did in the book of Acts. This book does not put a skeptical slant on these stories but allows a belief in a God who works wonders.

On the other hand, there are clear accounts of persecution and suffering. While miracles happen, they do not always happen. Sometimes God has a reason for putting His people through very difficult circumstances, and this book tells many stories of that as well. Never is the Chinese believer’s imprisonment linked to a lack of faith because he is going through suffering. Rather, the suffering is seen biblically; namely, as something that matures the believer in character and brings hope.

I really appreciate this approach. In the middle of these two extremes is a Biblical land where we can live, though we must live there without all of our questions answered. Although clearly very intelligent, the author writes with a humility and honesty to which I can easily relate to. God doesn’t always answer all of our questions, and Ripken is honest with this fact. In this honesty he finds believers from all over the world who speak truth into his doubts and encourage him.  While this book does not give exhaustive answers to why suffering exists (which are answers that only God knows), it does offer testimonies to reassure our faith.

Criticisms

When I read reviews, most of the negative critiques came from people who did not have biblical worldviews. For example, one said that the miracles discussed made the story seem fictional. This is nothing more than naturalism and is foreign to biblical Christianity. Another was unhappy that Ripken, while noble in his efforts to bring relief to suffering nations, missed the boat in proclaiming Jesus the only hope for these situations. Again, this is a criticism from one who is starting off with a different authority than Ripken and myself, making it an easy criticisms to dismiss.

I will give one criticism, however, and then offer a disclaimer for it. Much time was spent offering great stories from different cultures, bringing to light interesting differences in their experiences with persecution. I would have liked to have heard the author analyze the differences in the ways the varying cultures were experiencing persecution. In other words, questions like: “Why does suffering in this culture have this affect, while in other cultures it does something different?” “What are the differences and similarities between a top-down persecution (in which the government persecutes people) and a bottom-up persecution (in which families persecute their own family members when they convert)?”

These questions are particularly pertinent for me. While I was very encouraged hearing the stories from China and Russia, those are not things that I personally experience. I serve in France where there is freedom to practice religion, even if that does mean something different than it does in America. The government is not going to throw me or people in my church in jail. Bottom-up persecution does exist here, however, especially in the large Muslim population. I find myself asking the difficult questions that he was asking from time to time, and I would have liked to have heard more of his perspective.

A lot of time was spent on Russia and China, but he never came back to how those situations related to Somalia. Or rather, he never came back to that from an analytical standpoint. He did revisit it in terms of faith, which I appreciated and do not want to discount. He believes God can work anywhere, and I agree with him. I do, however, still think there is value in discussing these questions of how we observe God working in different cultures. I would have liked to have seen more of that.

Now for my disclaimer about my criticism. My criticism is largely one of omission, but such an omission is understandable. The book is fairly long as it is, and it no doubt could’ve been longer. The book seemed to be focusing on strengthening the faith of those hearing these stories more than it was about analyzing trends in the way God is working in the world. Perhaps what I wanted was beyond the scope of the book. The author no doubt would have much wisdom on this subject, however, and perhaps there will be a future project with this in mind. I would personally love to have a coffee with him and discuss these issues. He has worked hard to gain the perspective that he has, and I hope he will continue to share his wisdom with us.

What this book did for me personally

One issue that I was challenged with is the way I am to pray for the persecuted church (which I do not do enough). Typically, I have been encouraged to pray that these persecutions would stop and that liberty would come to these countries. I was surprised to discover that the believers in these stories (especially those in China) were not praying for their persecution to stop. Rather, they were praying for their faith to be strengthened so that they could endure the suffering. This takes a deeper trust in God’s sovereignty and a strength of faith to believe even when being thrown in prison and tortured. I greatly admired this and wondered if I could be that strong myself in such a situation.

In a similar vein, I was impacted by the difference in vitality of the church between the pre and post-Communist Russia. Those who grew up in that persecution had memorized books of the Bible to be ready for the persecution. Bibles were not readily available, and they surely would not have one if they went to prison. Their solution was to memorize it. This changed with the newer generation of believers who grew up in liberty. They could hardly name the books of the Bible.

This is a sad reality that I have also experienced in my own life. It seems that if things are not going badly then I do not pray that often. It is a particular challenge for believers who grow up with liberties of worship (which we should be thankful for) not to take them for granted. We need to use our freedom to become stronger disciples of Christ. We have Bibles everywhere, hymnbooks in our pews, and iPhones that allow us unlimited numbers of downloadable sermons. Why should it take threats of jail to get us to memorize God’s Word and hide it in our hearts?

Conclusion

This is a book that should be read by believers. It will both strengthen and challenge your faith. It does not water down the questions, but neither does it leave us in doubt of the power and goodness of God. It challenges the western church without bashing the western church. It provides some great stories and lessons for us from believers all around the world. Take advantage of this great book that would have been very difficult to write in ages past.  This one is a must read.

dev195 - Evil Judges

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”

Matthew 7:11

It is clear God knows how to give us gifts. The person who seeks to be grateful can easily see all of the love surrounding him. I find it interesting, however, that in this passage Jesus feels the need to present an argument concerning the ability of the only all-powerful and all-knowing Being to be capable of good gift-giving. It should be obvious to us, but he wants to be clear.

Yet, in this passage, there is one thing that Jesus does assume. The fact that Jesus believes everyone is in agreement on comes in the form of a little jab that he throws in to his listeners- namely, the fact that they are evil. God knows how to give all this great stuff to you, and, by the way, you are evil.

The opposite argument, however, might be needed today. People probably would assume that God gives gifts; in fact, sadly, many feel as if they are entitled to them. As C.S. Lewis said, “We have put God in the dock for judgment, and it is we who judge.” If God hasn’t given us enough of what we assume is our due, we get to announce our sentences upon him. The assumption has shifted. Before, men thought God was just and the one who is able to judge. Now, somehow, people have deemed themselves the ones with sufficient knowledge and goodness to judge, and God the one who is be submitted before our verdicts.

Before we hammer down our gavels to silence the Lord of Creation in our courtroom, let us be reminded of Jesus’s little jab. You are evil. Even if you had perfect knowledge of all God is and does; even if you could comprehend all the mysteries of reality; the fact that you are evil would still keep you from being able to pronounce any justice before Him. Possession of the knowledge necessary to judge is not sufficient; you would still bend your judgments to suit yourself.

The world loves the idea that man is basically good. If man is good, then I too can be good. If I am good, then I don’t need to be accountable to anyone. I get to avoid the dock and be the judge and jury. In my courtroom I can tell the voices that don’t please me to be silent. I can be in complete control, as I have become the authority. Yet the minute I become evil, I no longer have this power. I am the one being judged. Someone is claiming a command over me that assumes I am wrong. The declaration is that I am broken and need to be fixed. And, if that is an accurate description of me, then I give up my rights to be an authority. I am no longer a solution; I am a problem.

Jesus assumes that we are a problem and he is the solution. In the face of this sad humanism that the world is trying to hold on to, the fact remains that a plague of sin has infiltrated everything it is to be human. It is in the news. It is in the streets. It is in our hearts. Of all the historical Christian doctrines, none is more obviously seen to be true in every culture throughout time and space than the depravity of man, as it is perceived both outside of and inside of our souls. It is so clear that Jesus felt no need to expound on this simple descriptive of people: evil. Jesus cannot be listed amongst those who promote humanism. Richard Neibuhr said, “Only romantic fictionizing can interpret the Jesus of the New Testament as one who believed in the goodness of man.”

It is popular for people to run away from religious faith to a stance on having “faith in oneself.” If this is the route you want to go, you must realize that you are placing your faith in someone who is evil, and your foundation is no more firm than one who places his confidence in a corrupt government. You are not worthy of your trust, and I suspect that in most areas of your life you assume that to be true. Christ is the One who is worthy of confidence, and He thinks that you are valuable, loveable, redeemable and important. And evil also, by the way.

dev194 - Justice in lines at Versailles

But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Acts 16:28-30

The lines at the Chateau de Versailles are long, especially on a French holiday in a season known for tourism. Yet, being the only day possible for a visit, some friends decided to brave the hazards of extreme boredom and claustrophobia and suffer the long queue that would lead them into renown palace. 

Just as they reached the front of the line and the portal into the castle, a French couple jumped in front of them, unjustly skipping ahead of my friends who had been waiting patiently. They took a spot they did not earn at the expense of their group. Similar situations have happened with me. My first instinct is to react with anger, demanding my own rights. It would have been completely within the bounds of justice to order them to the back of the line.

Fortunately, my friend was not thinking as I would have. His mind was filled with thoughts of the gospel, which had taught him that he did not need to demand his own rights. God had already given him better than he deserved. In view of God’s mercy, he smiled at the couple and invited them to join his group in the line. They proceeded to have a pleasant conversation which ended in glory being assigned to Jesus’ name and a gift of a Gospel of John to their new friends. This incident could have justly ended in a humiliated French couple being shamefully sent to the back of a long line. Instead, grace given brought forth a new friend and a positive witness being testified concerning Jesus.

In Acts we see the same thing happening with Paul and Silas. They were unjustly thrown into prison. God, the Lord of the earth, caused the earth to tremble. The earthquake opened the doors of their cell, seemingly offering them a red carpet to escape. Yet Paul and Silas knew that God was after something bigger than personal justice being done for his two missionaries. God was bringing about His kingdom in the world. Knowing this, Paul and Silas stayed in the prison cell and prevented the suicide of their jailer. Upon seeing the Christians not demanding their due, the jailer was moved. He became the first complete pagan to become a Christian in Acts (the previous Gentiles were all God-fearers).

It is natural to want justice. Justice is always right. Grace, however, offers a higher power than justice does. It is by grace that salvation comes to sinners, as justice would demand our demise. Therefore, having received grace, let us remind ourselves to be a people who offers grace. Seek opportunities to avoid recognition of being wronged, but rather proactively seek to forgive. It is God’s kindness, says Romans, that leads us to repentance. Let that kindness work through us.