Our Citizenship

Here's a touching story from Kay Warren to reflect on as we celebrate our Nation's independence this July:

Heading home to California … a friend and I passed through the Dallas–Fort Worth airport. On the way to the connecting gate, we heard loud patriotic music playing and saw a group, mostly women, wearing colorful hats, cheering, and waving American flags. The troops were coming home, and here was their welcoming committee.

Two women encouraged us to grab flags and join in. We were early for our next flight, so we took places in the makeshift greeting line. At first, a few soldiers just dribbled by. We whooped and waved our flags furiously. Then the pace picked up as dozens of men and women in uniform came barreling through. We kept repeating: "Welcome home! We're glad you're back! We appreciate you!" Some soldiers wiped away tears, while others displayed huge, self-conscious smiles...

After 45 minutes, it was time to catch our flight. We hugged the organizers and thanked the vets who had come to honor this generation of soldiers. As we sank into our seats for the flight, we felt humbled by participating in this sweet moment of coming home. It was impossible not to draw the obvious spiritual parallels. These men and women had taken oaths of faithfulness and service. They had fought courageously, lived with deprivation, danger, and disease, and took unbelievable risks, all for the good of our nation.

But as great as America is, it is a temporary place. No nation lives forever. As believers in Christ, we are all soldiers in the Lord's army. We, too, take oaths of fidelity, sacrifice, and service. Our oaths of allegiance are to a kingdom that shall never end—a country where there is never a mistake in leadership, where justice flows down like a river, where poverty, disease, terror, hunger, and greed hold no power.

Scripture teaches us about the welcome and rewards we will receive when our battle on earth is over. Artists, writers, and theologians have all taken stabs at imagining what those moments of heavenly welcome will look like. … That afternoon … we were visualizing the very moment when we would step into eternity.

As my friend Elizabeth and I looked at each other, the same thought crossed our minds. Through misty eyes, she said, "If I get there first, I'll be on your welcoming committee. I'll be jumping up and down, screaming, 'You made it! I'm so proud of you!'"

I laughed and said, "Oh, you're not going to beat me. I'll be there before you. I'm older. I'll be at the head of the line to greet you!" In that moment, heaven was more real than the smell of the stale coffee in our foam cups.

What I'm really wondering about is this: Will we be surprised at who gets the biggest welcome? I'm not coveting more high-fives, but I am dimly aware of something so profound and holy that I can barely put it into words.

All of us fight unseen battles every day, each believer a secret soldier locked in battle with forces no one else can see. The bravest among us are not necessarily those who fight with guns or tanks. The bravest person you know might be your husband or wife or neighbor or coworker who goes on living one more day when every bone in his or her body says it's no use...http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

How much could we lighten the load for another just by telling him how brave we think he is? Oh, to be so merciful with fellow soldiers fighting their personal, hidden wars.

Best of all, how much better when we bring undisclosed struggles into community, where victories can be celebrated together, great losses mourned together, and where whoops of encouragement can provide even the most weary soldier the courage it takes to keep on keeping on, one more day.

Kay's husband is Rick Warren, the senior pastor of Saddleback Community Church in California. She shared this story in a 5-28-09 article on www.christianitytoday.com. May we all cherish and celebrate our earthly and heavenly citizenship well this Fourth of July.

ESV Bibles in the Pews

CLPC has new bibles in our pews. Several months ago the session and I began exploring replacing our New International Version (NIV) bibles with the English Standard Version (ESV). There are many fine bible versions on the market today and our corporate study of the scripture is enhanced by using a variety of translations. With that said, here are a few reasons why the session concurred with my recommendation to update our pew bibles.

First, the ESV, first published in 2001, takes a more literal approach to translation than the NIV. While the NIV seeks to translate thought-for-thought, the ESV translates the original Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) more closely word-for-word. An essentially literal translation, like the ESV, allows students of the scripture to draw conclusions independent of the bias of the translators. For instance, in Romans chapter eight the NIV translators consistently use the English phrase "sinful nature" to translate the single Greek word sarx,which literally means "flesh." While the NIV draws the interpretive conclusion that sarx (flesh) means "sinful nature," the ESV allows readers to draw their own conclusions by translating the word as simply "flesh."

Secondly, the ESV cleans up some of the unnecessary male gender bias reflected in the NIV. For instance, compare the way each bible version translates 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

(NIV) ¹²If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

(ESV) ¹²Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ¹³each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

At other points, the ESV intentionally maintains the male language of the original languages so the reader, again, is invited to take Scripture on its own terms rather than depending on the assumptions of the translators.

Lastly, the ESV is widely available in a variety of platforms and study bible formats. You can easily find the ESV for your iPhone, iPad, smart phone and Kindle. The ESV Study Bible (which I personally use on my Kindle) is a solid resource for bible students.

You can find other resources and read more about the translation philosophy of the ESV on their website at www.esv.org.