If you do what you like ... (Gal. 5)

If you do what you like, then, at the end of the day, you won't like what you did. Goofing off, cutting corners, procrastinating, are the easiest things in the world. But let those habits take root, and becoming a productive man or woman becomes a progressively more difficult task. Habits shape (and warp) character.

Gal 5:17 Çünkü benlik Ruh'a, Ruh da benliğe aykırı olanı arzular. Bunlar birbirine karşıttır; sonuç olarak, istediğinizi yapamıyorsunuz.

Your time management is the sum of every little decision you make during the day. Those who can deny themselves, can achieve. Those who choose, time after time, to indulge themselves, fail to profit from the abundant opportunities dropped in their path.

(This message is easier to preach than it is to act on, BTW!)

Peter Pan syndrome (Gal. 4)

Abdullah is a popular name among Muslims, a confession that one is "a slave of Allah." In the order of the universe, there is only room for one God -- and it ain't me. I can dig it.

On the other hand, slaves tend to lack ambition. They have a set of clearly-defined chores to complete. In exchange, they receive room, board, clothing. During the American Great Depression, the federal government employed a number of destitute English majors as oral historians. They went around collecting slave narratives, the verbal memoirs of the aging African Americans who remembered life before the War Between the States. 80% or more of them considered life on the plantation as the happiest and most secure period of their lives.

Christians assert that God has adopted them as sons, as heirs. A son pays more attention to what is going on, since he anticipates having a stake in the success of the family estate. A dutiful son will stay mentally engaged, seeking to grow in his ability to understand and manage the resources coming his way. A slave just follows orders.

Paul talks about the contrasting perceptions of duty experienced by sons and slaves:

Gal 4:6 Oğullar olduğunuz için Tanrı öz Oğlu'nun "Abba! Baba!" diye seslenen Ruhu'nu yüreklerinize gönderdi.
Gal 4:7 Bu nedenle artık köle değil, oğullarsınız. Oğullar olduğunuz için de Tanrı sizi aynı zamanda mirasçı yaptı.
...
Gal 4:9 Şimdiyse Tanrı'yı tanıdınız, daha doğrusu Tanrı tarafından tanındınız. Öyleyse nasıl oluyor da bu değersiz, etkisiz ilkelere dönüyorsunuz? Yeniden onların kölesi mi olmak istiyorsunuz?

We have a touch of God's presence on our lives that assures us of His paternal interest in our lives. Yet, sons need to grow up. It's so much easier to regress, to slip back into the childish irresponsibility of simply doing chores and following orders. In America, we speak of the "Peter Pan Syndrome," named for the literary character who refused to grow up.

Not good. Christians view life as an ongoing struggle to responsibly use the precious assets of life, time, and opportunity. But it's a good fight.

The true sons of Abraham (Gal. 3)

My mother disappeared for several days when I was 13 months old. Finally, my dad took me to a big building where she was resting. I rushed into the room, eager to see her again -- and saw a supplanter at her bosom. Shocked beyond words, I turned around and stomped out of the room in tears. Much of my childhood was shaped by envy and resentment towards this younger brother, who had the people skills I lacked. A suave, charismatic guy who people automatically liked had stolen the spotlight that I'd considered my birthright.

Abraham had two sons by his first marriage, one by his concubine Hagar, and one by his wife Sarah.[1] Sibling rivalry became so intense that Isaac's mother demanded that Hagar and Ishmael be sent packing -- in the middle of the desert.

This injustice still rankles, thousands of years later. This sense of having been unjustly displaced. The Arabs of today trace their lineage back to wronged Ishmael. The Jews, to the favored golden boy, Isaac.

So who, then, are, the true sons of Abraham? The Christian answer is paradoxical -- none/all of the above:

Gal 3:26 Çünkü Mesih İsa'ya iman ettiğiniz için hepiniz Tanrı'nın oğullarısınız.
Gal 3:27 Vaftizde Mesih'le birleşenlerinizin hepsi Mesih'i giyindi.
Gal 3:28 Artık ne Yahudi ne Grek, ne köle ne özgür, ne erkek ne dişi ayrımı var. Hepiniz Mesih İsa'da birsiniz.
Gal 3:29 Eğer Mesih'e aitseniz, İbrahim'in soyundansınız, vaade göre de mirasçısınız.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, the gracious Creator's "graphic user interface" with the universe, His ultimate "avatar," any who enter into a covenant with the Creator can, once again, have a Father's undivided attention. We who believe in Jesus are the true descendants of Abraham, the inheritors of His promised goodness.



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[1] He had a number of children by his second wife, Keturah. By then, he'd already distributed the bulk of his estate, but he gave each of these additional sons a present and sent them packing when they came of age.

The Seductive Scaffolding (Gal. 2)

The power of culture is a beautiful thing, when it helps one subordinate his personal agenda to broader purposes, such as the glory of God and the well-faring of one's neighbor. We are all the products and the shapers of our cultures. As we make holidays special for our children, we create oases of joy in their lives, wonderful and wonder-filled times of the year. The Christian year includes advent and Christmas. Lent and Easter. The Muslim year includes the Sugar Feast (Şeker Bayram) at the end of Ramazan, and the Feast of the Sacrifice a month later.

Suppose, though, that one's culture turns malignant? Tha Nazis had a passionate love for their own people, kultur, and traditions. A land famed for poets, musicians, precision instruments, and chemistry, became the wellspring of terrifying darkness.

The Christian gospel began in the context of the Jewish land, people, faith, and culture. Jesus, however, preached that the Jewish culture had become ingrown, toxic, and reprobate to its original purpose -- to carry God's glory to the whole world. This message did not sit too well with the cultural elites of his day, the people responsible for shaping and defining the culture he denigrated.

Yet, even though the Jewish Christians knew that God had invited non-Jews to experience His grace, the cultural barriers to full inclusion remained stubborn. For example -- Peter (Kefas) was the apostle who first took the Gospel to the Gentiles, in the person of pious Cornelius, a Roman occupation officer. Yet, when put to the test, he failed to be gracious. Hewas intimidated by those whose self-worth depended on snubbing others:

Gal 2:11 Ne var ki, Kefas Antakya'ya geldiği zaman, suçlu olduğu için ona açıkça karşı geldim.
Gal 2:12 Çünkü Yakup'un yanından bazı adamlar gelmeden önce Kefas öteki uluslardan* olanlarla birlikte yemek yerdi. Ama o adamlar gelince sünnet yanlılarından korkarak sünnetsizlerden* uzaklaştı, onlarla yemek yemez oldu.
Gal 2:13 Öbür Yahudiler de onun gibi ikiyüzlülük ettiler. Sonunda Barnaba bile onların ikiyüzlülüğüne kapıldı.
Gal 2:14 Müjde gerçeğine uygun davranmadıklarını görünce hepsinin önünde Kefas'a şöyle dedim: "Yahudi olduğun halde Yahudi gibi değil, öteki uluslardan biri gibi yaşıyorsun, nasıl olur da ulusları Yahudi gibi yaşamaya zorlarsın?

Let's look at one word tonight:

• ikiyüzlülük -- Hypocrisy. One of those marvelous Turkish words assembled from components you snap together like Lego blocks: iki- -- two. -yüz- -- face. -lü- -- with. -lük -- condition of.
  

The Jewish culture had served as a scaffold, holding things together while Israel awaiting her Messiah. Now, however, it had become a barrier, an unsightly encrustation on the fresh new Kingdom revealed by the arrival of the King. Sadly, when push came to shove, many of the Jewish Christians were more Jewish than Christian. In Israel's hour of need, many rallied around the standard of Jewish culture, and left Jesus behind. They condemned 2,000 years worth of their children to eternal perdition, rather than betray their native culture.

Meanwhile, back in Anatolia ... (Gal. 1)

At an early stage in his ministry, Paul started a community of believers in his own home territory, in Anatolia. We don't know exactly why he began preaching to them. He suggests that it was not during one of the happier periods of his life -- he was tormented by a painful physical ailment. Yet, somehow, a church was established. People began meeting regularly, studying the LXX [1], and discussing the implication of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, God's revelation, and Savior.

Then, they went off the rails:

Gal 1:6 Sizi Mesih'in lütfuyla çağıranı bırakıp değişik bir müjdeye böylesine çarçabuk dönmenize şaşıyorum.
Gal 1:7 Gerçekte başka bir müjde yoktur. Ancak aklınızı karıştırıp Mesih'in Müjdesi'ni çarpıtmak isteyenler vardır.
Gal 1:8 İster biz, ister gökten bir melek size bildirdiğimize ters düşen bir müjde bildirirse, lanet olsun ona!

Mess with someone's children, and you can expect to provoke some SERIOUS wrath. In the last decade of the 19th century, immigrant parents marched on public schools with torches and pitchforks. Paul regarded these Galatian Christians as his spiritual children. He had invested in them, and expected them to carry his values, his message, forward into the future. Let's look at a few words:

• İster biz -- if we
  
• ister gökten bir melek -- if a from-heaven angel
  
• bildirdiğimize -- makes known to you
  
• müjde -- gospel, good news
  
• lanet olsun -- accursed / let him be
  

Gotta watch out for angels with new messages! In America, we have to deal with Mormons, a cult founded by a guy named Joseph Smith, who claimed that an angel gave him a newer testament, engraved on golden plates. Smith's new religion made him a rich man, and filled his marriage bed with a harem of willing additional wives.

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[1] The Septuigent, abbreviated LXX - the Roman Numerals for 70 -- was the Greek translation of the Old Testament that the Christians quickly adopted as their own holy book.

Paradox, again! ( II Cor. 13 )

Christians have got to be crazy. On the one hand, we ascribe all kinds of honors to Jesus, even to the extent of what our Muslims friends call shirk -- associating Him with the Creator in nature, power, and honor. On the other hand, though, we believe that this totally special guy expired in painful disgrace on a Roman cross. Does not compute!

There are reasons why Paul forthrightly admitted that the doctrine of the crucified Savior was a scandal. This word derives from the Greek word σκάνδαλον, which originally referred to the trip-lever on a trap. Think of today's idiomatic expression "third rail." Looks harmless, but touch it, and you die!

Which brings us to today's verse:

2Co 13:4 Güçsüzlük içinde çarmıha gerildiği halde, şimdi Tanrı'nın gücüyle yaşıyor. Biz de O'nda güçsüz olduğumuz halde, Tanrı'nın gücü sayesinde O'nunla birlikte sizin yararınıza yaşayacağız.

A few words:

• güç -- power, strength, force, might. A computer's power supply is a güç kaynak.
• güçsüz -- powerless. Weak.
  
• güçsüzlük -- weakness.
  
• halde -- even though
  
• yaşımak -- to live
  
• birlikte -- in unity with. (bir -- one. birlik -- oneness, unity. birlikte -- in unity with.)
  

When Süleyman and I watched Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ together, he said that the Turkish audience had wept to see the suffering inflicted upon Jesus in the movie. Which explains, I replied, why Christians love Jesus as we do, since we believe He bore that suffering on our behalf.

But God had the last word in the life of Jesus, and continues to have the last word in the context of our often muddled, disastrous lives. No matter how bad things look, we always have reason for hope, for joy.

When I am weak ( II Cor. 12 )

In this chapter, Paul, to his own disgust, cites his diplomas and credentials. Max Weber broke leadership down into three flavors:

• Traditional -- the village elder, the parish priest
• Bureaucratic -- the interchangeable, impersonal manager
• Charismatic -- the guy who simply looks credible. The kind of guy people want to hang around with, and wish they could be.

Paul viewed himself as a man with a commission from the King of the universe. Paul announced the glad tidings that the King had dropped in, surveyed his domain, and went on his way, leaving his servants in charge. His focus was on the King. He served the King, and wished to attach those who heard him directly to the person of the real majesty on high. Much of Paul's charisma stemmed from his integrity, his uncompromised allegiance to the One who had conscripted him into the noblest service in the universe, that is, service to the One who had created the universe.

Now, he has to deal with these bureaucratic bunglers who have no visible loyalty to the King, but are obsessed with their own positions. He thought he'd instructed the Corinthians better about the things that really mattered, and here they were, running after con artists with slicker sales pitches. After enumerating his credentials, his diplomas, his certifications, and even his mystical experiences, Paul comes to the bottom line. As the first sentence in Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life puts it, "It's not about you." Next to his mission, and the King who'd commissioned him, Paul was insignificant. And he appreciated the painful "reality check" that God had given him, to help him maintain his perspective:

2Co 12:7 Aldığım vahiylerin üstünlüğüyle gururlanmayayım diye bana bedende bir diken, beni yumruklamak için Şeytan'ın bir meleği verildi, gururlanmayayım diye.
2Co 12:8 Bundan kurtulmak için Rab'be üç kez yalvardım.
2Co 12:9 Ama O bana, "Lütfum sana yeter. Çünkü gücüm, güçsüzlükte tamamlanır" dedi. İşte, Mesih'in gücü içimde bulunsun diye güçsüzlüklerimle sevinerek daha çok övüneceğim.

What do you do when God doesn't answer your prayers? Ask for insight:

• Bundan -- Concerning this
  
• kurtulmak -- to deliver, to save.
  
• için -- in order to
  
• Rab'be -- to the Lord
  
• üç kez -- three times
  
• yalvardım -- I begged
  
• Lütfum -- My grace
• yeter. -- suffices
  
• Çünkü -- because
  
• gücüm -- my strength
  
• güçsüzlükte -- in weakness
  
• tamamlanır -- is made perfect