Hell is insufficient

On the way home from work last night, I listened to a sermon by John Piper entitled, "The Echo and Insufficiency of Hell." I am glad for the opportunity to listen to many sermons, but this one stands out as one of those life-changing ones that needs to be revisited often. The two mains points are what hell teaches us about God's glory [how glorious and holy he must be for a "finite" sin against him in this life leads to infinite and eternal suffering in the next], and how hell (or the fear of it) is never enough to bring someone to true faith. The concepts addressed in the second point are those which impacted me the most as I listened to them, and I'd like to reflect on them here. I do this so that I can more firmly establish them in my own mind, but also that others might hear them as well.

I learned that Jesus used hell as a means of warning people and to bring sobriety to their minds. But in itself, this cannot bring true conversion, because God is looking for those who love him--he is looking for true worshipers. Even as fallen men we can be afraid of hell; but in our sin we do not love God. Instead, we love darkness and are happy to stay there. One quotation that powerfully illustrates this is, "Fear of hell is no proof of love for God. Desiring to be rescued by the lifeboats before you drown, does not prove that you love the captain of the ship." Here is where we must all examine ourselves. We say that we are Christians, and we try to live lives that look like Christian lives, but do we love God? Are there ever times in our lives when we can speak from our own hearts, "Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides thee?"

If fear of hell can make us think soberly, what can take us that extra, and absolutely necessar step, and make us truly long for God and for heaven? While reading in David Brainerd's life, John Piper observed that when the Indians came to weep in repentance, it was not while Brainerd was preaching on the terrors of hell, but on the glories of heaven. As he puts it, he learned that "you have to fall in love with the holiness of heaven before you can weep over sins of hell." It is only when you come to see how beautiful and delightful that God is and compare that with your own husks of your fallen life, that you begin to mourn the fact that you are missing what is truly good and desirable.

These two paragraphs are the sermon in a nutshell, but I want to add here the final paragraphs directly from the sermon. These summarizing thoughts move me each time I read them and I pray they will be of great aid to you as you contemplate your own love for God.

The Startling Discovery: You Must Fall in Love with God

But now think what this means. This was the startling discovery I made last January. In order to cry over not having something, you must really want to have it. And the more you want to have it, the more you feel distressed over not having it. This means that true evangelical contrition, true repentance must be preceded by a falling in love with God. To truly weep at not having God's holiness, you must long for God's holiness. To truly weep over not possessing it, it must be attractive to you.

So you see how strange this seems at first: God and his way of holiness must become your joy before you can weep over not having it. You must fall in love with a person, before estrangement really hurts.

So hell is insufficient to produce tears of genuine repentance. For the tears to be real, they have to come from really missing God, not just missing heaven. Brainerd found that words of winsome attractiveness produced more brokenheartedness in the Indians than did the words of warning. Warning has value in stirring us up to take the glories of holiness and heaven seriously so that we come to see them for what they are and delight in them. But it is the delight in them that causes true grief when we fall short. No one cries over missing what they don't want to have (emphasis mine).

Peter saw in the miracle of Jesus a treasure of hope and joy that was so wonderful he was overwhelmed with how out of sync his life was with such a treasure. If this much power and this much goodness is there in Jesus for those who trust him, then O how different would be my life if I truly believed! How radical would be my obedience! What abandon would I feel in my living for such a Christ! What freedom from petty grievances and from fleeting pleasures of sin would I enjoy!

So the discovery I made was that true remorse and contrition and repentance flow from falling in love with all that God is for us in Jesus. Until God is our treasure we will not grieve over our falling short of being satisfied in him and living in a way that shows that satisfaction.

Hell cannot produce satisfaction in God. And so it cannot produce remorse for not having God. And so it cannot produce gospel repentance. And so it cannot save. It is insufficient.

Taste and See That the Lord Is Good

If we want to bring about tears of gospel repentance, we have to say things that make God and his holiness—not the comforts of heaven or the escape of hell—but God himself and all that he is for us in Christ—look alluringly attractive. The Holy Spirit takes this alluring portrait of God and Christ and causes people to fall in love with God. That's called regeneration, or new birth, or effectual calling. And when a person falls in love with all that God is for them in Christ, then the tears for sin will come. And they will be tears of remorse that God had been missed and spurned; and they will be tears of joy that finally there is something infinitely satisfying to live for and not just something to fear and to flee.

The most striking way to put this is that the pain of genuine repentance flows from the pleasure of seeing God for who he is. As paradoxical as it may sound, genuine grief over sin flows from genuine joy in the glory of God.

Hell is powerless to produce this. The tears that hell can produce are the tears of remorse and fear that the sin we love will destroy us. The practical purpose of hell is to shock us out of our love affair with the world and send us running to the fountain of life. But only the taste of that fountain will give a passion for God and break our hearts that we have loved anything else.

So I urge you: Don't let the fear of hell be your only motive for wanting heaven. Instead, come to the living waters of God's love and truth and goodness and wisdom and power and justice and grace and glory. Taste and see that the Lord is good. His steadfast love is better than life. Let the fearful insufficiency of hell drive you to the all-sufficiency of God.

This sermon can be found in both audio and text form at http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByTopic/77/801_The_Echo_and_Insufficiency_of_Hell_Part_2/

Running with joy

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their measuring line goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Psalm 19:1-6 (ESV)

The other day I was thinking about these verses while taking a break at work. It was a cold day, and overcast, but the thoughts that the sun runs its course with joy brought some brightness to my heart. I imagine David sitting there from sunup to sundown, watching the sheep, and watching the sun climb high in the sky. There may be days where we live that are cloudy and overcast and hide the sun, but for the most part in David's arid climate he would have seen the sun clear every morning. Is it any wonder then, that he would describe the sun as a bridegroom leaving his room and running his course with joy? Darkness covers the night, then dawn comes slowly, but once the sun comes over the horizon, it does it in full strength, and does it quickly. Have you ever sat for those 2 or 3 minutes and watched the sun go from nothing to full power? In that brief time, night is gone and day is instantly here.
The day that I was considering these things, however, was dreary and cold. But just as I was reading the words, "there is nothing hidden from its heat," the clouds hiccuped and for just a moment the sun's light and heat shined right where I was sitting. In an instant my face was warmed. That made me think about the timelessness and unchanging nature of the sun and of the heavens that it lives in. As people we live in a certain spot on the earth that may not at all resemble the spot that someone else lives in, or even if we live in the same spot that some famous person lived in centuries ago, time and progress may have completely changed the landscape around us. But the heavens are--at least in this age--unchanging. That is the same sun that warmed David's face, the same sky with the same stars that Abraham looked into when God promised him many children.
The first part of Psalm 19 speaks of God's revealing himself through creation, and I am glad that he has given us physical people something physical to see and feel that teaches us about him. I think about how God has said that his home is in heaven, the unchanging place; his word is settled in heaven, the unchanging place. And while we look at these unchanging heavens and think about God, we learn from his special revelation that he himself is even more permanent than they are; for one day he will roll them up like a garment and make even them new again.
May we all find new hope in God each time we look to the unchanging heavens, and may his Spirit cause our hearts to rise in joy and--like the sun--live each day in the full vigor of his grace.

Could it be? A white Christmas?

The last time we had a white Christmas (or as a song I recently heard says, a "Caucasian holiday"), we didn't have one. That is, it was 2002 and we were in Minnesota. That year, the east had a white Christmas, but Minnesota didn't.

Last Saturday we went and cut our own tree. (Only the second time we've had a tree since we were married--I'm such a Scrooge [not grumpy, just stingy].) After enjoying Daniel with his kids, we are taking lessons on being fun parents!

Philip's first chance to touch a tree. (He didn't like it.)

In Daniel's family, the tree always falls on him after it is cut [see www.gigglingirls.blogspot.com]. Ironically in our family, it fell on mom.

Yesterday we ventured into the blizzard for 25c pizza slices in town. I'm glad dad had given me some tire chains before we went to Minnesota. This is PA 74, normally a major 2 lane that gets plowed quickly.

Pizza anyone? That is one 25c "piece" on my plate. Golden Crust was celebrating their 25th anniversary. We always wish Jacob would do a normal smile--this time he was just trying to be weird. The Coke glasses were 99c, so we came home with 5.

The newspaper stand outside the restaurant. Quite an ironic headline? "Forecast could chill shopping"

A couple of sheets of plywood and scrap 2x4s made a nice snow fort.

Sarah Beth dressed herself to go out this morning. This is how I found her when she came back in. Snowsuit over nightgown--must be a four-year-old thing.

Native American Humor

Back in October I was researching things to do on our Minnesota trip. One place I visited was the website for the Red Lake Indian Reservation. I thought the following Top 10 list would bring some smiles!

Top 10 things Native Americans should say to White Folks:

10) How much white are you?
9) I'm part white myself, you know.
8) I learned all your people's ways in the "boy scouts."
7) My great-great-grandmother was a full-blooded white American princess.
6) Funny, you don't look white.
5) Where's your powdered wig and knickers?
4) Do you live in a covered wagon?
3) What's the meaning behind the square dance?
2) What's your feeling about Las Vegas casinos? Do they really help your people or are they just a short-term fix?
And here it is, the number one question native people should ask white folks. . . .
1) Hey, can I take your picture?

Red Lake Net News (www.rlnn.com)

The Trip, to the end

For better or for worse, whether posted on this blog for all the world to see or to be lost forever into the empty world of cyberspace, here are the final pictures of our trip.

On Monday the 23rd, we traveled 25 minutes to Wyoming for dinner at cousin Tressa's house. (We sure got around, didn't we! Seriously, for the non-locals, Wyoming is a town in Minnesota about 1/2 hour from Daniel's.) If 8 isn't enough, try 11. Jacob & Philip did well in holding their own against the onslaught of so many of the female gender.

Thanksgiving Day in St Croix Falls. Laura's parents joined us for the day to ride herd on the hoodlums.

On Friday night after Thanksgiving, we went across the river into Taylors Falls, MN, the town where mom once lived. They were having a parade to celebrate the lighting of the town's Christmas lights. The kids got to hear Mrs. Claus read a story, choose a balloon figure, and go on a hayride through town. For more on that story, complete with professional photography, please visit the blog of Laura E. Birx (gigglingirls.blogspot.com).

On Saturday, we traveled north to see the places where my grandparents grew up and to visit family that lives in Pine City. One of the places we enjoyed seeing was the little schoolhouse in Danforth, where my grandpa went for all 8 years of his education.
Uncle David gave me directions to find the farm where my grandpa grew up and lived through the war years. Unfortunately the directions to turn down a certain road and look for a junkyard were all the directions I needed. The house stands today in a declining state, as a lonely reminder of long ago memories.

Here is the same house in 1943, with Grandpa Philip Johnson and Grandma Valera, with her brother Donald in his army uniform.We also visited the cemetery in Danforth, where my great-grandparents, who immigrated from Sweden, are buried. Here Jacob Martin is at the grave of my great-uncle Martin Johnson, who died as a soldier in the Aleutian Islands in World War 2.

Later in the day, near Pine City, we visited the farm of my other great-uncle, Clarence Nordstrom. He farmed with horses all of his life and was well known in those parts for his skill with horses. He died in 2001 and the house and barn have been sold, but the family has kept the rest of the 200+ acres. They have built 2 cabins (and outhouses!) where they get together during the summer for fun and reminiscing.
Dusk falls on the Nordstrom farm and on the memories it holds for me. The family would gather every New Years Day for a real sleigh ride, and we were often privileged to be out there for that. That farm and that family are some of the treasures of childhood that I will never lose. We hope to be able to provide the same types of fond joys for our children to look back on.
Sunday was our last day in those parts, and God gave us a nice blanket of snow to enjoy as we followed Daniel (silver van) to church.
Kost Evangelical Free Church. Where mom grew up, where Daniel goes to church now, where Grandpa & Grandma Johnson are buried.
After church, we went out in the churchyard and had got Philip's picture at the grave of his namesake, Philip Johnson.
Back home, we had more fun in the afternoon, and the twin cousins had their picture taken together. Sarah Beth and Abigail, the four-year-olds, are also known as the curlie-cutes.
Cut from a different cloth, Rebecca enjoys some classic root beer in celebration of our leaving.

And one picture from the trip home, the windy city with the Willis (aka Sears) Tower in the skyline. After that, and once past Gary, Indiana (a little bit of New Jersey for those who might be homesick), it was nothing but farms and mountains till we got home. We left just before 4AM central time and got home around 12 AM central time. Just a little bit of driving, but are we ever ready to do it all over again!

From the archives

While in MN, I bought a scanner/copier so I could digitize really old family pictures. I had fun with cousin Sue for the day and got a lot of old pictures on the computer now. As a side benefit, I can go through old snapshots and put them online once in a while. Here are two from the past.

There were three in the bed, and the little one said. . .
This was taken in 1979, when I was almost 5, Daniel was 3 1/2 months, and Josh was 3.


This was taken in 2000, when both of our backs were in a little better shape. That's strange, we didn't have any kids back then, either. Wonder if there is a connection?

Trip Update, Days 7-14

Laura entices Sharon into scrapbooking. Thanks a lot, L, yesterday she came back from the store with a paper cutter. Look what you've started!
The kids get a ride on the work wagon at Uncle David's. No charge for the ride, but they did have to help load the wagon with firewood.

Child labor at its best.

David and Nathan making memories and warmth for the winter.

A special uncle with a new generation of little girls to spend time with.

On the 22nd, we were able to visit at Bethlehem Baptist Church, pastored by John Piper. After the service, we visited Aunt Sherri and cousin Heidi in Eden Prairie. Lydia had fun helping with the desserts.

We enjoyed the elegant table setting. Aunt Sherri has a real gift for decorating and hosting. She even had bought some toys and coloring books to keep the kids busy while we visited. As it grew dark, the kids had a fun run in the back with Heidi.
(I'd like the recipe for the salad and the main course.)

Snow fun, part 2

After church this morning the kids went out to play. They quickly learned it wasn't sledding snow. I shoveled up a good part of the backyard to make a big pile for them, and Lydia spent time making a "snowperson" (don't want to offend anyone!).

Early snow

People are talking about a colder winter than normal, and yesterday we got 6" of snow, so I hope they are right. It was a driving, wet snow that stuck to everything. Where the trees hung over the road, there was little snow on the road but the tree branches were 4x their normal size.

Sno-el, sno-el.

Winter wonderland.

Notice the leaves still on our neighbor's apple tree.

Taken at night with a 60-second shutter setting on the camera.

I'd like to think we will have snow for Christmas, but more than likely it will be a typical season with either 60 degree temperatures or 38 degrees and raining.

Days 7-11

After all the driving (we would put on just over 4000 miles before the trip was done), we took it easy for a few days. Really about all we did was a trip into Minneapolis to the Mall of America. First we stopped at IKEA, where the kids enjoyed the kids room setting and the toys. Lunch is cheap there for kids, too. The highlight of the Mall was Legoland. Daniel has a growing business buying lego bricks on clearance and reselling them online, so this was business & pleasure. That also means the kids had an almost endless supply of blocks for building at home.

Recess in Romper Room
Looking down from the 3rd floor onto Legoland.

Raising a ruckus at Ikea

Ikea--quite an experience, even if bright red furniture isn't your style. The glass on the outside of the building was one of Daniel's engineering projects.

Trip Update

Sorry, we left off at day 3, and now we are home after day 21. This post will catch you up with days 4-6. Highlights of these days? Staying at an indoor waterpark in Duluth, MN, and going hunting with my Uncle David in the far northwest of Minnesota. {Caution: some pictures may not be suitable for the faint of stomach.}

On the way back to Daniel's from northwestern Minnesota, I decided to cut into North Dakota since I'd never been there. We enjoyed seeing the flat country, the massive piles of sugar beets, and the potatoes laying all over the side of the road (having fallen off in transit.)

Strathcona is the town where David's cabin is. It's located north of Thief River Falls.

After the hunting was over, we had fun with the kids. (Jacob had already taken his ride with me.)

We didn't get a deer this year, but that's probably because the other relatives had gotten there first.

This is one of the other relatives. No, just kidding. Did you ever think you'd see this woman in hi-vis hunter orange?

Roughing it, Minnesota style. They call this the Hilton. Room for 10, with a woodstove inside. Not a bad deer stand. This is where they get together mid-morning to swap stories and plan for the rest of the day.

The kids hanging out with Paul Bunyan in Bemidji, Minnesota.

This was one of Jacob's favorite spots in the waterpark. He liked warming up in the hot tub.

Michigan

Day 3 was spent in Michigan before heading west through the top of Wisconsin and into Duluth, MN for the night. Our hotel in Munising was the cheapest of the 3 and the one I enjoyed the most. We got in around 8:45 in the evening and the place was closed. There was a sign on the front door with my name and room number. The door was unlocked so we went in and enjoyed ourselves. The owner didn't show up till 830 the next morning. He said things are so slow this time of year most hotels in town close. Some nights he has 3 or 4 rooms busy and other nights no one comes. It just had that down-to-earth feel of a small town hotel--with the added niceness of a northern lodge atmosphere (pine-paneled walls and log furniture).

The day's highlight was the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Munising. Here there are 40 miles of cliffs along Lake Superior. The various minerals in the rock add beauty to the scenery as well as exotic coloration in the water.

Unusual in this area, we enjoyed a long stretch of sandy beach. We found the sand grains to be much larger than those found on a typical beach.

Our inveterate artist at work on one of God's created easels. (She "signed" it with her handprint.)

Collecting lake-smoothed stones washed up on the beach.

"Miner's Castle," one of the most prominent locations along this stretch of shoreline.

We hiked the pathway down to the Miner's Castle overlook. The vast expanse of Lake Superior is behind the family.

[Some Lake Superior fast facts: 31,700 square miles; 350 miles wide and 160 miles tall; max depth 1276 feet; avg depth 489 feet; 3 quadrillion gallons of water; average year-round water temp of 40 degrees; largest freshwater lake in the world by area and hold 10% of the world's surface fresh water.]

Close-up of the weathered rocks. Various minerals create the various colors. Imagine a God who even makes the rocks beautiful!

Looking straight down a cliff into the water (over 100'). The orange color is the edge of the cliff face and the blue/green is the water.

'Twas a chilly, windy morning on our visit. This is how Philip stayed warm, zipped inside my coat. Yes, it was cold, but we had the entire national lakeshore to ourselves!

He was so cozy in his cocoon he fell asleep.

Heading westward, we passed through the tiny village of Christmas. In 1938 a man started a small factory to make holiday items in this remote area, and a little town developed.

Lake Superior, west of Christmas.
Lake Superior, west of Christmas.

Lake Superior, west of Christmas.

Now we know why they call it Lake Superior.