Origins 7.30.2026

     Most of my post-college life I have had a pocket copy of the US Constitution. Though it is not a document of divine origin, in no way scriptural or inherently moral, it is the “rule book” for the American Experiment, and this a good thing to know. The Constitution is a political blueprint for a new kind of nation. This very human document, like all writing, was a creature of the time of its composition.  But because the founders were pretty smart, it included the processes for its own expansion and emendation. 

    My interest is the exegesis and application of scripture, so I thought you might be wondering “Why these thoughts on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit?” I wanted to provide a couple of lines about the origins of this month’s writing, and it comes back to that old, now lost copy of the constitution and a new copy I recently obtained. 

    If you follow anything I write you know I am a big notebook carrier and note-taker. My brand is Field Notes notebooks. There are two current (big and small) books on my desk right now, along with a desk diary and a stack of filled books I keep around for reference. Also, there is the box of a new notebook design from the Field Notes folk that I only purchased because it came with a premium copy of The Founding Documents: The Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States. So, the genesis of this July’s writing was a consideration of some of the cardinal thoughts of the founding documents of the USA, in light of parallel Biblical vocabulary. One might think of this as applied theology. I would also describe it as nitty-gritty theology. 

    The 250th birthday of our country came at the beginning of the month. Just about the time that my copy of the Founding Documents arrived. I browsed through them, hit some of the highlights and reflected on some of the core elements which are often thought to derive from a Biblical mindset. The 18th century may not have had the internet but that does not mean that it was not a connected and complex society. The 13 colonies were highly literate and filled with men who had drunk deeply at the well of the Enlightenment. The colonies were also an experimental hodgepodge of theological reflection and religious practice. Some of the colonies (Massachusetts) had and would continue to have established (that is tax-supported State) Churches until the 19th century. Other colonies (Pennsylvania) were founded with no State Church and full freedom of religion. In all the colonies there were “freethinkers” and devout believers everywhere. Sometimes both extremes existed in the same person. 

    Reading these documents reminds us that the past is truly a different country and we must go there warily lest we carry the baggage of our own prejudices back with us. A national birthday celebrates both the achievements of the past and the possibilities of the future. But the celebration is right now. We can afford neither to fritter away the accumulated wisdom of the past nor steal the unknown achievements of the future. We must live here. We must live now. 

For the believer it is a question of balance. I come back over and again to the second century letter to Diognetus…

“They live in their own countries, but as aliens. They share in everything as citizens and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign country is ⌊their country⌋, and every country is foreign.” Rick Brannan, trans., The Apostolic Fathers in English (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).

    Sometimes I fear that the contemporary Church has lost this balance. We have become too comfortable.  I am afraid that we wish, not to blend in but to edit out the complexity, variety, and diversity of the world. The choice between cowardice and conquest is not one that Jesus offers nor endorses. I am afraid that we have mistaken a profound blessing for a new purpose. The purpose of the Church is unaltered. It doesn’t matter if you live in Alabama, Illinois, Albania, Italy, or Washington DC. Our job is to make disciples, proclaim the gospel, lift Jesus, care for the broken, pursue the Kingdom. The Bible is the Kingdom document. Not the Constitution. Let’s let the last word come from Jesus. 

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33 ESV)

Pursuit 7.23.2026

     We are all familiar with the concept “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of______.” I leave the final clause blank because filling it will be the topic of this essay. Life is relatively easy to define. And though elusive, liberty a topic that all humans hold dear. It is this pursuit which bedevils us. 

    As derived from both enlightenment thinking and English common law tradition the third part of this triad (Jefferson may have leveraged it but he didn’t invent it) was generally some kind of a property clause. However, for the founders such a seemingly grasping concept did not come across as a thoughtful reason for separating from the King. I suppose it would have sounded like “Keep your hands, royal or otherwise off of our stuff!” And of course, the distinctive economies of the various sections of the country were founded on different, though interlocking economic realities. 

    Better to round off these “inalienable” human rights with one that seemed acceptable to all reasonable people. Of course, the unfolding history of our nation reminds us repeatedly that maybe these “rights” to property were more of a motivating force towards liberty than we are comfortable acknowledging. 

    The Confederacy was certainly founded upon the notion that the pursuit of southern liberty was predicated upon specific property rights. The notion that these three rights were more alienable for some than others, though avoided in the declaration, it was certainly made clear in the maudlin mathematics of the Constitution (3/5ths). 

    Subsequent developments from the gilded age to the jazz age, to the digital age confirm that for every poor soul who wanted to be happy there were many more who wanted to get rich. For those whose happiness is primarily found in the pursuit of property there are very few other rules. It is amazing how many people revere the words of Jefferson and his colleagues and hide behind a facade of Christianity whilst being wholly ignorant of some Jesus’ central teachings. Ignorant, or willfully blind—it works both ways. If you are a believer, the following words should resonate with you. 

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)

    Christian people since the very earliest days of the Church have been reconciled to the fact that our life, our liberty, and our pursuits must be subservient to and derived from our life in Christ. If not, then they are temporary at best and blinding distractions at worst. 

    The American Church must do a better job of making a distinction between our tremendous blessings to be living in such a wealthy and powerful country and the realization that it has no eternal significance. In fact, if we are not careful, we will find that we begin to amass earthly treasures vulnerable to time, decay, and intrusion. When we consider this question “What is most important to me? What do I pursue?” we need to make sure that the choice is informed more by the gospel than the good chance of our physical location. 

    We must also be aware that a misguided pursuit—for riches, power, position, or influence can very quickly move from damaged desire to misdirected decisions and actions

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.” (James 2:1-8 ESV)

 James is merely citing circumstances where the pursuit, freed from biblical, theological, and moral restraint had flipped the gospel completely around! James understood that when the Church is filled with speculators who have invested the treasure of their life in the things of this world. They may win in the prediction market but lose in the sanctification market. 

    Where are you investing the great treasures that Jesus has provided to you? Are you hoarding and hiding them or using them to bless others? This goes beyond money—some will always have more than others—what of your time, your abilities, and your kindness? 

    The words of the declaration are a fine reflection, a good beginning for our great political experiment. They are also a great point of departure for thinking about issues that are far more important. How am I using my redeemed life? Do I squander my liberty in Christ pursuing my own self-interest? Am I living in dogged pursuit of material wealth or investing for eternity? It’s your treasure. Choose well.

Liberty 7.16.2026

    Virtually every human person has their own definition of liberty. In each individual’s mind he or she is at the very center of everything. The most popular definition of liberty would go something like this. “I can think, say, and do anything I wish at any time, with absolutely no external restraint.” For most civilized people this doesn’t sound like liberty—it sounds like license. Yet for much of human history these two seeming opposites were more closely related than what we moderns would find comfortable. 

    Last week’s look at life was comparatively easy! Everyone who has life wishes to keep it and maximize it. Yet, even in the third decade of the 21st century the masses of people throughout history who lived without any conception of liberty still dwarfs those who have had liberty. For the human community, defining and delimiting itself, liberty may be the canary in the coal mine that not only didn’t die—it hardly ever lived! 

    Which is why a discussion of liberty that does not begin with and then focus on our universal captivity to sin is liable to miss the point. Consider what Jesus says in John 8.32 

“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” (John 8:32 ESV)

 He certainly knew that those words resonated differently in the various segments of His audience. Some would have thought themselves already free in mind and conscious, even if they were actual members of the servile class. (Slaves) Others would have been offended. Against well understood “objective history” those contending with Jesus replied to what Jesus said with

“They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”” (John 8:33 ESV)

    Which is just silly—they knew better! Half of the Hebrew Bible is about getting into, though, or out of slavery, exile, or vassalage. It’s not just that it wasn’t true, the boast was hollow and self-serving. They were in an argument, and they were reaching for whatever stick was at hand to win the argument regardless of its truthfulness.  Listening Roman soldiers or Herod’s henchmen overhearing this claim probably chuckled. This doesn’t even consider other listeners who may have had extended family members living in Persia, who had stayed put after the exile ended. 

    You will notice that I am substituting freedom for “liberty” in this discussion. The use of the word “liberty” in the NT is a bit problematic. It is, at least in my favored version, rarely used  and translates several terms from different semantic domains. And when people speak candidly what they really want and they truly mean when they use terms like liberty, is freedom. 

    Even then, too many people do not understand that the real freedom Jesus discusses, the freedom—liberty if you will—that we really need has nothing to do with politics. The real freedom we need, now and always, is freedom from sin. And this salvation that Jesus offers, the salvation grounded in His own person and work is not restricted by nation, state, race, or background. The audience for His gospel expresses this universal need. 

    Jesus’ servant Paul was obviously not present when Jesus spoke the words recorded in John 8.  At that point in his life, however, he surely agreed with the sentiment expressed by those arguing with Jesus. Paul was proud of his racial/religious heritage and considered himself no man’s slave. He was filled with pride and loathing for those far less pure than he. I’m sure that the Saul we first meet—breathing fire and fury against the Church would have agreed against all evidence that he and his people had never been enslaved to anyone. It is interesting that he seizes on this imagery to describe the outcome of this freedom we gain through Jesus…

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 ESV) 

    

Clearly, this was not the thrust of the founders. This is not what the meant by liberty. Their goal was founding a republic. Their purpose in declaring their “liberty” was freedom from external rule by what had become a foreign power. That freedom, wonderful as it is, is far different in kind and separate in function from the freedom we have in Christ. 

    All residents of this nation are covered by the freedoms guaranteed in our founding documents. Social and political liberty have a limited and parochial reach. Outside of the USA the Constitution may be an admirable statement but it is not foundational. 

     Many of those politically liberated people, free to “live their best life”, are still slaves to sin. The liberty they enjoy may lead to a richer life, but when that life ends the real problem remains. On the other hand, the goal of the Church is to proclaim the liberating gospel of Jesus wherever we may find ourselves, to whoever will listen, accept His offer of freedom, and be transformed. We proclaim that liberty whether here in the land of the free and the home of the brave, or elsewhere in the land of the oppressed political slave. Our goal, our ministry, our purpose, our mandate—our mission. Proclaim the true liberty only available in Jesus. 

Life 7.9.2026

The opening section of the Declaration of Independence famously states…

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”

    Regardless of debates about how self-evidential these truths are, or what exactly the founders meant by equality, or how far they intended to extend these “unalienable” rights, there is a discussion to be held regarding their theological propriety since they also drug “Their Creator” into the discussion. 

    I think it proper during this anniversary month to consider how life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should be rightly considered from the perspective of Scripture. A central part of this discussion needs to wrestle with the fact that words—all words, at all times--need to be considered in their proper literary, social, cultural, psychological, and (if possible) spiritual context(s).  As much as we would like to just say “word x means y”, this gets us nowhere until we fully consider the context in which x is uttered. Hermeneutics is more than lexicography. Hermeneutics requires us to survey the intellectual geography surrounding a term to determine why an author (or authors) chose to use a term in a specific way. All authors are creatures of this “geographical” intellectual environment that typifies their time and place, and it is virtually impossible to replicate that intellectual landscape. This is why we must be particularly careful in interpreting any text whether a purely political (and dare we say propagandistic) document like the Declaration of Independence or more critically, our approach to Scripture. 

    Obviously, the founders recognized that a political entity—Colony, State, or Nation needed to provide some modicum of stability so that people could simply live. People needed to farm, work, raise their families, establish communities, educate young people, and worship. Clearly, the founders had concluded that the King and his government no longer could be trusted to guarantee the freedom to live and function. They saw life, within this context. So, they worked to provide a justification for a new political alignment in which the governed would assume the liability for their own lives. What seems to be common sense to us, was, to put it mildly, revolutionary in their century. Not just in the 13 colonies but in the rest of the world. 

    This perspective, largely derived from enlightenment thinking, challenged the status quo of thousands of years of reasoning regarding who was principally responsible for a nation’s life. Virtually everyone agreed that it was the responsibility of the sovereign. Now, for us, because of this Declaration of Independence, the responsibility for guaranteeing life and providing for community integrity comes down to the community; town, state, or nation. The people have become the guarantor of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Whilst this may be accurate from the perspective of political and social necessity it is separate from and unrelated to what the Bible asserts about the nature and character of the life we most need. 

    John, Elder, Apostle, and servant of Jesus didn’t know anything about this bootstrapping, new-fangled, citizenry that is defined by the Declaration. He was actually a royalist, albeit of a different kind than addressed by the founders. In the NT literature attributed to Him John uses the word “life” (ζωὴ) 59x. This term whether spoken by Jesus or used in narrative contexts is a central part of John’s presentation of the Gospel. It is a fitting point of contact. Consider some examples.

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4 ESV)

““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV)

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24 ESV)

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life (John 6:63 ESV)

"And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12 ESV)

“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”(Revelation 22:17 ESV)

    I realize that I have cited a significant body of Scripture. It is sufficient to establish the point that for John, and this is largely born out in the rest of the New Testament, life is found not in our political, social, racial, or cultural heritage but in Jesus—He who gave His life to redeem us. Our life—our entire being is in the Son. 

    In trying to make unfounded and unbiblical connections between the purely political, earthly, and imperial we lose our focus on the King in whose Kingdom we find not only earthly comfort but eternal redemption. 

    The USA is a wonderful country. There is no doubt that being an American is a tremendous blessing and that we possess enormous advantages that other nations do not. Privilege brings responsibility and enormous opportunity. We must be careful to not squander the latter in avoiding the former. 

    Yet individual humans die. Some nations and cultures have gone into extinction. Many of the places that nourished the Christian faith in its infancy are barren to it, even hostile in intent. Yet in other places it flourishes! Because the life of a nation may be its people, but the life of the Kingdom is the King who gave His own life to redeem us. As the Church changes and flourishes in new places the true life that we have in Jesus triumphs over all substitutes and fashionable facsimiles. As we share a national birthday it is right and good for us to remember that our faith-roots go far deeper than here and now. We share the inheritance of the Saints which transcends geography, nationality, and chronology to melt into the eternal life of God.

In Jesus 7.2.2026

5 They live in their own countries, but as aliens. 4 They share in everything as citizens and endure everything as foreigners. 5 Every foreign country is ⌊their country⌋, 6 and every country is foreign. Epistle to Diognetus, Rick Brannan, trans., The Apostolic Fathers in English (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012)

    Christian people have their identity in Jesus. I think that the epistle to Diognetus captures this complexity perfectly. It is in being able to embrace what it means to be in this world (whether that be our city, county, or nation) but not of it, that helps us to be joyfully present in our world. 

    In a couple of days, we will celebrate Independence Day 250. And while we will always have a special place in our hearts for the land of our native, physical birth, as Christians we should recognize that we should never feel fully at home here. Our new birth defines our nature, destiny, and purpose. 

    I believe we need to recall what it means to live, like our first brethren, in our own country, but as aliens. We need to hold fast to the Biblical testimony regarding our heavenly citizenship and cultivate a historical understanding of how believers have negotiated this often-confounding path. Diognetus is a good place to start. I think these words remind us that to stubbornly hold so tightly to something which is not permanent, risks losing the good offered by that very thing. And Diognetus is expounding a solidly Biblical principle. That’s the job of preacher/pastor/theologians, to take scripture and to interpret it into new contexts, new situations. 

    Here are some scriptures that help maintain a balanced perspective amid our alien existence. I don’t know if these texts were on the mind of the Epistle of Diognetus, but they certainly have resonance.  

“By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.”(Psalm 137:1 ESV)

“the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.” (Ezekiel 1:3 ESV)

“ And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” (Acts 16:13-14 ESV)

Three texts about three exiles, three aliens. Their identity was found neither in their native land nor in the land of their exile. They found their identity in their relationship to God. Lydia soon responded to the Gospel and found a new identity in Jesus. In their exile the knew their true citizenship was in the Kingdom. The same is true for us. Our true place is the Church, the present Kingdom of our Lord.

    We are not the first who have had to deal with this uncomfortable reality of being, in a sense, exiled, or at least separated from our home. We make the best of it. We hear God’s voice. In some circumstances the way will be wet with tears, in others there will be joyful celebration. 

    Peter addresses the whole Church in his epistle, when he assumes that this is our universal status. He describes his audience (as a “catholic” epistle this would be the whole, distributed Church) with these words.

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, (1 Peter 1:1 ESV)

Mrs. Beckman and I live next to the mighty Wabash river. It isn’t the Chebar canal, it’s not the Gagnitus river. Just the ol’ Wabash. One of these days we will be at home and sing by another river

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1 ESV)

 Till then, every country is foreign, and every country is home. Till then, we are happy exiles sharing the story of an undiscovered country and a universal kingdom. Till then, we tell the story of Jesus for those who love and live by that story, and for those who loath and laugh at that story. Till Jesus comes, or we conclude our journey we are happy travelers who sleep soundly at night, joyful exiles in the arms of Jesus. 

 

Yes, we’ll gather at the river,

The beautiful, the beautiful river;

Gather with the saints at the river

That flows by the throne of God.