Flying Too Close to the Sun
A common phrase when describing someone who fails miserably trying to reach an unfathomable goal comes from Greek Mythology. Fans of the Greeks will remember the story of Icarus, son of Daedalus, who flew too close to the sun and melted his wings of wax. Things did not end well for Icarus because he could not swim. According to myth, he drowned in the sea after falling. This story is good for teaching the trials of being overconfident and reckless.
The Greek Myth comes to mind while reading a recent CNN article about NASA launching a probe, the Parker Solar Probe, to fly "closer to the sun than any spacecraft has ever reached." According to Ashley Strickland, reporter for CNN, Parker launched to seek the face of the sun early on Sunday morning. Parker's mission is to enable NASA to study solar winds before plunging deep into the sun's corona, while transmitting as much data as possible during the death dive in four to five years. Like Icarus who drowned flying too close to the sun, Parker will burn for the same reason.
Icarus and NASA are not alone among humanity seeking to be closer to that brightest of lights that brings life to this existence. But it's not the Sun; rather, the light we seek is the Son. For Christians who truly know God, any darkness, any time away from Him, any choice to walk further from God or that puts distance between us and our Holy God, is like death. To be separate from our loving, merciful, gracious, Holy Father also invites disaster.
"Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always." (Psalm 105:4, NIV)
As I continue my play on words, Icarus and Parker are not alone. I know many a Christian who has been burned flying too close to the Son. Maybe it is because the good deeds of a devout Christian bring the wrath of Satan, and maybe it is because the appearance of godliness improves one's earthly stature. It seems the "greater" the Christian, the more impactful the fall from grace. Take America's shock in 1988 when Pentecostal televangelist Jimmy Swaggart gave his famous "I have sinned" sermon regarding sexual sin, or televangelist Jim Bakker's charges on mail and wire fraud in the same year. I digress. These two highly publicized and highly political falls are representative of the latter cause, the appearance of godliness, which causes burns flying "too close to the Son." One question remains, how much good did either Swaggart or Bakker do for the Kingdom before his fall?
Every churchgoer can recount stories of devout Christians who have been burned – some like Swaggart and Bakker by their own actions, some by fellow Christians who sought to tear them down or disagreed with their works, and some by the church itself. We are all human and churchgoers are not immune to human nature. In fact, Alexander Pope may have summed up all of humanity best in "An Essay on Criticism" when he wrote, "To err is human, to forgive divine." Even devout Christians are more human than they are divine.
But unlike Icarus who drowned or Parker, which will burn by its own actions, sometimes the "burn" is God's justified discipline used to bring us back to Him, to turn us away from the path we are taking as we walk away from Him.
"For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal." (Job 5:18)
"The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal them." (Isaiah 19:22)
Regardless of the response of the "Church," or the indignation of the sinner, the Son isn't the cause of these injuries any more than your earthly father is the cause of your spanking; rather, while He is sometimes the hand of justice, He is always the source of healing, of redemption.
But for us, the Christian who takes an appropriate vector to the Son with the right mind to seek His face, give Him praise, and give Him all the glory, what is our role in dealing with a Swaggart or a Bakker? What is our purpose in the Church when someone has willfully abused God for his own gain? It is rather simple.
Always Forgiveness.
The Bible is replete with Jesus' teaching on forgiveness. And, despite some "church" teachings, it does not depend on the sinner's heart. Our forgiveness is not earned by the sinner's repentance; it was earned by Christ's death on the cross.
"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Col 3:13, NIV)
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Eph. 4:32, ESV)
Sometimes Correction.
Unlike forgiveness, which was earned and is demanded by Jesus, correction is the rightful responsibility of the Church whenever a member persists in sin.
"But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning." (1 Tim 5:20, NIV)
Take a recent article on Fox News about a church in Santa Cruz, California. According to the article, the Greater Purpose Community Church, which sponsored an entry in Santa Cruz's recent Pride Parade, will convert a building into a worship space and brewery. The church is called "pro-gay" and will donate some proceeds of beer sales to Planned Parenthood.
Nothing about that last paragraph is Godly. Read it again – better yet read the original article. The Santa Clara "Good Times" cites Ecclesiastes 9:7 as the directive for "Pastor" Christopher VanHall's progressive-minded church.
And Test Everything – Always.
First off, anything can be a church, but not anything is God's Church. Satan twists the Word of God for his purpose and he is the most effective liar in history. He misled Adam and Eve with one word, "not." (Gen 3:4) He tempted Jesus with scripture pulled out of context (Matthew chapter 4). He misled half the world through Hitler and Nazi Germany's use of Romans 13. And he is misleading today from the pulpit of churches like Greater Purpose and Westboro Baptist. Don't be fooled by unsound doctrine or teachings that soothe itching ears (2 Tim 4:3); rather, test everything and be mature in your worship. Just because, "Jesus drank wine and had a reputation of hanging out in places where people consumed alcohol," does not give you license to profit from beer production while marching in a gay pride parade and donating to the murder of God's unborn children. Forgive, but be vigilant to correct whenever someone persists in sin. And be of sound mind and heart in your own worship.
So don't be like Icarus and fly too close to the Son for all the wrong reasons. Rather, be like Paul who, once chastised by the Almighty God, sought only His face for the betterment of His Kingdom. Forgive seventy times seven (Matt 18:22) and be prepared to lovingly correct anyone who persists in sin. But remember to do everything in love, else you risk being chastised yourself for wrongful motive. In the end, do everything with a pure heart, mature in your understanding, following His word. You can't go wrong if you don't deviate from the map.
– Mark Klages is an influential contributor, a former US Marine and a lifelong teacher who focuses on applying a Christian worldview to everyday events. Mark blogs at https://maklagesl3.wixsite.com/website under the title "God Provides where Hate Divides," with a heart to heal social, political, relational, and intellectual wounds through God's divine love and grace. Mark can also be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-klages-04b42511/.