Defining The Terms: Distinguishing Between God & Idols (Treasure & False Treasure)

I hope you are hanging in there as we explore the terms that underpin this blog :-) (Speaking of which, if you have any feedback, please feel free to leave me a comment!)

This will be a brief one, as I just want to highlight what the difference is between "God" and "idols".

As I've explained before, a god is anything that we pursue in order to find ultimate life and fulfilment. However, I want to argue in this blog that there is only one real God -- that is, the Trinitarian God of the Bible (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) -- and that any other gods that we worship are "idols". You could see this as God being the true treasure, and idols being false treasure. The term "idolatry", therefore describes the worship of things or people other than God.

You will see these terms being used through the blog.

What Do You Pursue? (Video)

Listen to the words.

Defining The Terms: The "Treasure" - What Is A God?

I’m sure you would agree with me that a treasure hunt with no treasure is void and useless. I mean, it kind of negates the idea of there being a hunt in the first place if there is no goal, no object you are seeking after at the end of it, right? In the same way, we use our life – our effort, energy, time, money and resources – to seek after something: we chase after that which we believe will give us satisfaction, peace, fulfilment, value and purpose . This is what we would say is the “treasure”.

The treasure can be many things – the most popular in our culture being things like wealth, success, romantic love, fame, sex, our own personal comfort, etc. It is whatever we idolise as being the thing that will give us true life. This is what we call a “god”, and it can be any person or any thing in this world.

Relating this back to the “hunt” being worship, what happens is we will do whatever is required to hunt for our treasure – that is, we will do whatever necessary with our time, money, effort, passion and devotion to hunt for (worship) our treasure (god or gods).

Let me give you an example

Imagine I am a married woman and I see wealth as the ultimate treasure (i..e. the thing I believe will satisfy me). Now imagine that my husband really wants to have kids, but I don't because children are expensive and it means I won't be able to accumulate as much money. So, because of my god, I deny my husband what he wants and ultimately sacrifice our marriage and having children in the pursuit of wealth.

Incidentally, some forms of treasure are often used to “unlock” other forms of treasure. Going back to my example just mentioned, it might be that the reason I worship wealth is because I want to impress everyone around me – meaning that I have made a god out of pleasing other people and getting them to think that I’m great. Or maybe I pursue wealth because I want to party all the time and go on luxury holidays several times a year, because I live my life for having fun. Do you see what I mean?

If it still doesn't make complete sense – don't worry. The idea of this blog is that I am going to be looking at many, many different examples and showing you in those scenarios what is being worshipped (the treasure, the god) and how it is being worshipped (the hunt) – and then showing how this contrasts to worshipping the only true God – the God of the Bible as revealed to us in Jesus Christ. I want to demonstrate that He is the real treasure, where true life and joy and peace and purpose and satisfaction are found through following (worshipping) Him.

As C.S. Lewis famously said,

“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” (‘The Weight of Glory’)

So, ask yourself this: what do you live for...?

I Miss Blogging... So I Have Another One!

I love writing, and I miss blogging. For the past ten months, I have been doing the former, pretty much every day – working on a personal project. The latter, however…well, the 160-character tweets/twirps/blurbs that I write on Twitter is about as far as my blogging goes these days.

But I'm hoping to improve on that. I am definitely going to continue with this blog (albeit sporadically, but hopefully not as sporadic as it has been), but – with both of this and my other project being pretty heavy and serious – I’ve decided that I need a more lighthearted outlet for my writing.

And so I am starting a very simple health and beauty blog – a place where I can share tips and advice on effective ways of looking after yourself, for both male and female readers.

You see, for me, writing is my “indulgence”, my leisure, my hobby – as well as something I work hard at. I genuinely love it. And rather than being a burden and an extra responsibility in my life, this additional blog will actually be beneficial for me in a lot of ways.

Not to mention that I have a real interest in health, wellbeing, beauty, etc, and have been working in the natural health industry since 2008. I believe we should be wise stewards of our bodies, taking care of ourselves so that we can serve others better and for as long as possible (and looking after our physical appearance particularly for our spouse if we are married).

Anyway, I think that’s all you need to know! I hope you will join me on my new blog over on Tumblr – Emily’s Health & Beauty Tips for Busy People. And even if you don't, I’ll have fun writing anyway ;-)

Post coming up on this blog next!

Defining The Terms: The "Hunt" - What Is Worship?

I'm guessing there are many of you out there wondering what the deal is with the name of this blog -- "The Treasure Hunt" -- so I wanted to take a bit of time to explain it, and ultimately explain two other concepts which are foundational to what I'm going to be writing about on here: those of "god" and "worship". I thought I would start with the word "hunt" first, as it lays the foundations for explaining the "treasure" term.

What is the "hunt"?
Ultimately, the hunt refers to the lifelong pursuit that we all as human beings embark on -- from the moment we are born to the moment we die. And it is the pursuit of real life -- of joy, pleasure, peace, security, happiness, wholeness, fulfilment and satisfaction. It is the means by which we try to find real life -- it is how we get there, what we sacrifice to get there. This is ultimately what worship is, and Mark Driscoll gave a helpful definition for this in his article 'Spiritual Disciplines: Worship' at TheResurgence:

"The biblical word for worship is also sometimes translated “sacrifice.”. . . In short, we give our time, energy, body, money, focus, devotion, and passion to that which we glorify most, and we make sacrifices to worship that person or thing."

What about those who aren't pursuing anything, who have "given up"?
Even in describing this as a hunt or pursuit, people may get the idea that I'm talking about something exclusively active, and therefore might exempt themselves because they have given up on life and have given into despair and hopelessness. With this I believe there are two facets: one is that it shows we have tried to find real life and we have not found it in our pursuits; the other is that giving up can actually be a passive pursuit, in that we believe giving up will actually bring us more satisfaction than trying.

What are we "hunting"?
This is where we come onto the "treasure" part, i.e. what we believe to be the source of true life, joy, satisfaction, etc. See the next part for a definition of what this is.

Why This Blog Matters: The Resurrection Of Jesus

Easter Sunday.

I guess it's kind of the perfect day to talk about the purpose of this blog and why I am even bothering with it in the first place. I mean, why go to all this effort to write a blog, arguing for the case that following Jesus and living a life for Him is the ultimate source of all true joy, peace, fulfilment, pleasure, satisfaction and purpose? Well, this is why:

“If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen—nothing else matters.”

- Among the last words of Jaroslav Pelikan (1923-2006)

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from death -- this is the reason for my blog. Why? Because if Jesus died on a cross (an historical fact, just to point out) but did not come back from the dead, then we can forget about everything He said and everything He told us to do. We can forget about the Bible's teaching on money and sex and alcohol and anything else, because if Jesus did not come back to life then He was not who He said He was -- God come as a man. And so if the Bible is not true on this point, then there is no point paying attention to anything else it says.

If Jesus did not resurrect, He was either an outright liar or a complete madman. He was not a "good moral teacher" or a "good example". He does not leave you with that option. As C. S. Lewis once said (paraphrased), if Christianity is false then it is of no importance, and if it is true then it is of infinite importance -- but it is never moderately important. The fact is this:

'And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.' (1 Corinth. 15:14)

BUT, if Jesus did rise again from death. . .then it means everything. It means that He was indeed who He claimed to be -- the Son of God and the Lord of all -- and it means that everything He said was true, including all He spoke about being the bread of life that sustains us and never runs out, the stream of water that quenches our soul and never runs dry -- about being very Life itself.

And this is why I write this blog: because I know that Jesus Christ, the God-man, rose from the dead and is alive today. And because He is alive, He lives up to every single one of His promises -- that all we are searching for in life is found in following Him, not merely because He provides us with those things, but because He Himself is all of those things -- He is life, peace, wholeness, security, joy and fulfilment.

For those of who are questioning whether Jesus really did come back to life after dying on the cross, I challenge you to read these posts on the case for the resurrection (which is a very strong one, by the way) from my church's Reason blog -- because nothing else matters.

Jesus promised that He is the Life we seeking for. All that Jesus promised was validated by the fact that He rose from death. Jesus is alive. Come and see that He is the real Treasure you are hunting for -- I hope with this blog is to show you how and why.

Coming next: Defining The Terms

Treasuring Him

If you want something in media form that captures the heart of this blog pretty well, then this John Piper sermon jam video, done for Don't Waste Your Life, is for you:

Welcome to... 'The Treasure Hunt'

New blog. New name. New look. Same web address.

Previous posts have been removed (apart from my statement of faith) and the better ones will be edited and republished over time.

Overall, this is the premise and purpose of the blog:
As human beings, we spend our whole lives in the ceaseless pursuit of pleasure, peace, security and joy, and we long to give ourselves completely to whatever we believe will bring us these things; in other words, we long to worship. Even Christians can often find themselves still looking for that sense of ultimate satisfaction and fulfilment, as if it were to be discovered in food or sex or marriage or alcohol. But our hearts will be restless until we really do find our life in the one and only Person in whom all those things are found: JESUS. Read this blog to find out why and how.

(P.S. A complete, comprehensive outline of this blog will be coming soon!)

"Jesus came not to fulfil our desires, but to transform them so that HE would become our treasure -- the very thing that we long for and desire the most." (John Piper, paraphrased)

The "Unfurling Flower" Blog Moves On...

After much prayer, thought and consideration, I have finally come to a decision about what the purpose of this blog should be and what changes should be made. But before I do, I would just like to give you some background to Unfurling Flower and how it all began.

Back in summer 2006 was when God really began to speak to me in a new and fresh way through a very difficult time I was going through. At that time He also led me to read inspiring, godly blogs -- something I had never done before -- such as girl talk, Solo Femininity (now Radical Womanhood), and so on. These helped me immensely in my spiritual growth and God used them to soften my heart and teach me about many things -- particularly keeping the gospel central to all things, biblical femininity, singleness, dating/courtship, and marriage. I am deeply indebted to these blogs for the excellent wisdom, counsel, teaching and encouragement I received from them.

And so, because of the incredible impact that these blogs had on my own life, because I was learning so much from God, and because I just love to write, I had a real urge to start my own blog. Enter Unfurling Flower. Originally, I began this blog to write about what lessons God was teaching me, how my beliefs were shaping, and what other resources I had found to be really helpful, usually with a feminine perspective.

However, that was almost 4 years ago, and since then the direction of my what I blog about has changed (not to mention I only had about 2 readers back then), and I believe right now it is right to start this blog afresh with a new name, new purpose, and slightly different content.

So THANK YOU all for reading Unfurling Flower over the years. It has been great. But now, I would like you to make way for... well you're just going to have to wait for the next post to find out!

My Statement Of Faith

I think it is important to know about the foundational beliefs of a Christian writer when you are reading their work, so that you know where they are coming from.

And so, here is a general overview of my statement of faith:

I belong to an evangelical church, where we believe completely in the inerrancy and total authority of Scripture, as the 66 books of the Bible, and where we believe in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and practise spiritual gifts personally and corporately (in an orderly and proper way as outlined in 1 Corinthians 14). We also emphasise the grace of God -- that we are saved by faith in Christ alone, and that you cannot lose your salvation (if you were, indeed, truly saved in the first place). We are committed to the gospel -- both the centrality of it in the life of the believer, and the spreading of it to non-Christians through preaching, evangelism and planting churches. When it comes to baptism, we do not believe in or practise infant baptism but believer's baptism -- that is, baptising those who have chosen to follow Christ, as the Bible commands (Acts 2:38).

We are part of the Evangelical Alliance, whose statement of beliefs is the following:

1. The one true God who lives eternally in three persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
2. The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.
3. The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.
4. The dignity of all people, made male and female in God's image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.
5. The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.
6. The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.
7. The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.
8. The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.
9. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.
10. The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers—given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit's gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.
11. The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.

In terms of theology, I would describe myself as Reformed (see here and here). This includes a firm belief in the total sovereignty of God -- that He predestines those who are to be saved and added into His Kingdom (Romans 8:29-30), that He knows all things and is over all things, and that whatever happens in our lives and in this world is allowed to happen (note: not made to happen -- God cannot produce sin) by Him for His glory. As I mentioned before, I also believe in the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit today (the opposite of cessationism) -- such as prophecy and speaking in tongues, according to the teachings of Scripture -- which makes me Charismatic (not to be confused with Pentecostal in this case). Being both Reformed and Charismatic may seem contradictory, but it is a position that is certainly possible and is successfully growing in the worldwide Church.

When it comes to my beliefs on the roles of men and women, I most definitely hold a complementarian viewpoint. This means I believe that man and woman were created equal in the image of God, with the same dignity, value and worth, but that they have different roles -- especially within marriage (see Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:18-25, and Ephesians 5:22-33). I believe firmly that men were created to be the leaders and heads of their families and homes, but not in a chauvinistic, cruel, harsh, or domineering way -- rather that their leadership is to be like that of Jesus Christ, who led by serving and loving His wife (the Church), preferring their wives' needs above their own. And women are to submit and follow that headship and leadership -- again, not in a subservient, doormat, weak, or degrading way, but rather because they trust, love and respect their husbands and their God-ordained roles as leaders. When this is done right, it is beautiful. There is no world war at home, no competing for authority; rather they are both trying to outdo each other in serving and honouring the other.

In terms of roles of men and women within the church, I agree with my own church that only men should be elders/pastors, and that those elders are the ones who set the course of the church through preaching each Sunday. I believe that women can head up ministries within the church and still teach in many settings, but that preaching should go hand-in-hand with those who are in the church's governmental authority -- the elders. (For more on this, see the excellent articles over at the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.)

I also reject the prosperity gospel, as it is a gross distortion of what Jesus died and rose for and is biblically unsound. See this video for why.

I know that was pretty exhaustive, but I felt it was necessary. So there you have it -- my statement of faith!