Jason McKnight

As we round the corner after Thanksgiving (still full from the feasting and thankful for our blessings), we come into the final lap of 2008. Right before the finish line is the biggest holiday on our calendars: Christmas. What a transformation Christmas brings: we gather with family, we redecorate our homes, we have special church services, we sing special songs, we give gifts, we cook feasts, we party and we are even allowed to greet strangers with a smile and good wishes! Truly this is a special cultural event!

As the people of God, we fully grasp the meaning of Christmas, even if it is misplaced at times in the hustle and bustle. We know it’s about God’s rescue mission to earth, “peace on earth, good will to men”, the “rising sun” coming to us from heaven, as Zechariah sang, to lead us into the path of peace.

To me, one of the most moving Christmas hymns is O Holy Night. The tune is stirring and the words bring tears to my eyes. Allow me to bring to mind just one line: “Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.” How long was the world pining for help? How long was it mired in sin, prone to error? Longing for a thrill of hope? Too long. Even up to today.

How many of our friends, co-workers, neighbors, classmates and family are pining for something more out of life? How many of them are hungry for food that satisfies, for drink that quenches thirst, for the Gift of Gifts that surpasses even a flat screen at Christmas! What would it be like if he appeared in their days this Christmas? Might their soul, at long last, feel its worth?

What a thought – “the soul felt its worth.” There is a God-given dignity and value in each and every human soul. A dignity and value that is corroded by sin’s cancer, imprisoned by the Enemy’s dominion, and frittered away by our own stupidity when left to ourselves.

What would it be like for the soul to feel its worth? It would be life and peace. It would be generosity and hope. It would be forgiveness and goodwill, gentleness and kindness, honesty and contentment, conviction and love, strength and self-control! That’s what happens when He appears in a life, in a community, in a nation.

How will souls around us feel their worth? How will he appear in Eastern North Carolina this Christmas and in 2009? Through you and me—the body of Christ. I read Garth Rosell’s account, The Surprising Work of God, which details the amazing revival and awakening across the US in the 1940s and ‘50s. It relates the friendship of an anointed evangelist, Billy Graham, and a faithful and visionary pastor, Harold John Ockenga. From 1936 to 1969, Ockenga pastored the venerable Park Street Church in Boston, just down the hill from the gold-domed Statehouse. During that time, he and Billy became great partners in the work of the Lord – founding together, among other things, Christianity Today (1956) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (1969)

On New Year’s eve, 1949, Ockenga invited Graham to preach in Boston to the youth there. What followed was an amazing outpouring of God’s Spirit throughout New England. Between January and April (when Billy came back for four weeks of meetings) 10,000 people gave their lives to Christ. The revival and awakening spread from there throughout the US and around the world. It’s really an amazing account of God’s sovereign grace redeeming those who long lay in sin and error pining.

Brothers and Sisters, I think it’s time for us to pray with eager expectancy for another work of revival and awakening such as we have never before seen. If the events of the last 3 months have brought anything to the fore, it’s that the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ is our only hope. If these last 5 years have taught us anything, it’s that God uses surprising events and people to accomplish his purposes. What if the next Great Awakening started in Kinston? What if we got to be on the front lines of a explosion of grace?

Rosell records that during the 1950 meetings in Boston, Billy Graham laid out 4 conditions for revival of the church: Repentance, prayer, unity and obedience to the Word (pp.135-6). Repentance involves our true sorrow for our sins, a willingness to renounce them (let’s not pretend we’re repenting if we say “sorry” but don’t make any changes!), confessing our sins both to God and to someone else, and a genuine faith and trust in Christ.

Billy’s second condition for revival is prayer. “If Christians would put everything second to prayer… we will see a revival in [this city] greater than anything the city has known…” (p.136). This surely still holds true today, doesn’t it? Keep on asking, seeking, knocking, because if we’re bold, God is willing (Luke 11). Here is the embarrassing part: do I put everything second to prayer? Frankly, do I put anything second to prayer? What would God do in our midst as more and more people joined in the Thursday morning hospital prayer group (6:30am, Oxford room) or the Monday morning prayer group at Grace (10am, Gathering Hall), or the several other groups throughout this city. What do you put second to prayer?

Thirdly, unity among the body. On this level, we are experiencing some of God’s grace in this city: Erasing the Lines, the Association of Congregations, Kinston Men’s Fraternity, The Gate are all building bridges (through the key people involved, like Lee Parker, for instance, who serves as the AOC secretary and a helper at The Gate and a prayer walker through the city… all because of a desire for a spiritual awakening to change this city!). There’s more to do – but there is a great start. Watch for ways and initiate ways for us to come together! Also, within Grace – don’t let gossip, back-biting, bitterness or hurt feelings gain a foothold. Let’s keep short accounts covered in grace.

Finally, study of and obedience to the Word. We have been going very slowly through Ephesians over the last 6 weeks, because we are plumbing the depths of God’s purposes and will, so that we can “Walk Worthy of our Calling.” What do you do when you get home? Do you ask God to change you in one way from that morning’s text? Do you ask him to remove your heart of stone and give you his new heart and his new Spirit in greater measure?

Repentance, prayer, unity and obedience. Billy Graham’s keys to revival from the midst of the greatest revival of the last century. Of course, over all of this is the Spirit of God. We can’t fabricate revival. But, don’t you think God is just waiting for us to live into the preparatory conditions for him to send his Spirit in a super-special way? Think about it: if you were God, and you’ve already given your Son for our sins, why would you withhold your Spirit when your people are following your pathway?

What about it, Brothers and Sisters? Let’s make this Christmas and 2009 the time when we long for, seek after and prepare ourselves for revival (through repentance, prayer, unity and obedience). It’s how the world’s soul will feel it’s worth. It’s how He will appear, and bring “a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious day.”

Oh, may that new and glorious day of Christ’s kingdom break into life after life after life through us and our joyful and faithful discipleship!

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Several years ago I read Walden, Henry David Thoreau’s classic account of a year living simply. Thoreau moves out of Boston to the country, to Walden Pond, and lives in a one room cabin by the water for a full year. He records his observations and his feelings, his rhythms and his worries. It is an engaging read. His description of the battle between the red ant colony and the black ant colony on the woodpile is worth every line—a great military account!

Every once in a while I hear someone say that his mother lived 150 yards away and did his laundry. If true, that’s my kind of “living simply.”

At one point he is watching the Spring sun and warmth melt the ice on top of the pond and he notes this observation: “Thaw with his gentle persuasion is more powerful than Thor with his hammer. The one melts, but the other breaks in pieces.”

Comparing Thaw and Thor has rattled around in my brain since I read that. We all know what Thaw is—especially if you have lived up north, and watched a great body of water slowly, imperceptibly transform itself from a rock solid mass to flowing fluid. I grew up in Montreal, a huge island in the mighty St. Lawrence River. 100 years ago, in the winter, this great river would freeze up solid—ice so thick that they actually laid train tracks across it for several months a year (just think how heavy trains are). Yet, each Spring, little by little the ice would melt, the water would move, and that mighty river would be a shipping lane again. Thaw’s power is unmistakable, but it’s also slow and at times imperceptible.

Thor, on the other hand, is the Norse god of War, Thunder & Strength—who is loud, powerful and to be feared. The showy god of the Norse pantheon, Thor gets things done by brute strength and sheer force. Get out of his way, he’s coming through.

“Thaw and Thor” is a great description of the different demeanor we can show in life. We can adopt either posture in almost any situation.  I bet we all know people who, like Thaw, can accomplish much by gentle persuasion, by keeping their cool and helping others warm up to a new reality. Likewise, I’m sure all of us know (or, at times, are) a Thor, who relies on the hammer approach: using the force of personality, the ability to argue, the loud voice, the strength of muscles or position to impose his will on the situation and those involved.

Thaw and Thor is interesting, and seems right to me, but is it biblical (ie., can we know it’s right)? Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Almost exactly the same concept: Someone’s anger is thawed out and melted away by a gentle answer. On the other hand, if I come out swinging (ie., responding with harsh words), it just amps up the anger in another. I leave a trail of broken pieces.

A gentle answer or a harsh word, Thaw or Thor. Think, too, of Proverbs 25:15, beside which I actually wrote “Thor and Thaw” in the margin of my bible some time ago: “Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.”Here Solomon elevates Thaw’s patience, gentleness and persuasion. I wonder if Thoreau knew this proverb, because he sure has the same concept. Solomon even talks of Thaw’s patience “breaking a bone”. Isn’t it Thor who hammers stuff to pieces? In Solomon’s mind, patient & gentle persuasion is so powerful that its effect can be like Thor’s hammer: a broken bone. Obviously, Solomon is not saying that talking well can actually cause someone’s arm to break. He is highlighting the figurative power & effect of patient persuasion.

So, when are we Thor, though should be Thaw? And, when is Thor called for? How about the following scenarios:

With our family: I can be a Thor father, the unrivalled king of the house through my sheer strength and position. When my sons do something wrong, I can yell and burst out in anger. When I’ve had a tough day, I can make sure everyone else treads around me lightly. When I’m angry at my wife, I can erupt in pettiness and a mean spirit. I can “Thor” my way through. But, the consequences of this are horrible: fear, closed spirits, hurt, life-long wounds. Thor’s hammer destroys. On the other hand, I can live Proverbs and Thaw: controlling my emotions, inviting Susan into my tough day, counting to 10 (or at least 5!) before disciplining the boys. I can pray for a thawed attitude, and for God to help me keep Thor’s hammer out of my hand.

Thaw and Thor at work: Am I known as a hot-head? Or as having a long-fuse? Am I sought after to mediate tough situations? Do co-workers see me as hammering folks or melting them? Are my colleagues embarrassed of me and my Thor-like outbursts? As a boss, are my employees afraid of me, never sure when the hammer will fall?

How about in witnessing to others? Very few people have ever come to Christ through a Thor-like situation. The overwhelming biblical witness is that Thaw carries the gospel further than Thor: a gentle, ongoing relationship and persuasion, the patience of God are needed. It is said that Americans need to hear and understand the gospel more than seven times before they are ready to respond. We may be time number 1 or time number 6 or 7 (or even 8, 9, or 10) in someone’s life. We can’t write them off, like Thor would do, when they don’t bow down immediately with us. We need to thaw them out a little bit with the warmth of real relationship, the nourishment of the Word, and praying for the warming fire of the Holy Spirit.

How about our Economy? Perhaps all this Thor-like intervention is not going to help. Perhaps all this intervention is really going to Thaw the thing out. I’m not sure. But, I’m quite sure that there have been enough excesses over the last 10 years (families borrowing crazy amounts—on credit cards or lines of credit; sub-prime mortgages and the housing bubble; market speculation; out-of-whack executive compensation, etc.) that we do need to overhaul this thing. That such deep changes are needed mean to me that we are in for a slow Thaw-like work. Can I offer a couple of suggestions as to how to move forward, if you are facing tough times? From this moment forward, do not borrow one cent that you don’t absolutely have to. From now on, live simply; pretend like the “roaring twenties” are over, and we are in the “dust-bowl thirties” (I don’t know that we are, but pretending will not hurt you)… now live that simple life corresponding to that “new reality”. From now on, save a little bit or a lot each month (so that you have an emergency balance), and then pay every cent on your outstanding loans. Get yourself out of all credit card debt and car debt. From now on, prove you are trusting the Lord by giving as he calls us to. I’m not saying that because “it’s my job” to. I urge us to live generously because that’s who our God is, and that’s how we can imitate him most simply.

What about the election? Well, if your candidate won, take the long-term view. If your candidate lost, take the long-term view. And, read Daniel – for 70 years he thrived in a thoroughly pagan kingdom, and time after time after time, God used him to bring those rulers to their knees. He endured the Thor of Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion, and he was Thaw to 4 successive kings.

We could go on and on. What about you? Will you live Thaw and not Thor? How might you change your children’s destiny by showing them the gentleness of the Lord? How might you commend the gospel to your coworkers by being patient with all (especially the person who gets on everyone’s nerves)? How might your gentle tongue break bones, as Proverbs 25 says? Thanks for letting this thawing-out Thor ask these questions!

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