Amen and Awoman

 

Prayer has been a bedrock in our country since it was founded, and that includes using it to open each new session of Congress. It was nothing new when Representative Emanuel Cleaver was asked to open the 117^thCongress in prayer last January, but it was the final two words of the invocation that raised some eyebrows. Instead of the traditional amen, the Missouri democrat added the words “and awoman” to the end of his prayer (inasmuch as we can call “awoman” a word).

 

The reason for this inclusion was the new rule set by the Speaker of the House that eliminated what she calls gendered words. Words such as mother and father, son and daughter, and grandmother and grandfather have been banned in the House of Representatives, and Cleaver must have thought that the last three letters of amen made it a gendered word. By adding “and awoman” Cleaver attempted to include the other gender into his prayer.

 

Is this what we should all be doing? The last thing we want to do is exclude women from our prayers or from Christianity in general. In Orwellian fashion, are we now to add awoman to the eleventh addition of the Newspeak dictionary? Is it chauvinistic if we stick to the traditional “amen”? 

 

The m-e-n at the end of amen does not make it a gendered word any more than the m-a-n in the middle of Emanuel makes the congressman’s name gendered. Amen isn’t even English. It is the transliteration of the Hebrew word that means “verily, truly, or so be it.” It is a term of agreement. That is why a congregant may shout it out when he agrees with the preacher, and why a believer says it at the end of her prayers. When we close our petition with the word amen, we are asking God to make it so, hoping that He will grant our request.

 

That is why it is fitting that amen is the final word of the Bible, not just our prayers. Revelation 22:21 says “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” The preceding verse says “Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus!” In the context of the Bible’s final book, there is a big amen stamped across the bottom, verifying not only the Revelation of Jesus Christ, but the sixty-five books that come before John’s vision as well. More specifically, we say amen when Jesus promises to return for His church. We say amen when He promises to bind Satan and cast him into the lake of fire. We say amen when He promises to bring heaven to earth and establish His kingdom. We say amen when He promises there will be no more curse, and nothing unclean will ever enter the city. 

 

We say amen because we are agreeing with God that this is the best end, and that we want Him to come back quickly. We do not need to add a fake word, but both men and women can heartily say amen at the end of our prayers and God’s promises because our trust is settled in our living Lord. He always keeps His promises, and to that we can all say amen!

 

 

Your Destiny

 

Most people are familiar with the two atomic bombs that helped bring about unconditional Japanese surrender and the end the of World War II. You might remember the name of Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the Manhattan Project and the man credited with building the “big one.” You might remember the name of Colonel Paul Tibetts, the pilot who dropped the first bomb over Hiroshima from his plane, the Enola Gay. President Franklin Roosevelt gave the okay to begin the project, and President Harry S Truman gave the final green light to unleash the weapon and change the world. 

 

With as much attention that those four men received, there are some who are not usually mentioned in the telling of the beginning of the nuclear age. The men aboard the USS Indianapolis played a vital role. The ship seemed like a ship of destiny; when the Japanese launched their surprise attack that brought America into the war, the Indianapolis was on its way to Pearl Harbor, safely 700 miles away from the bombing. In 1945 the ship survived a kamikaze attack when a Japanese suicide bomber successfully landed his plane into the Indianapolis. The ship had to return home for repairs, and thus helped play a major part in American history. Once the repairs were completed, orders were given to transport a special container to Tinian Island that was so top secret, the ship’s skipper, Captain Charles McVay III, did not even know the contents. 

 

The contents were the components of the atomic bombs. 

 

Without knowing that they delivered A-bombs, the Indianapolis went back out to sea, where a Japanese submarine delivered a fatal blow to the American ship. The torpedo’s damage eventually destroyed the vessel. Of the 1,195 men on board, almost 400 died from the blast. 800 jumped into the water, where they were floating dinner for sharks. 316 were rescued, but the guilt led McVay to eventually take his own life after he was court-martialed and blamed for the attack. 

 

A ship that survived Pearl Harbor and a kamikaze attack eventually was destroyed by a submarine just before the war ended. Imagine if the torpedo had hit the Indianapolis on the way to Tinian Island as opposed to on the way from it. Regardless of what you might think about the ethics of dropping these bombs, they certainly shortened the war. General Douglas MacArthur was preparing for a land invasion of Japan, and he estimated that 500,000 people would die. As horrific as the bombs were, and we can certainly debate their morality, they brought an early end to the war. 

 

The Indianapolis was a ship of destiny. The crew was instrumental in ending the last world war. The ship’s story reminds of when people say, “God still has a purpose for you, or else He wouldn’t leave you here.” Once the purpose of the Indianapolis had been accomplished, the ship went down. I am not saying that was providential, but I do believe that is how it happens in life. As long as there is breath in your lungs, Christian, God still has something for you to do. As long as there is breath in your lungs, unbeliever, God is giving you a chance to repent and get right with Him. 

 

Whatever your purpose is—your destiny—then do it. God has left you here, so He has something for you to do. He is leaving you here until your destiny has been fulfilled. If you are still here, and you wouldn’t be reading this otherwise, then God expects you to be working for Him. Share the gospel, meet a need, teach a class, pray for the lost.

 

When writing I Corinthians, Paul said, “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose (12:18).” The apostle was talking about spiritual gifts and how the Holy Spirit has gifted us according to His sovereign plan. If He has arranged us where He wants us and given us the gifts He has chosen, doesn’t it stand to reason that He also decides how long we are here and able to use these gifts? 

 

As long as you live, God expects you to work. We don’t retire until He calls us home. 

 

 

Constant Complaining

 

I heard about a young man that decided to become a monk. He wanted to live a life of self-denial, refusing many of the comforts of life. When he first joined the monastery he was shown to his new quarters, and then was told that as part of his vow of silence, he was only allowed to speak two words every ten years, so he better choose them wisely. 

 

At the end of his first ten years he was brought before a council of elders, where he was told he could say whatever was on his mind, or whatever his two words would allow. He didn’t need to think about it very long. “Room cold,” he said. After returning to his cold room the monk went on about his monastic lifestyle for another ten years. Then it was time to appear before the council again. This time the young monk used his two word allowance to say, “Food bad.” After another decade of silence he couldn’t take it any more. When he stood before the council he made another two word declaration: “I quit.” 

 

“Thank goodness,” replied the head monk. “You’ve done nothing but complain since the minute you arrived here.” 

 

Do you know anyone who seems to do nothing but complain? One hundred percent of the monk’s words over a thirty year span was negative. You probably use more than two words per decade, but your percentage may be just as high. People do not want to hear constant complaining; it brings the whole room down. More importantly, complaining is a poor representation of the God we serve. 

 

That is why Paul admonished to, “Do all things without complaining and disputing (Philippians 2:14).” The result, according to Paul, was that the church would become blameless in the eyes of a sinful world. Complaining is what the unsaved do; we do not want to sink to their level. If I didn’t know Jesus I would have a lot to complain about. I would see the world for all its faults, and there would be a lot to get me down. But as a Spirit filled Christian, I can look at the same world and see something completely different. 

 

Where the world sees hopeless, I see hope. Where the world sees destruction, I see the devil, but I know he is defeated. When its dark outside, I have a greater chance to let my light shine. People talk about how bad things are getting, but what’s the worst this world can do to me? If you take my life, you send me to heaven. 

 

There will always be things we could complain about, but then we are only adding to all the negativity. Instead, let’s stay focused on the positives. If you live this way, I promise you will be a magnet that draws people to you, and you will have opportunities to tell people the reason for the hope that lies within.