Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." Matthew 26:39 (NIV)
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)
Holy Father, we thank You for Your Son, Jesus, whose birth we remember and celebrate in this Season of Advent. We thank You for Your righteousness that provides for the boundaries of a pure and holy life. We thank You that You are Love, Who knows our intrinsic unrighteousness yet loves us in spite of all our shortcomings. We thank You for the love that caused You to sacrifice Your only Son to bestow His righteousness upon us, to save us from our sins, to return our eternity to one of hope and peace and glorifying You rather than one of dark, endless and painful hopelessness.
Help us, Lord, to seek communion with You daily; to praise You in adoration, to confess our sins, to express gratitude for all You have given us, to plead for the healing of body and mind and spirit--for ourselves, for those who surround us in life, and for the world that so needs and hungers for You--even when the world does not recognize the Person to Whom their hunger directs them.
Teach us to have faith that endures when our prayers seem unanswered or unfulfilled. Teach us the faith that understands that our prayers rise in ignorance of Your omniscient and omnipotent will; that He Who allowed His own Son to die a painful and shameful death on the Cross after denying His petition to deliver Him from that death, has ways that are above our ways and purposes that are infinitely beyond our understanding. Teach us that our prayers offered in any manner but complete submission lack the humility of Jesus, for He prayed ultimately that the Father's will be done, not that His own petition be paramount.
Teach us the humility of Jesus and the confidence of Jesus: to offer our prayers without hesitation and to offer them with both the expectation of a response and the acceptance that the response is good, no matter the appearance to our dimly lit vision. Give us grace and love for others, even as they struggle to accept Your answers to their prayers, knowing that when we are strong, we are the Body of Jesus to strengthen others, even as we are strengthened in our weakness by that same Body.
We love You and adore You; we ask for Your blessings in the Season of Advent and throughout the year. Let our focus always be on Jesus, He Who authored and sustains Creation and is the Savior of our souls. We pray all of this in His name. Amen.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thoughts for Thanksgiving
The sum total of my sins is sufficiently great that I should have no time to keep track of the sins of others. The grace I have received is sufficiently and infinitely great that I have no need to question the quantity given to others.
A grateful heart cannot keep being grateful and keep score at the same time.
A joyful heart cannot be changed except by changing its focus from the Giver of Joy to circumstances.
Hope comes when we need nothing to change because we believe in the omniscience and omnipotience of the Giver of Life.
Love and grace are gifts that are given freely but received only when we are willing.
The Lord is my shepherd; the implication is that I am a dumb animal in contrast to God, and that is not just true, but infinitely and eternally true.
Freedom is not living without limits; it is living within the will of the Giver of Life and desiring nothing outside His will.
Thank you, Lord, for grace, for friends, for family, for loving us first. Amen
A grateful heart cannot keep being grateful and keep score at the same time.
A joyful heart cannot be changed except by changing its focus from the Giver of Joy to circumstances.
Hope comes when we need nothing to change because we believe in the omniscience and omnipotience of the Giver of Life.
Love and grace are gifts that are given freely but received only when we are willing.
The Lord is my shepherd; the implication is that I am a dumb animal in contrast to God, and that is not just true, but infinitely and eternally true.
Freedom is not living without limits; it is living within the will of the Giver of Life and desiring nothing outside His will.
Thank you, Lord, for grace, for friends, for family, for loving us first. Amen
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Regrettably, The Last to Come and the First to Go
If I.....have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 1st Corinthians 13:1 (in part)
As Paul in 1st Corinthians 13 points out, I can have many manifestations of my faith, but if I do not have love, then my faith, in expression at least, is empty and useless. The faith with which God gifts me gives me hope; the hope we have in Christ causes us to seek to be like Him, to seek to know His mind; and if we truly know His mind and seek to emulate Him, then we will love.
Talents such as great oration, eloquent writing, wise understanding of life and its intricacies are a resounding gong if they are not used in the context of love. In fact they are frequently misused if not used out of love, becoming weapons with which others are abused. This has been true in my life, and is notable in the lives of many who are public figures professing Christ as Lord.
Generosity, self-sacrifice, attention to tithing, all of these, if not motivated by love are just a clanging cymbal--noisy, drawing attention, but ineffective as witnesses to the love of Christ.
To know the mind of Christ requires we know how He loves. If we do not know how He loves, then we do not know His mind. We may have accepted the facts: God created us, man sinned and we along with everyone else are sinners, Christ came to redeem us out of obedience to the Father. But until we understand His love, we cannot really know Him and try to be like Him.
For some, love is a natural response to many circumstances. God has gifted many non-believers with the ability to love; that gift is part of His prevenient grace. But we may be, in our minds, committed believers, without being committed to loving like Him. If we are not naturally endowed with that gift, we have to cultivate it by asking God to shower us with His grace and love, asking Him to make us vessels of His love, to give us understanding of how He sees those around us. For many Christians, for me, loving in that way was the last thing I really understood and am still struggling with understanding.
More importantly, or as importantly, understanding and applying His love is the first thing I lose sight of when the stresses and struggles of daily life impact my emotions. I may still speak or write or read with comprehension about God and His Son, but as soon as I cease to seek to love as He loves, I become just a noisy nuisance to the cause of Christ.
For me, and I suspect for you, having the mind of Christ is an intentional act: praying in supplication daily in a quiet time; praying to act lovingly in circumstances that cause me to want to do anything but act lovingly; seeking to take an eternal perspective on things that seem so important now but that will have little significance in just a day or two except for the relational benefit or damage that can be done in the moment.
When Christ told us in Matthew to "seek first His Kingdom" I believe He meant the most significant aspect of that seeking was to know His mind, to view others as He sees them, and to change our conduct to so that we are vessels for His love. Do we risk being used by others if we do that? Absolutely. Will it matter in eternity? Well, yes, if we are self-protective and do not love for fear of being used, we will be ignoring the needs of others. Christ was used by all mankind; if He had been self-protective, we would have no hope at this point, Paul would not have had the Damascus road experience, would not have written First Corinthians, and I would not be writing this. Might we enable someone to be irresponsible and cause themselves harm? Yes, and we should guard against that; but first I have to check my motive: am I protecting another from harm or protecting myself from some imagined disadvantage?
Love, the last thing I really understood about Christ, after all the reading and studying, the thinking and writing, love was the last thing I got and am still getting. My goal now is to not let it be the first to go when life is not as I wish.
Pray that will be true for me as I pray for you.
Thank you, Jesus, for loving us first. Help us to love You and to allow our lives to be conduits of love to others. Amen.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Identity
Was at our Wednesday morning group meeting. We wear name tags and mine kept slipping off my shirt onto floor. After several times of bending to pick up the tag and replace it on my shirt, I began to think: Is this how our identity is in a fallen world?
Do we wear a label that is supposed to be our identity: Is it what we do---doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, (apologies to Hoagy Carmichael and Paul Francis Webster); is it what we have---car, house, wealth, where we were born, reared, educated, what club or church or even charity we belong to; is it our favorite hobby, food, drink, book, television show, sports team; what/who is it for you that is your false identity?
The common theme in all of our false identities is that they are like my name tag---they are part of the creation--removable, lacking permanence or transcendence, having no eternal significance,falling away when the hot fires of life's stresses reduce false identity to ashes.
They are all replacements, imitations, of our true identity as children of the Most High God. He gave us all of those things and pronounced them good. But good has an extra "o" and while God is definitely good, good things are not God, they are gifts to be enjoyed, not who we are and not things to be worshiped.
Well, what label is permanent? What is your and my true identity if we are children of God? We are His creation, His beloved, the heirs of the New Earth, His Redeemed, those saved by the blood of the Lamb, those made in the image of God, the work-men and -women of God who He assigned the duty of having dominion over all His creation.
We may choose to ignore our identity; we may choose to allow the pleasures and passions of the flesh to obscure our intended purpose; we may allow the stresses of life and the worries of the day to make dim the Light that has been give to us; but He is sovereign and His purposes will not be thwarted. Our identity is not changed by our failure to see or acknowledge it.
Each morning as you go out, take time to know Whose you are; wear proudly the brand name of your Designer and Maker. Your identity, who you are--and Whose you are--has been ordained before the beginning of time. What you do today is not who your are; what you buy or sell, who you see, what you eat, what you drive, where you live, is not who you are. You are a child of God, indwelled by His Holy Spirit. True identity.
Do we wear a label that is supposed to be our identity: Is it what we do---doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, (apologies to Hoagy Carmichael and Paul Francis Webster); is it what we have---car, house, wealth, where we were born, reared, educated, what club or church or even charity we belong to; is it our favorite hobby, food, drink, book, television show, sports team; what/who is it for you that is your false identity?
The common theme in all of our false identities is that they are like my name tag---they are part of the creation--removable, lacking permanence or transcendence, having no eternal significance,falling away when the hot fires of life's stresses reduce false identity to ashes.
They are all replacements, imitations, of our true identity as children of the Most High God. He gave us all of those things and pronounced them good. But good has an extra "o" and while God is definitely good, good things are not God, they are gifts to be enjoyed, not who we are and not things to be worshiped.
Well, what label is permanent? What is your and my true identity if we are children of God? We are His creation, His beloved, the heirs of the New Earth, His Redeemed, those saved by the blood of the Lamb, those made in the image of God, the work-men and -women of God who He assigned the duty of having dominion over all His creation.
We may choose to ignore our identity; we may choose to allow the pleasures and passions of the flesh to obscure our intended purpose; we may allow the stresses of life and the worries of the day to make dim the Light that has been give to us; but He is sovereign and His purposes will not be thwarted. Our identity is not changed by our failure to see or acknowledge it.
Each morning as you go out, take time to know Whose you are; wear proudly the brand name of your Designer and Maker. Your identity, who you are--and Whose you are--has been ordained before the beginning of time. What you do today is not who your are; what you buy or sell, who you see, what you eat, what you drive, where you live, is not who you are. You are a child of God, indwelled by His Holy Spirit. True identity.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Result of Delayed Gratification
The account of Christ’s temptation in Matthew is the greatest example that can be told in trying to understand the discipline required to delay gratification for a greater purpose. Imagine being the creator of the entire universe, the very Son of God, and then imagine willingly coming to earth to live with the limitations of humanity but with the ongoing awareness that all that you see was originally yours.
Would it not have been a natural response to Satan’s temptation to accept his offer to rule what was yours to begin with? That would have allowed Jesus to dispense with several more years of living in an arid land, with having to put up with uneducated, dense disciples, from suffering the challenges of the religious hierarchy, from being physically killed in a tortuous manner at the hands of the Romans, and from suffering spiritual separation from His Father in Heaven.
Yielding at the moment Satan tempted Him would have been pleasurable and would have bestowed earthly power unmatched in all of history.
But Jesus saw beyond the moment. He knew the price that would be paid by all humanity should He give in to Satan’s offer. Worst of all, He knew He would be disobedient to His Father and would have thwarted God’s plan for reconciliation of humanity to Himself. Jesus’ ultimate purpose in coming to earth would have been defeated just by accepting His rightful place in a manner and at a time that was not the Father’s will.
Well, how am I to apply that to my life? I think it has daily application. God bestows upon all of us great opportunities and resources. But our choices in how and when to avail ourselves of those gifts is not preordained and mapped out in a manner that is readily visible to our limited human viewpoint. In a sense, He gives us much in the way of raw material without an obvious blueprint or master plan for how to use them. There is a reason. He desires that we seek Him in the use and enjoyment of all that He has given us.
Our temptation, a microcosm of the temptation that Jesus faced, is to take shortcuts. We are prone to use His gifts in a manner that leads to temporary pleasure but defeats the ultimate satisfaction of experiencing God’s pleasure. In our seeking Him and in our obedience is the ultimate satisfaction, not in the pleasure itself.
One cannot name a pleasure—productivity in work, food, visual beauty, sexual pleasure, the beauty of music, even service to God—that cannot be perverted if the pleasure begins to be god instead of God the Father. A saying that seems to apply here is: What God has given us for our delight was never meant to satisfy*. The corollary of that saying, the Law of Diminishing returns, states it in another way: The more you do anything, the less it satisfies*. (*from Everlasting Adventures: JH Ranch.com)
Only in submitting to the Father, only in submitting all of the resources He has provided to us to His control do we have hope of achieving satisfaction, of achieving a permanent and eternal victory over the temptation to make the creation into a god. Christ knew all of this before Satan approached Him in the wilderness. We would be best served by preparing ourselves with the same knowledge. Only then can we live in the peace and joy on earth that is a foretaste of Heaven. An apparent delay in gratification, one long enough to be assured of the Father’s pleasure in our activity, ultimately results in the greatest pleasure—the pure pleasure that comes through pleasing our Father.
Lord God, help us to see beyond the immediate to the eternal. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Would it not have been a natural response to Satan’s temptation to accept his offer to rule what was yours to begin with? That would have allowed Jesus to dispense with several more years of living in an arid land, with having to put up with uneducated, dense disciples, from suffering the challenges of the religious hierarchy, from being physically killed in a tortuous manner at the hands of the Romans, and from suffering spiritual separation from His Father in Heaven.
Yielding at the moment Satan tempted Him would have been pleasurable and would have bestowed earthly power unmatched in all of history.
But Jesus saw beyond the moment. He knew the price that would be paid by all humanity should He give in to Satan’s offer. Worst of all, He knew He would be disobedient to His Father and would have thwarted God’s plan for reconciliation of humanity to Himself. Jesus’ ultimate purpose in coming to earth would have been defeated just by accepting His rightful place in a manner and at a time that was not the Father’s will.
Well, how am I to apply that to my life? I think it has daily application. God bestows upon all of us great opportunities and resources. But our choices in how and when to avail ourselves of those gifts is not preordained and mapped out in a manner that is readily visible to our limited human viewpoint. In a sense, He gives us much in the way of raw material without an obvious blueprint or master plan for how to use them. There is a reason. He desires that we seek Him in the use and enjoyment of all that He has given us.
Our temptation, a microcosm of the temptation that Jesus faced, is to take shortcuts. We are prone to use His gifts in a manner that leads to temporary pleasure but defeats the ultimate satisfaction of experiencing God’s pleasure. In our seeking Him and in our obedience is the ultimate satisfaction, not in the pleasure itself.
One cannot name a pleasure—productivity in work, food, visual beauty, sexual pleasure, the beauty of music, even service to God—that cannot be perverted if the pleasure begins to be god instead of God the Father. A saying that seems to apply here is: What God has given us for our delight was never meant to satisfy*. The corollary of that saying, the Law of Diminishing returns, states it in another way: The more you do anything, the less it satisfies*. (*from Everlasting Adventures: JH Ranch.com)
Only in submitting to the Father, only in submitting all of the resources He has provided to us to His control do we have hope of achieving satisfaction, of achieving a permanent and eternal victory over the temptation to make the creation into a god. Christ knew all of this before Satan approached Him in the wilderness. We would be best served by preparing ourselves with the same knowledge. Only then can we live in the peace and joy on earth that is a foretaste of Heaven. An apparent delay in gratification, one long enough to be assured of the Father’s pleasure in our activity, ultimately results in the greatest pleasure—the pure pleasure that comes through pleasing our Father.
Lord God, help us to see beyond the immediate to the eternal. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
His Grace in Daily Circumstances
Hallelujah,
Grace like rain falls down on me,
Hallelujah, all my stains are washed
away, washed away. Todd Agnew
The circumstances of life are never the same, but patterns of life are frequently similar. I am tempted, each time when presented with a familiar pattern of circumstances, to slip into old and unhealthy patterns of response. What I need at those times is not repetition of destructive responses, but a renewing of my mind so that I break a chain of sinful habits: anger, anxiety, frustration, overreaction.
How do I do that? I cannot, at least not in my own power, through shear human effort, sustain the changes that lead to spiritual and emotional health. When I recognize my helplessness to change on my own, when I repent of my propensity to force an outcome or "handle" a situation in the strength of personal force, I am left with what I have always known but too seldom admit: I need grace.
In those times, when the circumstances are so infuriating, when my urge to control is so dominant, IF--and there is a capitalization for a reason--IF I ask God for grace to pour out on me and I receive His gift of grace willingly, He transforms my mind.
The definition of a miracle is: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs (m-w.com). We typically expect miracles to have physical manifestations--a healing of a cancer, a limb restored, inevitable injury avoided. I believe that the changes God's grace produces in our heart, while less visible, are no less miraculous. There is no other explanation for the changes that occur in my life, and yours, when attitudes are suddenly or progressively altered in response to our asking for His grace.
Oswald Chambers said that God does not give us overcoming life, but life as we overcome (My Utmost for His Highest). When we submit our circumstances to God and ask for His grace to fall on us like rain, when we go forth depending on Him, we find that we have the same circumstances but a renewed mind, a changed heart, and a miracle of relational healing that is only possible because He has rained down His love upon us. He gives us new life as He gives us the power to overcome our old, destructive habits.
Father God, help us to pause in the midst of the stresses of life and ask for your grace to pour out upon us, to allow you to change our habitual responses to those that please and honor you. In Jesus's name we pray, Amen.
Grace like rain falls down on me,
Hallelujah, all my stains are washed
away, washed away. Todd Agnew
The circumstances of life are never the same, but patterns of life are frequently similar. I am tempted, each time when presented with a familiar pattern of circumstances, to slip into old and unhealthy patterns of response. What I need at those times is not repetition of destructive responses, but a renewing of my mind so that I break a chain of sinful habits: anger, anxiety, frustration, overreaction.
How do I do that? I cannot, at least not in my own power, through shear human effort, sustain the changes that lead to spiritual and emotional health. When I recognize my helplessness to change on my own, when I repent of my propensity to force an outcome or "handle" a situation in the strength of personal force, I am left with what I have always known but too seldom admit: I need grace.
In those times, when the circumstances are so infuriating, when my urge to control is so dominant, IF--and there is a capitalization for a reason--IF I ask God for grace to pour out on me and I receive His gift of grace willingly, He transforms my mind.
The definition of a miracle is: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs (m-w.com). We typically expect miracles to have physical manifestations--a healing of a cancer, a limb restored, inevitable injury avoided. I believe that the changes God's grace produces in our heart, while less visible, are no less miraculous. There is no other explanation for the changes that occur in my life, and yours, when attitudes are suddenly or progressively altered in response to our asking for His grace.
Oswald Chambers said that God does not give us overcoming life, but life as we overcome (My Utmost for His Highest). When we submit our circumstances to God and ask for His grace to fall on us like rain, when we go forth depending on Him, we find that we have the same circumstances but a renewed mind, a changed heart, and a miracle of relational healing that is only possible because He has rained down His love upon us. He gives us new life as He gives us the power to overcome our old, destructive habits.
Father God, help us to pause in the midst of the stresses of life and ask for your grace to pour out upon us, to allow you to change our habitual responses to those that please and honor you. In Jesus's name we pray, Amen.
Friday, July 23, 2010
About Panda Bears, Self-Identity, and Personal Destiny
Who you are, it may be said depends on who you love, and you become the one you authentically are only when you come to love, above all else, that which deserves to be loved above all else. Authentic self-love, then, belongs to those who love God. This is presumably why, before implying the legitimacy of self-love, Jesus commanded the love of God--with all one's heart and mind and soul. Self-love is wrong when it is love that cares nothing for God. But such a self is an imposter, pretending to an authenticity it does not possess. Such misidentification of the self is the very essence of sin, whereas accurate identification of the self, which can derive only from love for God, is at the heart of righteousness. In sum, when you identify yourself accurately, you render self-love compatible with hope. Glenn Tinder in "The Fabric of Hope"
I am not sure how many folks have seen Kung Fu Panda, an animated movie about a panda bear who is anticipated to be the deliverer for his people. He is incredulous that anyone thinks he is the "chosen one". His story struck a chord in me: his biggest obstacle in becoming who he was destined to be was not his physical ability (though his physique did not inspire confidence as a combatant). Nor was the primary problem he had to overcome the enemy that he would eventually face. The greatest barrier to Kung Fu Panda becoming who he was destined to be was his lack of identity: he had never really known who he was or what his purpose was, so when presented with what was his ultimate destiny, he was totally befuddled and in a state of panic. His mentor, who could have been viewed as a Kung Fu version of C.S.Lewis' "Hound of Heaven", is relentless in coaching and training, loving, him into being the person the Panda was destined to become.
Does that sound familiar? Does to me. Presented with a new task, a new challenge, an "unknown" that requires learning and/or applying new skills, especially if those skills are displayed in a public forum where they can be evaluated as they are used, my confidence is as solid as butter in an oven. Why? Not sure, but I think I am beginning, at age 60, to get it. For most of my life, I have adapted but not identified; I have morphed into the shape that the environmental mold dictated because I knew of no shape of my own to become. Destiny was a girl's name, not my God-ordained purpose in life.
Our indentity is formed through contact with others. Our mother first, then depending upon our gender, we develop varying aspects of our identity in relationship to both our mother and our father. If those relationships are disrupted, disfigured, incomplete, lacking altogether, then we have an unhealthy template for developing an identity with our Heavenly Father, but we will identify with something or someone, even if it is not God.
The Bible talks of offering our lives as living sacrifices for God. That is the destiny of all believers, really the planned destiny of all people, though many do not fulfill that destiny. Before we are willing to sacrifice ourselves we have to have such a close relationship with Someone we trust that we see that sacrifice as purposeful, as part of our destiny. We have to see His love as unconditional and present regardless of our success or failure.
Each day we face challenges that turn us inward and tempt us to become self-absorbed and self-protective. In these moments, if we know God as Father and Jesus as Savior, we know His love is going to be there regardless of what we choose to do. Our need to be self-protective is removed, for we trust in One Who protects at all times, regardless of the physical, emotional, or spiritual danger in which we are placed. We know, even if we die, that He is there, and that He is in control. What liberation there is in having our identity vested in the only Person Who can validate us.
Every significant decision in life brings us back to the same truth: Our destiny is to turn to Him. Do we wander about looking for something else with which to identify or do we find ourselves in Him, the Someone who has established the destiny of every person, a destiny that is lived out in the small and the great moments, the quiet and the magnificent events, the tragic and triumphant circumstances of each of our lives.
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, save me!" The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:1-7
I am not sure how many folks have seen Kung Fu Panda, an animated movie about a panda bear who is anticipated to be the deliverer for his people. He is incredulous that anyone thinks he is the "chosen one". His story struck a chord in me: his biggest obstacle in becoming who he was destined to be was not his physical ability (though his physique did not inspire confidence as a combatant). Nor was the primary problem he had to overcome the enemy that he would eventually face. The greatest barrier to Kung Fu Panda becoming who he was destined to be was his lack of identity: he had never really known who he was or what his purpose was, so when presented with what was his ultimate destiny, he was totally befuddled and in a state of panic. His mentor, who could have been viewed as a Kung Fu version of C.S.Lewis' "Hound of Heaven", is relentless in coaching and training, loving, him into being the person the Panda was destined to become.
Does that sound familiar? Does to me. Presented with a new task, a new challenge, an "unknown" that requires learning and/or applying new skills, especially if those skills are displayed in a public forum where they can be evaluated as they are used, my confidence is as solid as butter in an oven. Why? Not sure, but I think I am beginning, at age 60, to get it. For most of my life, I have adapted but not identified; I have morphed into the shape that the environmental mold dictated because I knew of no shape of my own to become. Destiny was a girl's name, not my God-ordained purpose in life.
Our indentity is formed through contact with others. Our mother first, then depending upon our gender, we develop varying aspects of our identity in relationship to both our mother and our father. If those relationships are disrupted, disfigured, incomplete, lacking altogether, then we have an unhealthy template for developing an identity with our Heavenly Father, but we will identify with something or someone, even if it is not God.
The Bible talks of offering our lives as living sacrifices for God. That is the destiny of all believers, really the planned destiny of all people, though many do not fulfill that destiny. Before we are willing to sacrifice ourselves we have to have such a close relationship with Someone we trust that we see that sacrifice as purposeful, as part of our destiny. We have to see His love as unconditional and present regardless of our success or failure.
Each day we face challenges that turn us inward and tempt us to become self-absorbed and self-protective. In these moments, if we know God as Father and Jesus as Savior, we know His love is going to be there regardless of what we choose to do. Our need to be self-protective is removed, for we trust in One Who protects at all times, regardless of the physical, emotional, or spiritual danger in which we are placed. We know, even if we die, that He is there, and that He is in control. What liberation there is in having our identity vested in the only Person Who can validate us.
Every significant decision in life brings us back to the same truth: Our destiny is to turn to Him. Do we wander about looking for something else with which to identify or do we find ourselves in Him, the Someone who has established the destiny of every person, a destiny that is lived out in the small and the great moments, the quiet and the magnificent events, the tragic and triumphant circumstances of each of our lives.
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, save me!" The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:1-7
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Doubt Overruled by Grace
He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:29-31 (NRSV)
What is it about my faith that makes me identify so much with Peter before the resurrection? When I read about his experience with Jesus in walking upon the water, I think I know exactly how he felt. Here is how it goes in my life:
"Okay, Lord, you have shown me, over and over again, your miraculous power; more importantly you have shown me grace that is free to all who will receive it; even more importantly, you have loved me so much that you were willing to die for me, and you had the power to overcome death, both in your resurrection and in bringing me 'back to life' spiritually. So, why is believing in your next plan for me such a stretch of my faith?"
For Peter, it was walking on water and accepting that Christ was not to be their earthly, political king, and many other challenges to to his preconceived ideas. What is my stretch, what is my weak point in believing? I think it is in accepting His gifts as unending, and unpredictable, and uncontrollable, and not for me to dictate, but accepting life as it comes from Him. My stretch is to live life each day without worry, without the constant anxiety that can plague my life and that of so many believers (and non-believers). My leap of faith is to accept that my 'daily bread' is more than baked food, that it is His Holy Spirit in all its power residing in me, allowing Him to overrule my preconceived idea that He is frequently displeased with me, that His love is conditional and can be withheld if I "screw it up".
Like Peter, I step out "onto the water" looking Him in the eye, then I falter; my faith is weak, blown asunder by the first breeze of circumstances that do not go my way. I look around for something to hang onto because my momentary faith vaporizes; or I see something in the water that distracts me (a shark, oil?) and I forget who invited me out for a miracle. I panic, my fears become onerous; the toxic elements of anxiety ooze from my pores and create physical discomfort. And then, I get angry at myself for my lack of faith; my anger turns inward and becomes depression, and I submerge myself in a pool of self-pity.
Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? But all the while, even in the worst of those moments, I have knowledge of His love; that is the unsinkable life preserver that I cling to day in and day out. My personality, your personality, may lead to all sorts of doubts and frustrating points of inconsistent faith. But He stands ready and waiting, not willing that we should perish, and always loving, not because of our behavior, not because of our success or failure, not because of our obedience or the lack thereof, but because He is love, and He loved us first.
Our salvation is complete; our temporary doubts do not change Him; the devil prowls to distract and discourage us, to have us view life as a performance to be graded and to expect a failing grade. That is not how the Jesus who predicted Peter's failure dealt with Peter; He knew he would panic on the water; He knew Peter would deny Him three times; He knew Peter better than Peter knew Peter, and He restored Him, lovingly, poetically, "Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep," in a three-fold cadence of graceful instruction.
He will restore us, too. He knows where we will falter; He knows our weaknesses; He loved us before we were born and knew all this would happen; and His grace is constantly at work restoring our lives to the place that He planned for them all along. Take heart, He has overcome the world, just as He said, and the Creator of all we see is actively restoring you and me, recreating us in His image.
He is the great I AM. And He loves you and me. Glory be to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.
What is it about my faith that makes me identify so much with Peter before the resurrection? When I read about his experience with Jesus in walking upon the water, I think I know exactly how he felt. Here is how it goes in my life:
"Okay, Lord, you have shown me, over and over again, your miraculous power; more importantly you have shown me grace that is free to all who will receive it; even more importantly, you have loved me so much that you were willing to die for me, and you had the power to overcome death, both in your resurrection and in bringing me 'back to life' spiritually. So, why is believing in your next plan for me such a stretch of my faith?"
For Peter, it was walking on water and accepting that Christ was not to be their earthly, political king, and many other challenges to to his preconceived ideas. What is my stretch, what is my weak point in believing? I think it is in accepting His gifts as unending, and unpredictable, and uncontrollable, and not for me to dictate, but accepting life as it comes from Him. My stretch is to live life each day without worry, without the constant anxiety that can plague my life and that of so many believers (and non-believers). My leap of faith is to accept that my 'daily bread' is more than baked food, that it is His Holy Spirit in all its power residing in me, allowing Him to overrule my preconceived idea that He is frequently displeased with me, that His love is conditional and can be withheld if I "screw it up".
Like Peter, I step out "onto the water" looking Him in the eye, then I falter; my faith is weak, blown asunder by the first breeze of circumstances that do not go my way. I look around for something to hang onto because my momentary faith vaporizes; or I see something in the water that distracts me (a shark, oil?) and I forget who invited me out for a miracle. I panic, my fears become onerous; the toxic elements of anxiety ooze from my pores and create physical discomfort. And then, I get angry at myself for my lack of faith; my anger turns inward and becomes depression, and I submerge myself in a pool of self-pity.
Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? But all the while, even in the worst of those moments, I have knowledge of His love; that is the unsinkable life preserver that I cling to day in and day out. My personality, your personality, may lead to all sorts of doubts and frustrating points of inconsistent faith. But He stands ready and waiting, not willing that we should perish, and always loving, not because of our behavior, not because of our success or failure, not because of our obedience or the lack thereof, but because He is love, and He loved us first.
Our salvation is complete; our temporary doubts do not change Him; the devil prowls to distract and discourage us, to have us view life as a performance to be graded and to expect a failing grade. That is not how the Jesus who predicted Peter's failure dealt with Peter; He knew he would panic on the water; He knew Peter would deny Him three times; He knew Peter better than Peter knew Peter, and He restored Him, lovingly, poetically, "Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep," in a three-fold cadence of graceful instruction.
He will restore us, too. He knows where we will falter; He knows our weaknesses; He loved us before we were born and knew all this would happen; and His grace is constantly at work restoring our lives to the place that He planned for them all along. Take heart, He has overcome the world, just as He said, and the Creator of all we see is actively restoring you and me, recreating us in His image.
He is the great I AM. And He loves you and me. Glory be to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Yes, but...
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.
What is the greatest obstacle in my life--what prevents me from being yoked with Jesus in daily life? It is the "yes, but...'s" of my life. I read His words, and in my heart I believe them: if I walk with Him, go in His direction, pull with Him the burdens that He has chosen for me, He will make life less burdensome than I can imagine. My mind loves the theory; in fantasy I rejoice at the relief of following Him in everything I do. In practice, when I do follow Him, I find peace and joy.
Then my emotions redirect my spirit. Can He really take care of this relationship? No, I will take over here and resolve this conflict once and for all; my way or the highway. Will He provide for my needs? Well, maybe, but what about those things that are wants that I have converted to needs in my head? Is He really in control of the circumstances of my work? No, He needs my help; not my cooperation, my help since I am so experienced. Is His timing perfect in all things? Well, maybe, but I think I need to push this along just to be sure it gets done on time.
Yes, but....that is how I respond to His invitation to share His yoke. Each time I really say yes and set aside my own agenda, I find peace and joy and knowledge of His love that goes beyond my feeble understanding. Each time I say "yes, but.." I am in effect lying to Him and deceiving myself, for the affirmative followed by "but" really means "no", especially when the "yes" that is called for is one of unconditional faith.
So what's the answer to eliminating or at least reducing the "buts" that follow my "yes"? Prayer...prayer...prayer...layered upon reading His word and topped with a curative dose of humility--asking Him to "help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24), to acknowledge that "in me dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18), and to recognize that His "grace is sufficient" (2 Cor 12:9)--to the extent that I allow Him to lead, to the extent that I pray as I breathe--continually and naturally, to the extent that I lose myself in His sovereignty and trust His omniscience and omnipotence, my burdens become His and I become His more fully than ever before.
Lord, the process is not complete, but You are able to bring us all to completion in You, if not in this life, then as we totally yield in the next. Let our yes's be just "yes" now as in eternity so that we may serve with joy, now and forevermore, and have the peace that only you can provide. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
What is the greatest obstacle in my life--what prevents me from being yoked with Jesus in daily life? It is the "yes, but...'s" of my life. I read His words, and in my heart I believe them: if I walk with Him, go in His direction, pull with Him the burdens that He has chosen for me, He will make life less burdensome than I can imagine. My mind loves the theory; in fantasy I rejoice at the relief of following Him in everything I do. In practice, when I do follow Him, I find peace and joy.
Then my emotions redirect my spirit. Can He really take care of this relationship? No, I will take over here and resolve this conflict once and for all; my way or the highway. Will He provide for my needs? Well, maybe, but what about those things that are wants that I have converted to needs in my head? Is He really in control of the circumstances of my work? No, He needs my help; not my cooperation, my help since I am so experienced. Is His timing perfect in all things? Well, maybe, but I think I need to push this along just to be sure it gets done on time.
Yes, but....that is how I respond to His invitation to share His yoke. Each time I really say yes and set aside my own agenda, I find peace and joy and knowledge of His love that goes beyond my feeble understanding. Each time I say "yes, but.." I am in effect lying to Him and deceiving myself, for the affirmative followed by "but" really means "no", especially when the "yes" that is called for is one of unconditional faith.
So what's the answer to eliminating or at least reducing the "buts" that follow my "yes"? Prayer...prayer...prayer...layered upon reading His word and topped with a curative dose of humility--asking Him to "help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24), to acknowledge that "in me dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18), and to recognize that His "grace is sufficient" (2 Cor 12:9)--to the extent that I allow Him to lead, to the extent that I pray as I breathe--continually and naturally, to the extent that I lose myself in His sovereignty and trust His omniscience and omnipotence, my burdens become His and I become His more fully than ever before.
Lord, the process is not complete, but You are able to bring us all to completion in You, if not in this life, then as we totally yield in the next. Let our yes's be just "yes" now as in eternity so that we may serve with joy, now and forevermore, and have the peace that only you can provide. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Two Weeks
"....suffering reveals the desolation of the world. Through pride and distraction we cast ourselves out of primeval reality, out of the realm of persons and radiant truth. We precipitate ourselves into a universe of our own making, a world. Here we cannot be happy. We may for a time be diverted by the exuberance of pride or by the pleasures of worldly existence. But the world is an impoverished kingdom. It is made up of objects and is comprehensively impersonal. Within it we are necessarily alienated from self, from others, and from the depths of being that Christians know as God. We are separated from every possible source of enduring joy and peace. Suffering makes this clear to us. It robs us of pleasures and satisfactions of worldly existence, and prompts us to look beyond the world, towards transcendence." Glenn Tinder in Liberty: Rethinking an Imperiled Ideal.
Last week, in terms of being a neonatologist, was a week from Hell, or so it seemed in the midst of the week. The summation of unexpected events, bad outcomes, lack of sleep, straining to meet the normal obligations of being an educator, and just life in general had brought me to a rare point of fatigue. With a weekend trip to see our grandchild in the offing, I was less than enthusiastic about traveling and the additional fatigue that brings to a my 60 year old body.
Yet, as we left the beauty of Mobile in the Spring, the azaleas in full bloom, dogwood trees everywhere, wisteria randomly draping over trees like colorful kudzu, there was a sense of satisfaction that I could not identify. Was it just relief that the week was over? Well, yes, in part. But there was more to it than that. Was it the successes of the week rising like cream above the milk of routine, giving a pleasurable flavor that overcame the sourness of lives disrupted by disease? That was also a part of the sense of completeness that pervaded my being that afternoon.
But as I read Glenn Tinder's essay on Liberty, and as I read the passage that includes the above quote, I was reacquainted with what I already knew, but often choose to deny: difficulty, suffering if you will, brings us to our knees, removes our pride, reduces worldly distractions to dust, and brings us into the stark realization of our dependence on Someone besides ourselves.
This week was different. Routine followed upon routine. Endeavors undertaken were almost uniformly successful, sleep was available if not plentiful, and the week ended as a March that had come in as a lion....meek, quiet, and uneventfully as a lamb.
In a year, in a decade, in eternity, when I look back on the weeks that mattered the most, last week will be more meaningful than this week, more realistic, less worldly in terms of pride and bowing to empty distraction.
That seems "upside down". But reality is not what we see day to day. We see, as Tinder points out elsewhere in his wonderful essay, a distortion of reality shaped to fit our current circumstances and designed to allow us to participate in either control of the now or to escape to the distraction of pleasure.
When true reality, brought on by suffering, becomes our reality, we are brought into the realm of transcendence, into renewed relationship with our Father-God, and no matter the fatigue and seeming hopelessness of the moment, we are led into the green pastures of Psalm 23, the joy and peace of His righteousness, the knowledge of His protection in the valley of the shadow of death.
It is then that the table is set, that our heads are anointed with oil, that our enemies, the agents of suffering, are made to know of His love that overcomes the world, and that we are made to know that we will dwell with Him forever.
Two weeks. What a difference. And when confronted with the choice of one or the other, the grave temptation is to choose the latter. That is the worldliness within me. Thanks be to God that He knows the true reality of what we need and provides, even as we rail against it.
Abba Father.
Last week, in terms of being a neonatologist, was a week from Hell, or so it seemed in the midst of the week. The summation of unexpected events, bad outcomes, lack of sleep, straining to meet the normal obligations of being an educator, and just life in general had brought me to a rare point of fatigue. With a weekend trip to see our grandchild in the offing, I was less than enthusiastic about traveling and the additional fatigue that brings to a my 60 year old body.
Yet, as we left the beauty of Mobile in the Spring, the azaleas in full bloom, dogwood trees everywhere, wisteria randomly draping over trees like colorful kudzu, there was a sense of satisfaction that I could not identify. Was it just relief that the week was over? Well, yes, in part. But there was more to it than that. Was it the successes of the week rising like cream above the milk of routine, giving a pleasurable flavor that overcame the sourness of lives disrupted by disease? That was also a part of the sense of completeness that pervaded my being that afternoon.
But as I read Glenn Tinder's essay on Liberty, and as I read the passage that includes the above quote, I was reacquainted with what I already knew, but often choose to deny: difficulty, suffering if you will, brings us to our knees, removes our pride, reduces worldly distractions to dust, and brings us into the stark realization of our dependence on Someone besides ourselves.
This week was different. Routine followed upon routine. Endeavors undertaken were almost uniformly successful, sleep was available if not plentiful, and the week ended as a March that had come in as a lion....meek, quiet, and uneventfully as a lamb.
In a year, in a decade, in eternity, when I look back on the weeks that mattered the most, last week will be more meaningful than this week, more realistic, less worldly in terms of pride and bowing to empty distraction.
That seems "upside down". But reality is not what we see day to day. We see, as Tinder points out elsewhere in his wonderful essay, a distortion of reality shaped to fit our current circumstances and designed to allow us to participate in either control of the now or to escape to the distraction of pleasure.
When true reality, brought on by suffering, becomes our reality, we are brought into the realm of transcendence, into renewed relationship with our Father-God, and no matter the fatigue and seeming hopelessness of the moment, we are led into the green pastures of Psalm 23, the joy and peace of His righteousness, the knowledge of His protection in the valley of the shadow of death.
It is then that the table is set, that our heads are anointed with oil, that our enemies, the agents of suffering, are made to know of His love that overcomes the world, and that we are made to know that we will dwell with Him forever.
Two weeks. What a difference. And when confronted with the choice of one or the other, the grave temptation is to choose the latter. That is the worldliness within me. Thanks be to God that He knows the true reality of what we need and provides, even as we rail against it.
Abba Father.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Servant's Monologue
Note: A few years ago it occurred to me that the servant whose ear was removed in the Garden of Gethsemane is never mentioned again in the Bible. I wondered what would have become of someone who experienced such trauma followed by miraculous healing in the next instant. What follows is where my imagination took me. I pray the Holy Spirit was directing my imagination and that this might have some similarity to what actually happened to that fellow. As noted in The Upper Room Daily Devotional of this date (March 23, 2010), we all are presented with the opportunity to thank Him for our healings, or to just move on with life as though nothing happened. That devotional prompted me to revive this writing and put it here.
And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. Luke 22:50-51 (NIV)
“Such a long day and night!! In all my years I have never experienced such a time! I know, I know! I say that all the time, but this day really was different, and in a way I’ll never forget!” PAUSE.
“Just wait a minute and I’ll tell you. Sit down, this may take a while.
Where do I begin?! The day began fairly routinely—if you can call any of the recent days routine. Ever since that fellow, Jesus, came on the scene “routine” has taken on a new meaning. Before that things ran pretty smoothly, given that we all operate with Caesar’s iron hand within reach of our throats. But, Rome IS a long way off, and most of the local regiment leaves us alone if we don’t do anything to draw their attention. Until Jesus came along, the people just lived life—well, they lived in some fear—afraid that Caesar might crush them and afraid the Priests might toss them out of the Temple—I guess they lived life, but, like me, they had a hard time seeing the point of it all.
"I mean, our country, the so-called chosen people of God are mostly chosen to be under some dictator’s thumb. For centuries we have existed without so much as a word from God—He used to speak—sometimes out loud, like to Moses—sometimes through the prophets—but at least He spoke. That’s been quite a while ago. Our parents and their parents and any number of generations before them have heard the same stories we have, but none of us have heard anything from God. Well, at least, not unless you believe what this fellow, Jesus, says about himself. He says he is God, or God’s son, at least. I’ve seen his momma—nice lady, but not who I would picture as God’s wife—sorry, a little digression there. He says he is a king—not a good thing to say when Caesar already is king and when Caesar considers himself to be God, too.
"I’ve told you before that the boss, to keep things stable, was willing to ignore Caesar’s claims—as he says, ‘Let the heathen Romans do what they want so long as they leave us alone.’ After all, the boss and all the rest of the priests have it pretty good. So do we, by the way. They tell the people when to jump and how high, and if the people don’t obey, watch out! Caesar might kill you but the boss can make you wish you were dead. I mean, dead is dead and that can only happen once—but living and being treated like you’re not even there because you broke one of the rules—that’s seems worse than death. PAUSE.
"Yeah, you’re right, being on the inside has its perks—he expects a lot from us, but he knows us and cuts us a little slack on some of the stuff—after all, he cuts himself a lot of slack, too, when no one but he and I are around.
"But—stability—that’s his favorite word—and it was going pretty well until Jesus showed up. Once people saw what he could do they began to listen to him and things haven’t been the same since.
"Wouldn’t you be tempted to listen? I was. By the way, have you listened to him? I have. I mean, the guy, right before hundreds of witnesses, tells this paralytic to get up and walk and the guy does it!! A hoax you say? Not a chance. I’ve known that cripple for twenty years. He’s never so much as wiggled a toe. And Jesus says “get up,” and off he goes! That was an unfortunate incident for Jesus, by the way—bad choice of words at first. He said, “Your sins are forgiven” right before he told him to walk. The boss’s men went crazy! They called him on his choice of words, so he looked at them calmly—stared a hole right through them, like he could see their souls, and said, “Take your mat and walk,” as if one phrase was as good as the other.
"At any rate, the fellow walked. Pretty much left all those Pharisees and priests speechless—they had never seen anything like that, and they had sure never done anything like that. And maybe if he had only done it once you could say—ah, coincidence—but he’s been doing that kind of thing for years now. And then he talks—and they listen—I mean, can you blame them? Would you rather listen to someone who can perform miracles whenever he wants, or to this dried up bag of bones and his father-in-law?
"You can see why the boss is threatened. Rome is a little sensitive about people claiming to be king. And that parade last week didn’t help any. After all, it wasn’t Caesar or Caiaphas they were cheering—it was Jesus. Those kinds of things get back to Rome—even that dote, Herod, has to have heard about it by now. And this Roman governor, Pilate, is scared of his own shadow when it comes to Caesar. Ah, if Jesus had just stayed up in Galilee; if he had just healed folks and let it be. But, he seems hell-bent on getting himself killed—or if not, he surely isn’t approaching things quietly anymore. Twice now he has disrupted business as usual at the Temple—it was really funny to watch, though I couldn’t let Caiaphas see me snickering. Jesus chased those cheats and all their paraphernalia right out of the place. I think he was right, too. I may be a little thick-skinned about all that, but that IS the house of God and they WERE thieves.
"And what about Lazarus—no one trying to keep a low profile calls a dead man back from the grave and then sits to have dinner with him while the whole community of mourners is standing by. That was the last straw—the parade and the Temple scene were really ticking off the boss, but when Jesus brought Lazarus back, there was no more looking the other way. PAUSE.
"You know, now that you mention it, I don’t understand why it bothers him so much, either. Seems like he would be better off just ignoring it all, but he and his father-in-law are really threatened by this fellow. I can’t decide if it’s just self-preservation or if Jesus is stepping on their pride a bit, too. And for sure he’s putting some dents in all the rules, and rules equal control, and Caiaphas is BIG on control. I think he’s afraid if the common folks realize that there’s another way of life out there that doesn’t involve living under his rules, his priesthood is useless. I used to think he was deep-down motivated by his desire to serve God, but I don’t believe that any more. He is just trying to maintain the status quo. PAUSE.
"Okay, okay, I’ll get on with the story. Anyway, Jesus would probably have died sooner or later, but one of his own must have decided to hurry the process. Just when Caiaphas and Annanias were trying to figure out a way to get rid of him, this guy, Judas, a local, who is one of Jesus’ followers, offers to serve him up for a little bounty. The boss and the old guy jumped on the offer and the next thing you know we’re all traipsing out into the countryside to find Jesus. It wasn’t like we hadn’t seen him almost everyday recently. But the boss decided this was the time. It’s ironic—we end up arresting him right before Passover. If they kill him now it’ll be like he is dying at the exact time he would have picked if he had planned it all along—a Passover lamb, that’s what he will be! PAUSE.
"The blood on my shirt? Wow, I got so busy talking about Jesus that I forgot to tell you what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane—you won’t believe it even after I tell you, but it’s the truth. We go out to the Garden to find him—someone had seen them heading that way earlier in the night. This fellow, Judas, is to kiss Jesus so we are sure we get the right person—that seems silly, but you know how all Galileans look alike sometimes. We come up to their group and Judas pecks Jesus on the cheek. The head of the guard detail asks him if he is Jesus and he says, “I am.” The next thing you know we are all picking ourselves off the ground without even knowing what hit us. Must have been an earthquake or something. Anyway, he could have run, but he just stood there, looking calmer than I could have under the circumstances.
"Then one of his men—I think his name is Peter—some fisherman that has followed him around for years, whips out his sword and takes a wild swing. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He slices my ear right off the side of my head—blood is going everywhere and I’m so stunned I can’t even speak! I’m bending over, holding my right ear, but somehow I could still hear Jesus say something to the fellow with the sword, as if he was angry at him. Then I feel a hand on the side of my head, right where the pain is and instantly the pain is gone and the bleeding is stopped. I instinctively put my hand up to where my ear used to be and it was totally normal, back in place like nothing had ever happened. PAUSE.
"No, dear, I haven’t been out drinking. I haven’t had a drop tonight, though there was a point that I would have had one if it had been available. I’m telling you, when that fellow swung the sword, my ear hit the ground—I saw it, and I felt where it had been for the last 50 years, and it wasn’t there. The side of my face was on fire. And when Jesus touched me, the pain was gone, and the ear was as good as new—in fact, my gimpy knee quit hurting and my back pain that I’ve had for 15 years is gone, too. From the instant he touched me, my body felt like it was new!! PAUSE.
"You know, I had been so stunned by all that went on, I never really stopped to think about it—you’re right—it was a miracle. Jesus performed a miracle on me, one of the people who had come to arrest him. And there was a kindness in his eyes that I have never seen. All of this has made me think:
"I have spent my whole life around religion—my father served Annanias and I serve Caiaphas. I have heard all the rules and followed them, mostly, but I’ve never known why. What is the purpose in all this? The boss says we are to remain pure as the chosen ones—that from our people the Messiah will come and make our nation powerful again. I guess that would be better than being at the mercy of Caesar or worse yet, Herod and his homicidal whims. But it would still be politics—one guy using his leverage to control the rest. I just don’t see much purpose for me or any other little man in all that. Only one guy can be king and only a few get the rewards that go with that. For the rest of us its business as usual—same song, different verse.
Why can’t there be real peace? This fellow, Jesus, for all the trouble he has created, has not lifted a finger to hurt anyone. All he has done is heal people and spend time talking to the common folks—and to the Pharisees who think for themselves. He says his kingdom is not of this earth—what does that mean? What other kingdoms are there? PAUSE.
"What do you mean—heaven? You think he’s talking about heaven? Life after life? Well, now that you bring that up, it fits. He really doesn’t seem to care about political power—he doesn’t seek it, nor does he pay much attention to what power surrounds him. He IS focused on something else, for sure. And you know, he does do things that we thought only God can do—even if God hasn’t done them in a long time—he heals, he raises people from the dead, he treats the Temple like it was his own place—even called it his father’s house—what did he mean by that?
"Maybe I’ve been wrong about him all along. He’s not a troublemaker. And he’s not trying to get himself killed. He’s just right and he knows it and he’s not going to change to please the boss. He’ll probably die today for being right, but I know what he did for me and I won’t forget him. What if he is God’s son…..?"
A week later………..
"Praise God. Praise Him forever and forever. God is Holy. He IS a God of love, and he has been there all along; we just did not see clearly. We did not understand. PAUSE.
"No, I’m not out of my mind—I’m excited—just give me a chance to explain and you will be, too. Remember how I talked about Jesus and how he healed my ear, and how his touch had a power I had never known? And then the same day they crucified him along with two thieves. He even died so quickly that the soldiers did not even bother to break his legs to finish him off. So he’s dead, right? Wrong!! Today I saw him—he spoke to me, put his hand on my shoulder and spoke to me. PAUSE.
"I know it was him—his hands still had the scars from the crucifixion nails, that’s one way—but the real reason was the eyes—ever since that day when he healed the cripple, I have remembered the eyes. He looks at you and in you and through you all at once. I was almost too stunned to hear, but what he said was as clear as could be: “Your sins are forgiven. Tell others about what I have done for you.” When I started to ask him, “Why me? Why did you heal me?”, he was gone. No one with me saw it—they think I’m crazy, that the blow to my head last week is still affecting me. But his touch, then and now, were not in my imagination. One cannot conjure up the healing of an ear or the incredible joy that flowed into me today. I may serve in the house of the high priest, and I will do my job even better than ever, but my King is not Caesar, my high priest is not Caiaphas and my salvation is not in my hands, but the hands of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah—yes, IS, not was! He died for me—he IS the Passover lamb—and God raised him from the dead; he raised His son from the dead. Please believe me—my life will never be the same. Ask God for His healing, for his forgiveness and your life will never be the same either. I love you, and I want you to know Him, too.
And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him. Luke 22:50-51 (NIV)
“Such a long day and night!! In all my years I have never experienced such a time! I know, I know! I say that all the time, but this day really was different, and in a way I’ll never forget!” PAUSE.
“Just wait a minute and I’ll tell you. Sit down, this may take a while.
Where do I begin?! The day began fairly routinely—if you can call any of the recent days routine. Ever since that fellow, Jesus, came on the scene “routine” has taken on a new meaning. Before that things ran pretty smoothly, given that we all operate with Caesar’s iron hand within reach of our throats. But, Rome IS a long way off, and most of the local regiment leaves us alone if we don’t do anything to draw their attention. Until Jesus came along, the people just lived life—well, they lived in some fear—afraid that Caesar might crush them and afraid the Priests might toss them out of the Temple—I guess they lived life, but, like me, they had a hard time seeing the point of it all.
"I mean, our country, the so-called chosen people of God are mostly chosen to be under some dictator’s thumb. For centuries we have existed without so much as a word from God—He used to speak—sometimes out loud, like to Moses—sometimes through the prophets—but at least He spoke. That’s been quite a while ago. Our parents and their parents and any number of generations before them have heard the same stories we have, but none of us have heard anything from God. Well, at least, not unless you believe what this fellow, Jesus, says about himself. He says he is God, or God’s son, at least. I’ve seen his momma—nice lady, but not who I would picture as God’s wife—sorry, a little digression there. He says he is a king—not a good thing to say when Caesar already is king and when Caesar considers himself to be God, too.
"I’ve told you before that the boss, to keep things stable, was willing to ignore Caesar’s claims—as he says, ‘Let the heathen Romans do what they want so long as they leave us alone.’ After all, the boss and all the rest of the priests have it pretty good. So do we, by the way. They tell the people when to jump and how high, and if the people don’t obey, watch out! Caesar might kill you but the boss can make you wish you were dead. I mean, dead is dead and that can only happen once—but living and being treated like you’re not even there because you broke one of the rules—that’s seems worse than death. PAUSE.
"Yeah, you’re right, being on the inside has its perks—he expects a lot from us, but he knows us and cuts us a little slack on some of the stuff—after all, he cuts himself a lot of slack, too, when no one but he and I are around.
"But—stability—that’s his favorite word—and it was going pretty well until Jesus showed up. Once people saw what he could do they began to listen to him and things haven’t been the same since.
"Wouldn’t you be tempted to listen? I was. By the way, have you listened to him? I have. I mean, the guy, right before hundreds of witnesses, tells this paralytic to get up and walk and the guy does it!! A hoax you say? Not a chance. I’ve known that cripple for twenty years. He’s never so much as wiggled a toe. And Jesus says “get up,” and off he goes! That was an unfortunate incident for Jesus, by the way—bad choice of words at first. He said, “Your sins are forgiven” right before he told him to walk. The boss’s men went crazy! They called him on his choice of words, so he looked at them calmly—stared a hole right through them, like he could see their souls, and said, “Take your mat and walk,” as if one phrase was as good as the other.
"At any rate, the fellow walked. Pretty much left all those Pharisees and priests speechless—they had never seen anything like that, and they had sure never done anything like that. And maybe if he had only done it once you could say—ah, coincidence—but he’s been doing that kind of thing for years now. And then he talks—and they listen—I mean, can you blame them? Would you rather listen to someone who can perform miracles whenever he wants, or to this dried up bag of bones and his father-in-law?
"You can see why the boss is threatened. Rome is a little sensitive about people claiming to be king. And that parade last week didn’t help any. After all, it wasn’t Caesar or Caiaphas they were cheering—it was Jesus. Those kinds of things get back to Rome—even that dote, Herod, has to have heard about it by now. And this Roman governor, Pilate, is scared of his own shadow when it comes to Caesar. Ah, if Jesus had just stayed up in Galilee; if he had just healed folks and let it be. But, he seems hell-bent on getting himself killed—or if not, he surely isn’t approaching things quietly anymore. Twice now he has disrupted business as usual at the Temple—it was really funny to watch, though I couldn’t let Caiaphas see me snickering. Jesus chased those cheats and all their paraphernalia right out of the place. I think he was right, too. I may be a little thick-skinned about all that, but that IS the house of God and they WERE thieves.
"And what about Lazarus—no one trying to keep a low profile calls a dead man back from the grave and then sits to have dinner with him while the whole community of mourners is standing by. That was the last straw—the parade and the Temple scene were really ticking off the boss, but when Jesus brought Lazarus back, there was no more looking the other way. PAUSE.
"You know, now that you mention it, I don’t understand why it bothers him so much, either. Seems like he would be better off just ignoring it all, but he and his father-in-law are really threatened by this fellow. I can’t decide if it’s just self-preservation or if Jesus is stepping on their pride a bit, too. And for sure he’s putting some dents in all the rules, and rules equal control, and Caiaphas is BIG on control. I think he’s afraid if the common folks realize that there’s another way of life out there that doesn’t involve living under his rules, his priesthood is useless. I used to think he was deep-down motivated by his desire to serve God, but I don’t believe that any more. He is just trying to maintain the status quo. PAUSE.
"Okay, okay, I’ll get on with the story. Anyway, Jesus would probably have died sooner or later, but one of his own must have decided to hurry the process. Just when Caiaphas and Annanias were trying to figure out a way to get rid of him, this guy, Judas, a local, who is one of Jesus’ followers, offers to serve him up for a little bounty. The boss and the old guy jumped on the offer and the next thing you know we’re all traipsing out into the countryside to find Jesus. It wasn’t like we hadn’t seen him almost everyday recently. But the boss decided this was the time. It’s ironic—we end up arresting him right before Passover. If they kill him now it’ll be like he is dying at the exact time he would have picked if he had planned it all along—a Passover lamb, that’s what he will be! PAUSE.
"The blood on my shirt? Wow, I got so busy talking about Jesus that I forgot to tell you what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane—you won’t believe it even after I tell you, but it’s the truth. We go out to the Garden to find him—someone had seen them heading that way earlier in the night. This fellow, Judas, is to kiss Jesus so we are sure we get the right person—that seems silly, but you know how all Galileans look alike sometimes. We come up to their group and Judas pecks Jesus on the cheek. The head of the guard detail asks him if he is Jesus and he says, “I am.” The next thing you know we are all picking ourselves off the ground without even knowing what hit us. Must have been an earthquake or something. Anyway, he could have run, but he just stood there, looking calmer than I could have under the circumstances.
"Then one of his men—I think his name is Peter—some fisherman that has followed him around for years, whips out his sword and takes a wild swing. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He slices my ear right off the side of my head—blood is going everywhere and I’m so stunned I can’t even speak! I’m bending over, holding my right ear, but somehow I could still hear Jesus say something to the fellow with the sword, as if he was angry at him. Then I feel a hand on the side of my head, right where the pain is and instantly the pain is gone and the bleeding is stopped. I instinctively put my hand up to where my ear used to be and it was totally normal, back in place like nothing had ever happened. PAUSE.
"No, dear, I haven’t been out drinking. I haven’t had a drop tonight, though there was a point that I would have had one if it had been available. I’m telling you, when that fellow swung the sword, my ear hit the ground—I saw it, and I felt where it had been for the last 50 years, and it wasn’t there. The side of my face was on fire. And when Jesus touched me, the pain was gone, and the ear was as good as new—in fact, my gimpy knee quit hurting and my back pain that I’ve had for 15 years is gone, too. From the instant he touched me, my body felt like it was new!! PAUSE.
"You know, I had been so stunned by all that went on, I never really stopped to think about it—you’re right—it was a miracle. Jesus performed a miracle on me, one of the people who had come to arrest him. And there was a kindness in his eyes that I have never seen. All of this has made me think:
"I have spent my whole life around religion—my father served Annanias and I serve Caiaphas. I have heard all the rules and followed them, mostly, but I’ve never known why. What is the purpose in all this? The boss says we are to remain pure as the chosen ones—that from our people the Messiah will come and make our nation powerful again. I guess that would be better than being at the mercy of Caesar or worse yet, Herod and his homicidal whims. But it would still be politics—one guy using his leverage to control the rest. I just don’t see much purpose for me or any other little man in all that. Only one guy can be king and only a few get the rewards that go with that. For the rest of us its business as usual—same song, different verse.
Why can’t there be real peace? This fellow, Jesus, for all the trouble he has created, has not lifted a finger to hurt anyone. All he has done is heal people and spend time talking to the common folks—and to the Pharisees who think for themselves. He says his kingdom is not of this earth—what does that mean? What other kingdoms are there? PAUSE.
"What do you mean—heaven? You think he’s talking about heaven? Life after life? Well, now that you bring that up, it fits. He really doesn’t seem to care about political power—he doesn’t seek it, nor does he pay much attention to what power surrounds him. He IS focused on something else, for sure. And you know, he does do things that we thought only God can do—even if God hasn’t done them in a long time—he heals, he raises people from the dead, he treats the Temple like it was his own place—even called it his father’s house—what did he mean by that?
"Maybe I’ve been wrong about him all along. He’s not a troublemaker. And he’s not trying to get himself killed. He’s just right and he knows it and he’s not going to change to please the boss. He’ll probably die today for being right, but I know what he did for me and I won’t forget him. What if he is God’s son…..?"
A week later………..
"Praise God. Praise Him forever and forever. God is Holy. He IS a God of love, and he has been there all along; we just did not see clearly. We did not understand. PAUSE.
"No, I’m not out of my mind—I’m excited—just give me a chance to explain and you will be, too. Remember how I talked about Jesus and how he healed my ear, and how his touch had a power I had never known? And then the same day they crucified him along with two thieves. He even died so quickly that the soldiers did not even bother to break his legs to finish him off. So he’s dead, right? Wrong!! Today I saw him—he spoke to me, put his hand on my shoulder and spoke to me. PAUSE.
"I know it was him—his hands still had the scars from the crucifixion nails, that’s one way—but the real reason was the eyes—ever since that day when he healed the cripple, I have remembered the eyes. He looks at you and in you and through you all at once. I was almost too stunned to hear, but what he said was as clear as could be: “Your sins are forgiven. Tell others about what I have done for you.” When I started to ask him, “Why me? Why did you heal me?”, he was gone. No one with me saw it—they think I’m crazy, that the blow to my head last week is still affecting me. But his touch, then and now, were not in my imagination. One cannot conjure up the healing of an ear or the incredible joy that flowed into me today. I may serve in the house of the high priest, and I will do my job even better than ever, but my King is not Caesar, my high priest is not Caiaphas and my salvation is not in my hands, but the hands of Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah—yes, IS, not was! He died for me—he IS the Passover lamb—and God raised him from the dead; he raised His son from the dead. Please believe me—my life will never be the same. Ask God for His healing, for his forgiveness and your life will never be the same either. I love you, and I want you to know Him, too.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Jesus Has Been There Before
Had a few bad days; a whole string of 'em to be exact. Decided to examine Hebrews 4:15. Did Jesus really know, first hand, what I was going through? Think about it as you read; if you think of other, better examples, comment and I will edit this to include them. Its been a healing exercise for me. I pray you receive something of benefit from it, also. KJP
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
Have you ever been hungry with no food available? Thirsty with no water at hand?
And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. (Matthew 4:2)
Have your good intentions been misinterpreted, causing those around you to be angry when you meant well?
Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. (Mark 5:16-17)
Has your family ever asked you for help when you were not prepared?
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." (John 2:3-5)
Has a friend ever betrayed your trust, causing you deep emotional pain?
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times." (Luke 22:61)
Has anyone ever threatened your physical well-being without justification?
Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. (Matthew 26:59)
Has anyone spoken poorly of you and tried to discredit you simply out of vengeance?
In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. (Matthew 27:41-42)
Have those you have been most generous to been ungrateful, even spiteful, taking advantage of you and then showing no gratitude?
Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. (Matthew 26:14)
Has anyone ever stolen from you, struck you, tried to murder you?
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. (John 19:23a)
Has your family and friends ever doubted your abilities?
Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)
Have loved ones ever abandoned you, or at least did that possibility seem utterly real?
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:34)
Have those you hold most dear not been there when you needed them most?
Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: "I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.' (Mark 14:27)
Have you ever lost a close friend?
Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; (Matthew 14:13a)
Have you ever had a day you dreaded?
And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. (Luke 22:44)
Have you ever asked God to change your circumstances, even though you knew you were where he needed you?
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:39)
Jesus has been there before, and He knows your pain. Put your pain in His hands, and trust Him.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
Have you ever been hungry with no food available? Thirsty with no water at hand?
And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. (Matthew 4:2)
Have your good intentions been misinterpreted, causing those around you to be angry when you meant well?
Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. (Mark 5:16-17)
Has your family ever asked you for help when you were not prepared?
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." (John 2:3-5)
Has a friend ever betrayed your trust, causing you deep emotional pain?
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times." (Luke 22:61)
Has anyone ever threatened your physical well-being without justification?
Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. (Matthew 26:59)
Has anyone spoken poorly of you and tried to discredit you simply out of vengeance?
In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, "He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. (Matthew 27:41-42)
Have those you have been most generous to been ungrateful, even spiteful, taking advantage of you and then showing no gratitude?
Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. (Matthew 26:14)
Has anyone ever stolen from you, struck you, tried to murder you?
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. (John 19:23a)
Has your family and friends ever doubted your abilities?
Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)
Have loved ones ever abandoned you, or at least did that possibility seem utterly real?
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Mark 15:34)
Have those you hold most dear not been there when you needed them most?
Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: "I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered.' (Mark 14:27)
Have you ever lost a close friend?
Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; (Matthew 14:13a)
Have you ever had a day you dreaded?
And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. (Luke 22:44)
Have you ever asked God to change your circumstances, even though you knew you were where he needed you?
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:39)
Jesus has been there before, and He knows your pain. Put your pain in His hands, and trust Him.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
2010: Look Around, and Love
Many years before I attended medical school, I am told, the tradition in medical schools on the first day of the first year was to tell each student: “Look to your left and look to your right. The students sitting in those seats won’t be here next year.” Attrition was an assumption of the system in those days, and “only the strong survived.”
Maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s the fact that my parents and one of my siblings have already passed into the portion of eternity beyond our eyes, maybe it’s because one of my most beloved friends came close to that same step late last year…somehow I feel like I should “look to my left and look to my right” at the beginning of this year and realize that someone here and visible right now will not be here this time next year. Someone won’t be strong; someone will not survive 2010.
What then? Why should I consider that seemingly morose possibility? I guess there are a number of reasons……or maybe only one.
If I knew someone in my life had less than a year to live, how might I change my attitude towards them? Might I be more likely to overlook their foibles? Might I be less irritated when they refuse to overlook mine? Would I be more likely to call them “on the spur” rather than needing an appointment, or rather than thinking, “I’ll get around to that later,” knowing that later will likely not come soon? Would I be inclined to give the little gifts that I know they love without wanting or expecting anything in return? Would the trip we had always talked about taking together suddenly become a priority instead of a fantasy? Might their politics not matter so much? Would the fact that they are a pre-millennial dispensationalist or an Alabama fan really matter? Would race or gender or “you name it differences” really be a bucket that would hold the water of disagreement or resentment anymore?
I think the answers to all those questions would be no. And that means the question would really become just one: Might I love them more unconditionally? And the answer, without doubt, would be yes.
Okay, given that I am not omniscient (I nor you nor any human can generally see the future. We live our lives in prospect. We live with the assumption that what was true today, generally, will be the template for tomorrow, and the next and the next.) If we lack omniscience, and if each of our loved ones is undoubtedly a temporal being in this life, then maybe, just maybe, I should focus on treating each of them with the unconditional love that I would attempt if I knew, for sure, that before next year they would have passed into eternity.
So, take some time. "Look to your left and look to your right"; someone you love will not survive the year. Love each person as if they were that person, and if, at the end of the year, they are all still there, and you are still here, you won’t have lost a thing; you will have gained. In the Christian tradition, you will have “stored up treasures in heaven”. If you are not a Christian, you will have still acted like Jesus would have liked, so maybe you are and He just knows it before you do. Remember, He is the one who said, “When you did it unto these who are the least (loved them), you did it unto me (loved me).” When you love God’s creatures you love Him.
Have a great 2010…..and look around.
Maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s the fact that my parents and one of my siblings have already passed into the portion of eternity beyond our eyes, maybe it’s because one of my most beloved friends came close to that same step late last year…somehow I feel like I should “look to my left and look to my right” at the beginning of this year and realize that someone here and visible right now will not be here this time next year. Someone won’t be strong; someone will not survive 2010.
What then? Why should I consider that seemingly morose possibility? I guess there are a number of reasons……or maybe only one.
If I knew someone in my life had less than a year to live, how might I change my attitude towards them? Might I be more likely to overlook their foibles? Might I be less irritated when they refuse to overlook mine? Would I be more likely to call them “on the spur” rather than needing an appointment, or rather than thinking, “I’ll get around to that later,” knowing that later will likely not come soon? Would I be inclined to give the little gifts that I know they love without wanting or expecting anything in return? Would the trip we had always talked about taking together suddenly become a priority instead of a fantasy? Might their politics not matter so much? Would the fact that they are a pre-millennial dispensationalist or an Alabama fan really matter? Would race or gender or “you name it differences” really be a bucket that would hold the water of disagreement or resentment anymore?
I think the answers to all those questions would be no. And that means the question would really become just one: Might I love them more unconditionally? And the answer, without doubt, would be yes.
Okay, given that I am not omniscient (I nor you nor any human can generally see the future. We live our lives in prospect. We live with the assumption that what was true today, generally, will be the template for tomorrow, and the next and the next.) If we lack omniscience, and if each of our loved ones is undoubtedly a temporal being in this life, then maybe, just maybe, I should focus on treating each of them with the unconditional love that I would attempt if I knew, for sure, that before next year they would have passed into eternity.
So, take some time. "Look to your left and look to your right"; someone you love will not survive the year. Love each person as if they were that person, and if, at the end of the year, they are all still there, and you are still here, you won’t have lost a thing; you will have gained. In the Christian tradition, you will have “stored up treasures in heaven”. If you are not a Christian, you will have still acted like Jesus would have liked, so maybe you are and He just knows it before you do. Remember, He is the one who said, “When you did it unto these who are the least (loved them), you did it unto me (loved me).” When you love God’s creatures you love Him.
Have a great 2010…..and look around.
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