Ever done something that was so entirely against your principals that you couldn't believe that you did it? Today this is me. I'm puzzled with myself. Disappointed but not entirely surprised. And above all else, sad. In a recent series of decisions, I compromised my character and behaved in a way that drastically opposes some of my most valued moral beliefs. Why?
In one of his more personal moments, Paul wrote the following lament: "So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?" (Romans 7:14-24 NLT).
My soul is in agony with itself--like Paul I feel as if I'm in a huge war against myself. But even worse than that is the new set of fears that are building up inside of me. What happens if my friends find out? What about my church or my pastor? What about my family? Who will still love me when they see that I'm a broken mess--a failure to myself, my faith, and God?
Consequences--whether we mean to or not, sin has a price. But I grasp with all I am onto the hope that God will continue to shower me with grace. I am a blind man, and like the one who called out to Jesus in desperation, my heart humbly echoes the blind man's cry, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" (Luke 18:38).
As I seek some solace for my bruised soul, I find my mind continually coming to rest on the great characters in the Bible who warred against their flesh and fought for complete enlightenment. King Solomon was a perfect victim of his own sorry decisions--and even with all his wisdom, he failed himself. He was way beyond knowing better, but he gave into his weaknesses and with a sense of regret and a desire to save others from similar fates, Solomon wrote:
"I, the Teacher, was king of Israel, and I lived in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to search for understanding and to explore by wisdom everything being done under heaven. I soon discovered that God has dealt a tragic existence to the human race. I observed everything going on under the sun, and really, it is all meaningless—like chasing the wind.
What is wrong cannot be made right.
What is missing cannot be recovered.
I said to myself, “Look, I am wiser than any of the kings who ruled in Jerusalem before me. I have greater wisdom and knowledge than any of them.” So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.
The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.
To increase knowledge only increases sorrow" (Ecc. 1:12-18 NLT).
Solomon had a great heart for God and a strong capacity for love, but he got sidetracked by his lust. Solomon had more women than probably any other man in the world, and was blessed with great wealth, but in the end worldly admiration, sex, and money were meaningless--like chasing the wind...
One can sense the pain and earnestness in Solomon's final words in Ecclesiastes: "The words of the wise prod us to live well. They're like nails hammered home, holding life together. They are given by God, the one Shepherd. But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There's no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you're no good for anything else. The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you. And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil (Ecc. 12:11-14 The Message Remix).
Like Solomon, many others in the Bible failed themselves and God, but through grace, were able to still be used by God. King David lusted, committed adultery and murdered, yet, he is still known as "a man after god's own heart"--a man who hungered and sought after God even in the midst of his failure! Abraham questioned God's methods and promises and allowed Sarah to convince him to take Hagar as a concubine to produce an heir--this only served to create a great rivalry that continues even today. But even so, Abraham is the father of faith, and the man through whom God chose to pass on the greatest of blessings to all future generations. Moses was a stuttering murderer who doubted himself, and still God used him to lead the Israelites out of captivity to a land of promise. Rahab was a prostitue, but God used her to protect Israelite spies, and it was through her bloodline that Jesus was born. Mary Magdalene had seven demons cast out of her, but she became one of Jesus best friends--so much so that she was the first person that Jesus chose to appear to after his resurrection. Paul was a strong advocate for the genocide of early Christians, but God changed his heart and sent him as a missionary all over Europe.
All of these great Bible characters are my ancestors--men and women who, despite their flaws, managed to hang onto their faith and passed it on.
As I ponder my poor decisions and deal with the consequences, I find myself tearfully repeating the broken words of King David: "Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. . . Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51:1-3, 7-11 NLT).
Oh how I long for a faith that will override my human weaknesses--how I pray to be strong in my principals. And as I wade through this filth, I keep picturing in my mind's eye Jesus as He spoke love to the woman who was brought to Him to be stoned for adultery: "Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you? “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”" (John 8:10-11 NLT).
It is Jesus' profound, unconditional, compelling love that won Paul's heart and caused him to desire a soul rebirth. And what a rebirth it was! From genocide mastermind to missionary. As Paul says, "What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:31-39 NLT).
I believe that it is God's perfect love for me that is changing me, making me new, and restoring me. It is this love that causes me to kneel in repentance, to raise my hands and heart in submission, and to hope for greater things yet to come.
My precious Father in Heaven, I'm sorry for my failure, but I trust in your restorative power!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
To Be a Lilly of the Field...
I cannot deny the fact that God has worked miracles for me this year, and that I've learned how to recognize God's hand in my daily life. But in spite of everything God has been doing to help me grow my faith, I still have a long ways to go.
Praise is an important part of faith--it's an act of confidence that precedes the miracle. Praise is something I'm still working on...
But let me start by sharing some of the ways that God has been taking care of me. A couple of weeks ago, my landlord notified me that I still needed to pay the security deposit for the house I'm renting--apparently we both had forgotten about it. This worried me because I just barely make my rent every month--in fact, I knew that I would be making about $30 dollars past my rent for the month of February. I didn't know what to do, so I turned to my pastor for help. And by God's grace, he somehow found a way to give me the money to cover that security deposit! This act of kindness has meant the world to me.
Being able to pay for my rent and security deposit were definitely my largest financial concerns for February, but the last week of the month found me in a different sort of financial dilemma. I needed gas money to get to and from work during the week, I needed groceries, and I needed to pay tithe, but I didn't have enough money to do all three of those things. I briefly thought about holding off on the tithe until the following week after my next paycheck, however, I realized that God was testing my faithfulness, and since God has never done me wrong, I wrote the check. That left me to choose between gas and food. I chose gas. I figured that there would be no food coming at all if I didn't work, plus, if I really had to, I could turn to my church family for help with food. But I hoped I wouldn't have to ask for help from my church again after they had already done so much.
By the time Wednesday came around, I was out of bread, fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables/fruits, and milk. In fact, what food I had left was an odd assortment of things: cheese, eggs, 2 cans of black eyed peas, whipped cream, ketchup, soy sauce, guacamole seasoning, taco seasoning, a box of cereal, and a few other odds and ends. As I stood in the kitchen looking at my sad store of food, I threw up my hands and told myself that I had no reason to panic--I did have some food after all, it's not like I could say I was starving, and I had a paycheck coming in three days, so there wasn't any reason why I couldn't make do. But more importantly than all of that, I knew that God had my back, and everything would be fine.
On Monday, I ate my last banana, and began to psych myself out to settle for being grateful that I had food in my cupboards to eat at all. And while I probably could've gotten by on what I had for the rest of the week, God chose to intervene. Later that day, one of my friends asked me to drive her to the store, so I did. I was happy to hang out with her and her baby girl. She surprised me by sending me home with a Tupperware of fesh cut vegetables and another one with potato soup. I was so excited to have carrots, celery, and cucumbers to eat--the veggies and the soup covered at least two full meals. But by Wednesday morning, I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do for breakfast because I had finally run out of eggs and milk. During my work shift that night, I couldn't help but debate my options for breakfast. I knew I could eat cereal dry, or with water, or I could crack a can of beans, they counted as a good protein source. As my shift came near to its close, I experienced a small rush of customers, and that's when God surprised me. The last customer tipped me $2. I could have cried with joy--immediately my heart went out with gratitude to God. Between the tip and the few coins I had in my car, I was able to buy milk--I was set for breakfast for the rest of the week! But God didn't stop blessing me there, because the next day, I was asked to accompany a church member to a complimentary lunch. The instant I was asked if I would go to lunch, I couldn't keep myself from grinning--I recognized this invitation as yet another way that God was providing vegetables for me! Believe me, I was never so excited to have lettuce and a slice of tomato on a sandwich before! To top it all off, my mother called me Friday morning to see if I would like her to come visit--and I didn't say anything to her about my food troubles, but she offered to buy me some fruit and vegetables at the store. Once again, I found myself in awe of the ways of God. He definitely blessed me above and beyond what I had asked for--I had just asked God to help me manage till payday.
Payday came, and then so did my tax return--a part of which I set aside to return to God as a thank-offering. But just as soon as I began to relax and feel like things were finally really looking up, my car's battery died. I didn't panic, however, instead I thanked God that I was working a shift at Bi Lo when it happened--this gave me access to my manager who was able to jump-start my car, allowing me to make it to my second job on time. But once I arrived at my second job, and turned my car off, I discovered that it wouldn't restart. And yet again, God came through in the form or a co-worker who was able to jump-start my car and then go to Wal-mart with me where I purchased a new battery. My co-worker even installed the new battery for me!
As I was driving home from Wal-mart, breathing a deep sigh of relief and gratitude, I noticed, with some concern, that the red battery light, on my dashboard, was on. It hadn't been on before, so I wondered if something was wrong. I called my dad to see if he had any ideas about what it might mean. When he suggested the possibility that maybe the alternator had gone bad, something in my snapped. I totally flipped--I was so angry. Exercising faith is a beautiful thing, but it is also exhausting! My poor dad had to endure my outburst. "I can't believe this! How am I going to be able to afford to fix the alternator? Seriously, what am I going to do?!!! I HATE this year! I'm so sick of all of this. Every time I feel like I'm about to catch my breath, something else goes wrong!"
Once my little hissy fit was over, I immediately regretted it. I was still upset, but I also felt like I'd cracked under pressure when I should've reminded myself of the ways that God had blessed me and praised Him with the confidence that He would take care of this too. It is moments like these when I feel how very small and human I am. In fact, I was somewhat worried that God might not help me out after such faithless behavior.
The next morning, I prayed that God would help my car, and then I took it into the local auto shop. I explained to the mechanic there that I was poor, and probably couldn't afford to fix the car, but I would at least like to know what was wrong with it, so I knew what I was dealing with. Then I asked if they did any sort of payment plans, but of course, they didn't. As much as I tried to remind myself that God was in control, I couldn't keep myself from worrying. I was too anxious to sit at the body shop and wait, so I walked about ten minutes to a local flower shop where I chose to await my car's destiny. In order to help calm my nerves, I kept reciting Bible verses to myself. One that I kept coming back to was "In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths" (Pr. 3:6 NKJV). A couple of hours later, I got a phone call from the mechanic. It went something like this:
Mechanic:"Hello...Heather?...I've taken a look at your vehicle..."
Me:...ok... (I was so afraid to hear what might come next).
Mechanic: Well, I can fix your car for $42.60.
Me: Really??!! That's wonderful! Yes! (I even raised my fist in the air in celebration at this point) Let's do that! Can you fix it now?
I was elated. After fearing that I would have to find a way to get hundreds of dollars to replace the alternator, I was thrilled to find that I could afford to repair the car with some of the money from my tax return.
I've spent a lot of time over the past few days thinking about all these events and how I've reacted. I'm thankful to see that my faith has grown, but disappointed to also observe that when things got too big for me to see some sort of solution, I panicked. I still act more like the untrusting Israelites in the wilderness. I suppose that one doesn't just suddenly find themselves to possess the kind of faith that Abraham had.
However, I am confident in the grace of God. He still works in my favor even when I don't display my best behavior. Some of the things that I keep meditating on as I pray for a change of heart and praise God for His goodness come from Jesus words to people who were struggling like me:
"I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today" (Matt 6:25-34).
There has never been a time in my life when these words have moved me like they do now. I am stricken by their potency. Jesus words are full of love and encouragement. I pray that I will keep them at the forefront of my mind. For I believe that it is only by keeping God's words in my mind and heart that I will maintain my sanity and a hope for greater things still to come.
Praise is an important part of faith--it's an act of confidence that precedes the miracle. Praise is something I'm still working on...
But let me start by sharing some of the ways that God has been taking care of me. A couple of weeks ago, my landlord notified me that I still needed to pay the security deposit for the house I'm renting--apparently we both had forgotten about it. This worried me because I just barely make my rent every month--in fact, I knew that I would be making about $30 dollars past my rent for the month of February. I didn't know what to do, so I turned to my pastor for help. And by God's grace, he somehow found a way to give me the money to cover that security deposit! This act of kindness has meant the world to me.
Being able to pay for my rent and security deposit were definitely my largest financial concerns for February, but the last week of the month found me in a different sort of financial dilemma. I needed gas money to get to and from work during the week, I needed groceries, and I needed to pay tithe, but I didn't have enough money to do all three of those things. I briefly thought about holding off on the tithe until the following week after my next paycheck, however, I realized that God was testing my faithfulness, and since God has never done me wrong, I wrote the check. That left me to choose between gas and food. I chose gas. I figured that there would be no food coming at all if I didn't work, plus, if I really had to, I could turn to my church family for help with food. But I hoped I wouldn't have to ask for help from my church again after they had already done so much.
By the time Wednesday came around, I was out of bread, fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables/fruits, and milk. In fact, what food I had left was an odd assortment of things: cheese, eggs, 2 cans of black eyed peas, whipped cream, ketchup, soy sauce, guacamole seasoning, taco seasoning, a box of cereal, and a few other odds and ends. As I stood in the kitchen looking at my sad store of food, I threw up my hands and told myself that I had no reason to panic--I did have some food after all, it's not like I could say I was starving, and I had a paycheck coming in three days, so there wasn't any reason why I couldn't make do. But more importantly than all of that, I knew that God had my back, and everything would be fine.
On Monday, I ate my last banana, and began to psych myself out to settle for being grateful that I had food in my cupboards to eat at all. And while I probably could've gotten by on what I had for the rest of the week, God chose to intervene. Later that day, one of my friends asked me to drive her to the store, so I did. I was happy to hang out with her and her baby girl. She surprised me by sending me home with a Tupperware of fesh cut vegetables and another one with potato soup. I was so excited to have carrots, celery, and cucumbers to eat--the veggies and the soup covered at least two full meals. But by Wednesday morning, I was beginning to wonder what I was going to do for breakfast because I had finally run out of eggs and milk. During my work shift that night, I couldn't help but debate my options for breakfast. I knew I could eat cereal dry, or with water, or I could crack a can of beans, they counted as a good protein source. As my shift came near to its close, I experienced a small rush of customers, and that's when God surprised me. The last customer tipped me $2. I could have cried with joy--immediately my heart went out with gratitude to God. Between the tip and the few coins I had in my car, I was able to buy milk--I was set for breakfast for the rest of the week! But God didn't stop blessing me there, because the next day, I was asked to accompany a church member to a complimentary lunch. The instant I was asked if I would go to lunch, I couldn't keep myself from grinning--I recognized this invitation as yet another way that God was providing vegetables for me! Believe me, I was never so excited to have lettuce and a slice of tomato on a sandwich before! To top it all off, my mother called me Friday morning to see if I would like her to come visit--and I didn't say anything to her about my food troubles, but she offered to buy me some fruit and vegetables at the store. Once again, I found myself in awe of the ways of God. He definitely blessed me above and beyond what I had asked for--I had just asked God to help me manage till payday.
Payday came, and then so did my tax return--a part of which I set aside to return to God as a thank-offering. But just as soon as I began to relax and feel like things were finally really looking up, my car's battery died. I didn't panic, however, instead I thanked God that I was working a shift at Bi Lo when it happened--this gave me access to my manager who was able to jump-start my car, allowing me to make it to my second job on time. But once I arrived at my second job, and turned my car off, I discovered that it wouldn't restart. And yet again, God came through in the form or a co-worker who was able to jump-start my car and then go to Wal-mart with me where I purchased a new battery. My co-worker even installed the new battery for me!
As I was driving home from Wal-mart, breathing a deep sigh of relief and gratitude, I noticed, with some concern, that the red battery light, on my dashboard, was on. It hadn't been on before, so I wondered if something was wrong. I called my dad to see if he had any ideas about what it might mean. When he suggested the possibility that maybe the alternator had gone bad, something in my snapped. I totally flipped--I was so angry. Exercising faith is a beautiful thing, but it is also exhausting! My poor dad had to endure my outburst. "I can't believe this! How am I going to be able to afford to fix the alternator? Seriously, what am I going to do?!!! I HATE this year! I'm so sick of all of this. Every time I feel like I'm about to catch my breath, something else goes wrong!"
Once my little hissy fit was over, I immediately regretted it. I was still upset, but I also felt like I'd cracked under pressure when I should've reminded myself of the ways that God had blessed me and praised Him with the confidence that He would take care of this too. It is moments like these when I feel how very small and human I am. In fact, I was somewhat worried that God might not help me out after such faithless behavior.
The next morning, I prayed that God would help my car, and then I took it into the local auto shop. I explained to the mechanic there that I was poor, and probably couldn't afford to fix the car, but I would at least like to know what was wrong with it, so I knew what I was dealing with. Then I asked if they did any sort of payment plans, but of course, they didn't. As much as I tried to remind myself that God was in control, I couldn't keep myself from worrying. I was too anxious to sit at the body shop and wait, so I walked about ten minutes to a local flower shop where I chose to await my car's destiny. In order to help calm my nerves, I kept reciting Bible verses to myself. One that I kept coming back to was "In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths" (Pr. 3:6 NKJV). A couple of hours later, I got a phone call from the mechanic. It went something like this:
Mechanic:"Hello...Heather?...I've taken a look at your vehicle..."
Me:...ok... (I was so afraid to hear what might come next).
Mechanic: Well, I can fix your car for $42.60.
Me: Really??!! That's wonderful! Yes! (I even raised my fist in the air in celebration at this point) Let's do that! Can you fix it now?
I was elated. After fearing that I would have to find a way to get hundreds of dollars to replace the alternator, I was thrilled to find that I could afford to repair the car with some of the money from my tax return.
I've spent a lot of time over the past few days thinking about all these events and how I've reacted. I'm thankful to see that my faith has grown, but disappointed to also observe that when things got too big for me to see some sort of solution, I panicked. I still act more like the untrusting Israelites in the wilderness. I suppose that one doesn't just suddenly find themselves to possess the kind of faith that Abraham had.
However, I am confident in the grace of God. He still works in my favor even when I don't display my best behavior. Some of the things that I keep meditating on as I pray for a change of heart and praise God for His goodness come from Jesus words to people who were struggling like me:
"I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today" (Matt 6:25-34).
There has never been a time in my life when these words have moved me like they do now. I am stricken by their potency. Jesus words are full of love and encouragement. I pray that I will keep them at the forefront of my mind. For I believe that it is only by keeping God's words in my mind and heart that I will maintain my sanity and a hope for greater things still to come.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Validation
To some people, words are significant. And for most people, the best kind of words are those that build them up. Compliments, words of love, encouragement, and even reprimands given with gentle wisdom can have positive, life-altering results.
The wisest man that ever lived writes in Proverbs 18:21 that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (ESV). This is a fact that Jesus knew well. Many of Jesus' miracles are surrounded by significant words--in fact for some of the people that interacted with Jesus, the words were more important than the physical healing.
Luke, Paul's personal physician, recorded the story of a particular paralyzed man in Luke 5. For whatever reason, this paralyzed man was plagued by a very deep guilt. This man was also blessed with some friends who wanted to help him move past his pain. So when his friends found out that Jesus was nearby, they put the paralyzed man on a stretcher and carried him to where Jesus was teaching--it's not like the paralyzed man could resist them anyways. When they got to the house that Jesus was in, they were unable to get inside because of the crowds, so in a moment of desperate genius, the friends managed to carry the paralyzed man up onto the roof of the house where they removed some of the roof tiles and lowered their friend down through the opening until he hung before Jesus. Such an act required a strong faith on the part of the paralyzed man's friends--they realized that Jesus was the only one who could heal the man. This is why they went to such incredible lengths to get him to Jesus. Taking all of this into account, Jesus recognized their belief in him. But when He looked at the paralyzed man before Him, He recognized not only his physical brokenness, but He saw the wreckage of the man's spirit. The man's real problem wasn't that he could no longer move, it was the fact that he was being eaten alive by his inner pain. It probably isn't a stretch to say that if the man had been able to move, he probably would've taken measures to end his own life. Jesus saw the deep sorrow in the paralyzed man's eyes and so this is why His next words were the ones that saved the man's life: "Young man, your sins are forgiven" (Luke 5:20 NLT). The religious leaders threw a fit because of Jesus' words--they were blasphemous, only God could forgive sins, after all. Jesus turned to look at these religious leaders and simply asked this question: "Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?" (Luke 5:23 NLT). Then to prove that He did have the right to heal the man's spirit, Jesus healed the man physically as well--a double miracle! But when it really comes down to it, which miracle do you think mattered more to that man?
In another case, the religious leaders framed a woman for adultery, arrested her, and brought her before Jesus to be judged for her crime. There are many things that Jesus could have done in this situation, but He chose to use words to defend her--perhaps this is because He knew that saying something that would plague the accusers would be much more powerful than any physical thing He could do to them. When they threw the woman at Jesus and demanded His permission to stone her according to the laws of Moses, Jesus said "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!" (John 8:7 NLT) The irony in this statement is that the only person there without sins was Jesus, but He didn't even do so much as pick up a pebble. Before long, all of the accusers had left and the exchange that then takes place between Jesus and the woman never ceases to give me goose bumps: "Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more”" (John 8:10-11 NLT). Again, Jesus shows the incredible power of words.
In both of these cases, Jesus validated the feelings of the person brought to Him. He saw their pain and their true needs, and simply by recognizing this through what He said to them, He brought incredible healing into their lives.
God is in the business of validating all of us. He has chosen to claim all of us has His blood family--consider this: We are the only beings in ALL of creation that are connect to God through blood. Jesus came down and was born of Mary, so somewhere in all of our genealogies we connect to Him in our DNA, but not only that, Jesus died so we could all be returned to our true status as princes and princesses of Heaven. I don't think there is a more incredible blood tie in the universe!
As far as I'm concerned, there is no greater validation than God's love for humanity. Take a moment and indulge in the profundity of God's validation of you:
"No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you" (John 14:18 NLT). "No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you" (Josh 1:5 NLT). "I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand" (Is 41:10 NLT). "See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands" (Is 49:16 NLT)"Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come" (Jeremiah 33:3 NLT). "For I know the plans I have for you,... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jer 29:11 NLT). "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:30 NLT). "Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you" (Is 43:1-2,4 NLT).
God says to us: "You are great! You are beautiful! I love to see you smile, you have such a fantastic smile! You are significant. I see how hard you work,and I know that you aren't always shown the proper recognition, but I appreciate all you do! I am so proud of your accomplishments, and I know that you will make a difference!"
Feel validated yet???
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Things that the Angels Long to Understand...
When I consider the fact that I am one single human being in an entire universe, I begin to sense the humility of how small I am. When I think about time and eternity, I am, again, humbled by my itty bitty little "bleep" in the existence of life. Initially, this causes me to feel insignificant and maybe even puny. What are my hopes and dreams compared to the combined hopes and dreams of all of humanity? How is it possible for a "bleep" to truly make a difference or even matter?
But then history is full of "bleeps" who have changed the world--Plato, Socrates, Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci, Amerigo Vespucci, Francis Bacon, Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther, St. Fancis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., and the list goes on...
God grants different gifts and abilities to different people, but when He created humans, he implanted a common ingredient that would be passed on through generations--"God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen 1:27 NIV).
Made in the image of God--what exactly does that entail? I'm sure it involves many things, but a significant aspect of being made in the image of God involves free will. The ability to choose is sacred--humans can choose to believe, reject, abuse, abstain, pursue, doubt, hate, love, work, build, break, create, kill, judge, reconcile, etc. No other created thing that lives on Earth can do all these things. Humans can reason, weigh options, and make decisions entirely on their own. The kind of decisions that one makes determines their legacy or "bleep".
To choose is a power of the gods--a profound gift given to humanity. Humans have the power to choose their attitudes, they can command their atmosphere, and they can choose how they want to impact others. The sorts of decisions that one makes determines the level of authority they will exercise. So it is sobering to realize how often the power of choice is taken for granted.
Taking free will for granted is not a new problem. In John 10:34, Jesus berates the people for refusing to believe in His divinity and scolds them for acting like a mob instead of exercising their right to make their own decisions. Jesus directs the people to recall the words of King David (in Ps 82:6) when He asks,"Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?" (John 10:34 NKJV). Jesus essentially asks the people why they, who have been given the ability to discern truth, to judge the validity of information, and make their own choices,could look at His fruits and call Him a liar.
The Hebrew word translated as "gods" in Psalms 82:6 and John 10:34 is Elohim. This word is not always used to represent the one true God; it can also be a reference to something that has strength, might, power, and the right to judge (Web 1&2).
Put all this into perspective. Not only did God grant humans existence, but He allowed humans free control over their own minds--no dictator has ever done that! This ability, when one chooses to give control over to God, results in a profound transformation. Often the legacies that are most honored are the ones left by those who freely chose to let God change their hearts and minds.
A person cannot be guilted or forced into choosing to truly follow God. A person who believes out of fear cannot evolve into a person with a strong, beautiful character and steadfast faith. Such a change is supernatural and cannot take place without willing compliance.
Supernatural change is a difficult process. Maybe it is so difficult because it requires one to go against what most people perceive as normal. This change also demands risk, but not without the promise of transformation. And get this, God took a great risk in granting humanity free will. In fact, God took the greatest risk of all by placing Jesus at the mercy of humanity with the explicit desire of providing a way to give humans a chance at perfect and holy immortality. I have to admit that it blows my mind that God allowed the gift of free will to continue beyond Eden. But it is this fact that reveals the nature of God's love and the beauty of His creativity. God loves to take what is broken and restore it. God wants to turn all people into beings of strength, power, with the ability to judge or discern between good and evil--gods--elohim. Ultimately, God will erase all the side-effects of sin from those who choose Him.
This gift of transformation is a beautiful mystery--one that even the Angels are in awe of. Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, writes about this phenomenon in 1 Peter 1:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy
he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or
fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are
shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be
revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These
have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than
gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory
and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you
love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are
filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end
result of your faith, the salvation of your souls . . . Even angels long to
look into these things (verses 1-9,12 NIV).
If God's incomprehensible, unconditional love for a damaged race, if the change that serving God brings to a soul, if the ability for humanity to exercise supernatural abilities stirs up a desire in angels to understand--to get a grasp on the profound beauty of something that words simply fail to express adequately, how can it not overwhelm us with gratitude, praise, and a desire to willingly let God shepherd us? For it is only when one freely commits to God that they can develop something more precious than gold--genuine faith. Such a faith will be so transforming that God will rename you, just as He renamed Abram, Sarai, Jacob, and Saul of Tarsus.
In his sermon, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis makes this profound observation about humanity's potential:
"It is a serious thing,to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whome we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendours" (1942).
God has called us to greater works (John 14:12)--to become beings with the splendor, courage, justice, power, and love that is attributed to gods and goddesses. No one who embarks on this journey with God will be insignificant.
Web 1: http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/di.htm
Web 2: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05393a.htm
But then history is full of "bleeps" who have changed the world--Plato, Socrates, Cleopatra, Alexander the Great, Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci, Amerigo Vespucci, Francis Bacon, Queen Elizabeth I, Martin Luther, St. Fancis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., and the list goes on...
God grants different gifts and abilities to different people, but when He created humans, he implanted a common ingredient that would be passed on through generations--"God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen 1:27 NIV).
Made in the image of God--what exactly does that entail? I'm sure it involves many things, but a significant aspect of being made in the image of God involves free will. The ability to choose is sacred--humans can choose to believe, reject, abuse, abstain, pursue, doubt, hate, love, work, build, break, create, kill, judge, reconcile, etc. No other created thing that lives on Earth can do all these things. Humans can reason, weigh options, and make decisions entirely on their own. The kind of decisions that one makes determines their legacy or "bleep".
To choose is a power of the gods--a profound gift given to humanity. Humans have the power to choose their attitudes, they can command their atmosphere, and they can choose how they want to impact others. The sorts of decisions that one makes determines the level of authority they will exercise. So it is sobering to realize how often the power of choice is taken for granted.
Taking free will for granted is not a new problem. In John 10:34, Jesus berates the people for refusing to believe in His divinity and scolds them for acting like a mob instead of exercising their right to make their own decisions. Jesus directs the people to recall the words of King David (in Ps 82:6) when He asks,"Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?" (John 10:34 NKJV). Jesus essentially asks the people why they, who have been given the ability to discern truth, to judge the validity of information, and make their own choices,could look at His fruits and call Him a liar.
The Hebrew word translated as "gods" in Psalms 82:6 and John 10:34 is Elohim. This word is not always used to represent the one true God; it can also be a reference to something that has strength, might, power, and the right to judge (Web 1&2).
Put all this into perspective. Not only did God grant humans existence, but He allowed humans free control over their own minds--no dictator has ever done that! This ability, when one chooses to give control over to God, results in a profound transformation. Often the legacies that are most honored are the ones left by those who freely chose to let God change their hearts and minds.
A person cannot be guilted or forced into choosing to truly follow God. A person who believes out of fear cannot evolve into a person with a strong, beautiful character and steadfast faith. Such a change is supernatural and cannot take place without willing compliance.
Supernatural change is a difficult process. Maybe it is so difficult because it requires one to go against what most people perceive as normal. This change also demands risk, but not without the promise of transformation. And get this, God took a great risk in granting humanity free will. In fact, God took the greatest risk of all by placing Jesus at the mercy of humanity with the explicit desire of providing a way to give humans a chance at perfect and holy immortality. I have to admit that it blows my mind that God allowed the gift of free will to continue beyond Eden. But it is this fact that reveals the nature of God's love and the beauty of His creativity. God loves to take what is broken and restore it. God wants to turn all people into beings of strength, power, with the ability to judge or discern between good and evil--gods--elohim. Ultimately, God will erase all the side-effects of sin from those who choose Him.
This gift of transformation is a beautiful mystery--one that even the Angels are in awe of. Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, writes about this phenomenon in 1 Peter 1:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy
he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or
fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are
shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be
revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These
have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than
gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory
and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you
love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are
filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end
result of your faith, the salvation of your souls . . . Even angels long to
look into these things (verses 1-9,12 NIV).
If God's incomprehensible, unconditional love for a damaged race, if the change that serving God brings to a soul, if the ability for humanity to exercise supernatural abilities stirs up a desire in angels to understand--to get a grasp on the profound beauty of something that words simply fail to express adequately, how can it not overwhelm us with gratitude, praise, and a desire to willingly let God shepherd us? For it is only when one freely commits to God that they can develop something more precious than gold--genuine faith. Such a faith will be so transforming that God will rename you, just as He renamed Abram, Sarai, Jacob, and Saul of Tarsus.
In his sermon, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis makes this profound observation about humanity's potential:
"It is a serious thing,to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whome we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendours" (1942).
God has called us to greater works (John 14:12)--to become beings with the splendor, courage, justice, power, and love that is attributed to gods and goddesses. No one who embarks on this journey with God will be insignificant.
Web 1: http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/di.htm
Web 2: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05393a.htm
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