Mystery and Apprehension

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. (Ecclesiastes 11:5, NLT)

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9, NLT)

Such reassuring words, yet words that can cause such great apprehension.

Face it... we may love a mystery novel, but we don't appreciate mystery when it hits us between the eyes. Very few of us are comfortable when there are unanswered questions in our lives. How will the baby's health play out? How will I be able to pay this bill? How will this new job really impact my career? Will this medicine work? Those are some tough "trigger questions," aren't they? To some, mystery is misery!

God is the greatest mystery there is, and He is in charge of everything and responsible for everything, ultimately. We cannot explain the wind and the weather. Oh, we have ways of predicting what will happen, and detecting the conditions that favor certain types of weather. Several days ago, they accurately predicted that this week would be a "chilly" one in Florida (yeah, I get it, Northerners... we Floridians just don't understand what cold is... we'll remind you of that next time we're shoveling sunshine off the driveway). But I can recall back in September how they thought a certain hurricane was going to go one way, then the next day it was going another, then it went another day entirely the day it hit us. We understand so much more than we did a century ago, but the weather still does whatever it wants in the end.

We understand a lot more about how a baby develops in the womb than we used to. It is a fascinating process. We can explain the division of cells. We can explain how things may have gone wrong in some cases, or how genetics caused something to happen. At the end of the day, however, a couple of the best God-fearing OBGYNs and Pediatricians I know say pretty much the same thing... it's a miracle!... which is a wonderfully positive way of saying mystery.

My problem is trusting God in the midst of mystery, which is a problem, because He is mystery. We are called to labor for God in the midst of (often maddening) mystery. We cannot see for sure what will happen. Even now, there are mysteries in my life that I wish like crazy would be solved. But they aren't, and I find myself frustrated with them, looking for answers, trying to figure out what I should do next without taking actions that could be harmful.

So, what it comes down to is this: do I really trust God?

I trust God. I trust God. I trust God. Yep, sometimes I am saying that over and over again just to convince my own soul that it is true. His ways are higher. His thoughts are higher. He is in control. Do I trust Him? I do. I do. I do.

I think there is a simple solution for apprehension when facing mystery. However, I don't think it is a solution easily enacted. The best I have found to do is to pray a prayer, something along the following lines...

Lord, you have begun a good work in me. You are faithful. You are completing it, even though I cannot always see and understand what you are doing. I place my [life... passion... idea... situation...] in Your hands. I place my worry for my [career... family... finances... education... situation...] in your hands. Even though the path seems cloudy and mysterious, I place my confidence in You and Your way of working that out. Father, you know my fears. You know my mind better than I do. Please, quiet my soul. Give me rest. At the same time, I plead with You... show me what to do or what not to do. Do not allow me to abandon Your way.

I trust You. Please bolster my trust. I may be saying it over and over again, trying to convince myself that it is true. I need You now. Show Me Your glory, Your faithfulness and love. I will give You the glory.

May God bless you in whatever mystery you may be facing today... He is there... He cares... and He has this, and you, in the palm of His hand! This is a good thing, because, as it says in 1 John 4:8, "... God is love."

Reflections on a Peculiar Baptism

How could I have known that the most amazing experience of my life would happen as I stood there, dripping wet?

I came that morning to hear the Baptizer. Something big was about to happen. John was a big deal in those days, a controversial religious rabble-rouser to some, a powerful and radical preacher to others, and to some he was just plain weird. You loved him, hated him, or were entertained by him. I came to be entertained, but as he spoke of paving the way for Messiah, I felt increasingly like I was burning up inside. My parents had taught me from an early age the promises of Messiah to come. In the synagogue, my beloved rabbi made us to memorize the Scriptures that pointed to his coming, and we had long lessons on the topic that spanned back generations.

As this rabbi, John, spoke to us, I felt it my duty to repent. After all, the way had to be prepared for Messiah, and if indeed he was about to come, I wanted to do my part in the preparations. John's face was serious, urgent, and yet not unfriendly. I waited my turn, and each one that went into the water came out with differing looks. Some looked as if they had done what they needed to do. Some had a look of, "Well, that was interesting." A few looked as though something major had changed within them. When it was my turn, he baptized me, and as I came up, I felt a wave of gratitude and purpose wash over me, that I was part of something crucial.

There had been audible conversation happening all around the river as the baptisms were happening. Some talked about what John had said. Some talked about the people being baptized. There were those that were baptized that elicited surprise, especially when it was a Pharisee or a someone of good repute. A few guffaws when it was a person of poor reputation. I couldn't hear what they were saying about me in particular before my baptism. It was what happened afterwards that has stayed with me all this time since.

I came out of the water. The Baptizer embraced me and said a few things about the coming "Lamb of God," and that I would find true cleansing in Him. As soon as I left him to return to the riverbank, I heard John shout, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" It became silent silent. Having heard John say similar words just a few moments ago, I turned around, dripping wet, and saw Jesus, the son of Joseph, standing at the edge of the water. "Really? This is the 'Lamb' I'm supposed to believe in?" I thought to myself. "This is Messiah?"

The most interesting thing happened then. Jesus went into the water, out to John. I expected Jesus to take over at that point, if he was who John claimed he was. After all, if he was the spotless "Lamb" John said he was, that meant he was perfect, and didn't exactly need the remission of sins that John preached about. Imagine how shocking it would be, then, to hear him ask John to baptize him!

Could John have been wrong? Clearly he didn't think he was. He immediately told Jesus that he was the one who needed baptism, so John didn't think he was in error. I wasn't sure what to make of that, but then Jesus said to John, "Let it be so, for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness."

John's expression became one of absolute amazement. A few moments later, with visible trembling in his limbs and body, John lowered Jesus into the water and brought him back out. Not but a few seconds later, we all saw something like a dove out of nowhere come down to Jesus, and we heard this loud voice ring out over the waters, echoing off the banks... "You are My beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." After the sound of the voice died down, the waters were calm, and you could have heard a feather hitting the water. The drops of water were still coming off of me, and I could hear them as they splashed the water at my feet. The waters sounded like ocean waves when Jesus began to walk out of the water, with the dove leading him. I expected Jesus to stay for a time, but he was soon gone in the direction of the desert.

I walked home that day, lost in thought. What did Jesus mean, "... to fulfill all righteousness"? Wasn't he already plenty righteous, if he was that Lamb of God John described him as being? Then it hit me. That's the point! I mean, look around the river that day, in the water and up on the banks. Not a single person was there that hadn't had to take one of their lambs to the Temple at some point to make an offering for sin. Not a single person was there that was really righteous... until Jesus showed up. And I realized this a few years later, after Jesus was crucified, buried, and then after I saw him alive again with my own eyes. So, clearly Jesus was righteous, and the only one there that day who was. Clearly, me getting baptized didn't fulfill righteousness. My act of repentance and baptism that day... and the acts of everyone else there... great as it was, didn't fulfill righteousness. But Jesus's act did. Clearly the presence of God that day, as we heard in that voice and saw in that dove, verified this. Clearly this was verified later on when Jesus would later rise from death.

You see, I realized that, if anything, I kept righteousness from being fulfilled. Everyone there that day except Jesus had not taken righteous paths. Jesus and I weren't the first ones to have been baptized, so obviously righteousness hadn't yet been fulfilled, and frankly, what could someone as unrighteous as myself do to fulfill it anyway?

Jesus was claiming that day that he was being baptized in order to fulfill righteousness. Looking back, he had always been righteous to that point. He was righteous when he entered the Jordan River. Surely he was claiming he would be righteous throughout the future. He claimed he would remain righteous through the cross and beyond! He was embracing that mantle of Messiah, and was fulfilling that Name we were taught from Isaiah in a deep way: God-with-us. He was identifying himself as God and as one of us human beings in need of righteousness to be fulfilled, that great reversal of what Adam did back in the Garden.

I realize now that that was my only real hope coming into the water! That day I realized that in baptism I was really identifying with him, and that as he was baptized, he identified with me! From that point on, I knew Jesus as the Christ, my righteousness!

Check Yourself and Open Your Eyes

Sometimes what we want to see isn't actually there.

I am kind of feeling that this morning as I start re-studying Revelation for what seems like the umpteenth time. If you grew up a Seventh-day Adventist, it was reinforced in you to know what this book says and what it is about, and for good reason.  However, I have to admit to being more than a bit curious... was I reading it correctly? Is everything I thought I knew and read really what was there, or have I believed what has been preached to me, or what I was hoping was there?

It may seem a minor thing now, but here's an example.

This morning I started over. I went in on Revelation 1:1-3. Now, what I want it to read (or what I want it to say) is, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ..." OK, it does say that, but whenever I have read it, I have read it to say "This book reveals Jesus." In English this makes perfect sense, and it could indeed be what is being revealed. However, upon closer examination, I am not sure this is what it actually says.

I had to go back to my undergraduate Greek studies to dig deeper on this, which isn't easy for someone who hasn't sat in such a class for over 20 years (thank goodness for blueletterbible.com!). Just a look at that first phrase is revealing. We get the word "apocalypse" from the same word we see in the beginning of this verse. However, we have really distorted its meaning. "Apocalupsis," as it would sound in John's language, means to "lay bare/naked," or to "reveal." It can mean a "disclosure of truth," or even "instruction." Whatever is being revealed in this book is something that wasn't seen before, and could be "instructions" that hadn't yet been given.

It is the revelation "of Jesus Christ." Not to repeat what has already been said, but I always read this in English and assumed it was revealing Jesus. But "of Jesus Christ" doesn't quite match up this way. "Christ" means "anointed" in John's language (and remember, he wrote this, not us). "Jesus" means "YHWH (Yahweh) is Salvation." YHWH was the ultimate, transcendent, most mysterious Name for God in the Jewish Scriptures (what we now know as the Old Testament). Here's the thing, though. "Christ" is a proper noun in the "genetive" form in Greek grammar. "Jesus" is in the "dative" form, and the way it is used associates this name with "Christ." So "Christ" is really the one we need to understand here to get what is being said.

What does "genetive" mean? It can be used in a possessive sense: "Carys is the daughter of James." If this was written in Greek, "of James" would be genetive possessive. Another alternative: "James went away from the house." So, the genetive can follow pretty much any preposition (recall English class... over a cloud, through a cloud, under a cloud, from a cloud, etc.).

So, when we read Revelation 1:1, it seems the best (or safest) way to read it is that this is the revelation that belongs to Jesus, or that it is coming from Jesus. It could perhaps be revealing Jesus, but that may not be exactly what John was trying to say when he wrote this stuff out.

After reading and studying through this again, here's a few takeaways I get from it.

1. We need to let Jesus reveal whatever He wants to reveal to us.

I may want Jesus to tell me what I want Him to tell me. I may want His Word to fit my life. But it has to be the other way around. I cannot dictate His message to me. His message must tell me what I should do, how I should change, what I should believe, etc. His word isn't for my convenience or biases. It is for for me to obey.

We should remember that the churches John wrote to were followers of Jesus. I tend to think that John assumed that Jesus was revealed to them already. The messages to the first seven churches seem to be fairly instructive around what they should already have known about Jesus and following Him. So, the question may not always be, "How is Jesus revealed?" but may be "What is Jesus revealing? What is He instructing us to do?" It may be that He is revealing Himself. I wouldn't want to dismiss that Jesus's revealing of Himself is a major theme. However, I would hate to make that so much of what this has to be about that I miss something else.

1. This is a credible revelation.

In Jewish thought, the witness of two or more people is what made it credible (see Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; John 8:17). So, when John writes that this is from God, to Jesus, through His angel, to His servant, we can see multiple sources. When John writes that He bore witness to the Word of God and the Testimony  of Jesus (Jesus's bearing witness), and it adds up to all that He saw that makes up this book, anyone who read this in his day (assuming they are Jesus's followers) would have assumed the credibility of this revelation.

1. Attentiveness + Responsiveness (to what Jesus Christ wants to reveal to us) is what brings a blessing (or happiness) to anyone who reads it and to anyone who hears it.

John was pretty clear. Pay attention to this. Make it important in your life! Respond to what you read and hear. Obey the instructions Jesus is giving here. You will be blessed and happy for doing this, because everything you read in here about what's soon to come is really soon to come! Jesus instructs His followers on what to do and how to live because of what is coming. It's not about escaping danger. It's about being blessed. In our context today, it's not about knowing which individual specifically fits which prophecy, or what event specifically fits this thing or that thing we read. It is still about reading, hearing, taking it seriously, obeying, and being blessed!

Let Jesus tell us what He wants to tell us. Believe in its credibility. Pay attention. Respond. That's what this introduction teaches me.

How about you?

Light that Won't Go Out

What brings you joy? Your family? A good book? An adventure?

Your joy source says something about you. The dictionary will tell you that "joy" means a great feeling of pleasure or happiness. I hate to say it, but the dictionary is shallow.

I did a bit of study on joy after reading through Romans 5:1-11. The following is where you will find the idea of "joy" in that passage (in the NLT):

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.

11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

"Joy" is certainly at the root of the word "rejoice." I think we may be taking unfortunate liberties when we apply our 21st century English definition to the word, however. I am not an advocate for any one English translation of the Bible. They all have their strengths and flaws. Romans 5:3, 11 are two verses in which I prefer how the King James Version translates this passage:

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience...

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Now, I am not sure why the KJV changed the word to "joy," but what about the word "glory"? The word Paul used that we translate to "joy" or "glory" can be translated as (1) to glory, with or without reason; (2) to glory on account of a thing; or (3) to glory in a thing.

"Glory." It means well-lit. The "glory" of the sun lights up our world. When you "glorify God," you are shining the best light possible on Him.

So when we "glory" in something, it means that something is shining its best light on us.

Now, again, what do we find our greatest joy in? An adventure, a possession, a trip... these have something to "shine" on us that will reveal something about us. But what kind of light?

The human view will say that we find joy in our accomplishments, our friendships, our education, our possessions, our influence, or our pleasure. But there is a problem with those things. You have to pursue them. Then they feed your joy. Then it runs out and the joy runs low, so you have to purse them again (kind of sounds like an addiction). Eventually we find ourselves in an endless and exhausting cycle of pursuing what "feeds" us.

If you "glory" in--if these things shine the best light on you--your light will grow dim indeed. Jesus did not come to bring a dimming light.

Jesus did show us what would build into a light that won't go dim.

Justification.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... (Romans 5:1).

That means we are made right with God. It only comes by our faith in Jesus Christ, that He really did die for us, and that He lives again. Being so made right gives us an eternal peace with God. That's a light that doesn't go dim!

Privilege.

... by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

In Jesus, the privilege we have as sons and daughters of God is access straight to God's throne of grace. Undeserved favor and mercy are found there. I love how the New Living Translation puts this one:

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. (Romans 5:11)

In Jesus, we have a privilege of friendship with God! That's a light that doesn't go dim (provided we don't turn around and walk away from it ourselves)!

Affliction.

This one is harder. As Paul wrote it, it can mean "pressing together" or "pressure." Think of it like a diamond. A diamond is formed at high pressure and temperature 87-118 miles below the earth's mantle. No one can deny a diamond's beauty. Neither can one deny what it went through to become so beautiful!

Paul speaks of affliction bringing about growth (endurance, strength of character, hope, etc.). This growth steels our hope that Jesus really has paid it all for our sins, and that He will come again, and that we do have access to God through Him even now. Could it be that Paul is telling us that our character--our faith, our child-of-God privilege, our peace, our justification--is much like that diamond?

We may not like it, but that's the idea! Affliction is a thing to glory in, and that glory doesn't go out!

Human light is possessions, accomplishments, and pleasures, things you have to keep pursuing in order to feed the light. One day, we'll wear out, and the light goes out.

But the best light is faith, child-of-God privilege, and affliction. We receive these gratefully. These are the lights that build us. These are the lights that never go out.

What are you glorying in? Have you prayed for the kind of faith that helps you wisely use your privilege, and even change how you view affliction?

May God give you the kind of light that won't go out!

One with Love

"Nobody's perfect."

"She's a perfectionist."

"Christ is waiting for a perfect church."

I am not a fan of how we usually understand this word, "perfect." It's problematic. It is excused. It is overused and used as a club. It is full of pressure, or it becomes a word of despair for some. But really, what does it mean?

In college, I was a fan of Friends (the show... I also appreciated actual friends, in case you were wondering). The personalities were a bit extreme at times, but that made it interesting. Ross was the nerdy, somewhat awkward one who couldn't get a relationship right until the very end of the series. Chandler was the one who was also awkward with women, but had a joke for every occasion. Joey was great with the women but couldn't hold a job down very long and was an average actor at best. Phoebe was the flighty, happy-go-lucky one with what seemed to be a checkered past. Rachel was the one with the fashion sense and sometimes seemed a bit emotionally overwrought. Then there was Monica. Once upon a time in her life, she was really big. Then she lost a lot of weight. In the show, she was the picky one. The hostess. The ultra-competitor. The perfectionist. In one episode, Chandler (who was now dating her) tried to clean the whole apartment to do something nice. Everything was moved back into place as best he could remember, but she could still tell that the coffee table was too far from the couch.

I fear that some of these impressions of "perfect" have all but ruined how God might see it. 1 John 4 is a great chapter if you want to learn about the character of God and of love. But within it is a picture of perfection that I feel can be liberating.

"12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."

So, if "perfect" really means "like God," this is pretty significant! God, after all, "is love..." First, love is something that is not ours. It is His! Second, we aren't the ones who perfect it. He does! In fact, the word "perfected" could have just as easily been translated "completed." This tells me that there was a starting point and that His love, being completed in us, is a process.

We see and testify of Jesus. His act of saving us is the ultimate expression of God's love. When we do this, we are given the Holy Spirit, as Jesus told His disciples in John 14:15-18. The Spirit, whom Christ refers to in a personal way, is at work in us as Christ was at work with His disciples, only He is even closer. And as He works, what is He perfecting (or completing)? Love! And the proof is in the pudding. We know that God is one with us and we are one with Him (another way of translating this passage from the word "meno" that John would have written in Greek is to remain in, be in, live in, or be one with) when we love one another. This is "agape" love that is more interested in the other than in self, that dearly regards the other and would do anything for the other. It is the closest word that can be used to describe God's love. This kind of love proves that we are in God, that God is in us, and that the Holy Spirit has been sent by Jesus into us, to live as "Jesus in us." 

Perfection? Perfection of life and character is completion of love! It is completion!

I don't know about you, but I don't always feel there yet. Sometimes I don't act in a way that reflects that kind of love. It is proof to me that I am still in process (we call that sanctification "churchese"). But I am getting there, and the grace of God and the character of Christ is something I can always call upon. When I am in Him (or even back in Him), I am complete again because "... where I am weak, He is strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).

So what to do. A few thoughts on becoming ONE WITH LOVE (or complete, or perfect).

1. Love one another. Do you regard others as dear ones? Do you think of them with loving regard? What would you sacrifice for that person, even that person who cut you off, flipped you off, insulted you, or ignored you at church? How much would you inconvenience yourself for another person? Not that you have to be a pushover... that doesn't help the other person any more than it helps you. But how well you love those that are hard to love is a litmus test for how well Christ's love is being completed in you. But as you love like Christ, and love others, you prove that God is in you and you are in God. It proves that the Father has sent the Spirit to live in you as Christ in you. It proves that, yes, He is completing (perfecting) you.
2. Talk about God's love. This is called "testimony." It is telling others how you have experienced God's love. For me, it was the first time I laid eyes on my newborn daughter. Or the first time it hit me that Jesus overcame the world for me (John 16:33 is my favorite text). Testimony also includes your confession and praise that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, sent to save everyone.

So, about that... How has love been easy for you? How has it been challenging for you? How have you experienced God's love? how have you experienced Christ's salvation? Share away!

Feel Your OATs!

The Bible couldn't be clearer: "Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:15-17.

It's likely that this video, and this text, hits us pretty hard. It sure hits me! My life is as full of good intentions as yours. Unfortunately, good intentions never got much done. Maybe you can relate to some good intentions like the following:

I meant to clean the kitchen... but the dirty dishes are still stacked up.

I meant to pay off the credit card bill each month... but years later, here I am up to my neck in debt.

I meant to play with my kids... but now they hardly seem interested.

I meant to help the guy next door move... but I missed my chance.

I meant to bring some spare change to help the guy at the corner who looks hungry... but I haven't seen him in awhile. I hope he's OK.

"I meant to..." is a pretty sad way to begin a phrase, isn't it? The outflow of "I meant to" Christianity is a world that hears "blah blah blah" coming from our lips instead of knowing us as people who make a difference, people worth knowing, people that seem like, dare I say, this Jesus fellow that we read about in the Bible?

How can we turn away from "I meant to" / "blah blah blah" Christians to being the people who make a difference?

It starts with each of us individually choosing to be different. Might I suggest "eating" a morning dose of OATs each day?

O - Observe

What is the need? What do I see happening around me? What is going on in my neighbor's life? Are they moving in? Are they older? Are they having health problems? Is this person hungry?

We need to be more observant! This means looking and (most importantly) listening.

Rather than judge (stereotype) a person by their looks, how about looking at them and saying, with our eyes, "I love you! How can I help?" Hey, if you actually think it, you might actually start acting like it!

Rather than completing someone's sentences for them, or thinking about our responses, how about hearing them completely before interpreting them?

How can you be a more observant person?

A - Act

I was reading the story about the good Samaritan in Luke 10 today. I found myself thinking about all the barriers that did not keep the Samaritan from helping the injured and robbed man out. Prejudice wasn't a barrier. Time wasn't a barrier. Finances were not a barrier to serving him. Inconvenience, discomfort, safety... none of that came between this Samaritan traveler and helping this dying man. Amazing!

Now, the second thought I had was a bit disturbing. Why is that so amazing to me? And why could I read that text and see the "barriers overcome" so easily? Is this passage piercing me a little? Is it piercing you? Could it be that the reason the barriers fell so easily to the Samaritan's pity is because he didn't even think about the barriers? He just acted? Why do I so easily think about barriers instead of action?

It seems to me that we need to have God install some real, genuine, Grade-A compassion in us. Compassion that sees a need and acts. Is it risky? Will we get burned? Is it wreckless? Maybe... but the fact that we think of service as these things seems like a problem to me!

How can we become people of service, who act first before seeing barriers?

T - TALK

Observation and action are great. But with those things alone, we aren't much different than a charity that runs a telethon, or a handout agency. Somehow we are called to be different.

We're called to have conversations. We're called to make friends. We're called to tell our stories of how good God has been to us. "How will they hear (about Jesus) if no one tells them?" Paul basically asks in Romans 10:14.

I love this quote, from Ministry of Healing, by Ellen G. White: "Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good." [My observation: because he did desire their good!]. "He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, 'Follow Me!'" (page 143).

Here's the thing: only six words refer to actually, directly speaking to someone. The rest of it? Observation and action. You could say that any conversation He had with people before the invitation to "Follow Me!" was given was as much about observation and action, in terms of building the relationship. But that last part, "Follow Me!" is SOOO huge! Someone might say no, but for the one who says yes, that invitation seals the deal in totally transforming a person!

Who have you told your story to? Who out there knows how good God has been to you? How can you become a person who Observes, Acts, and Talks about Jesus, even inviting others to be part of the journey with you?

Let's enjoy the blessings of being such people!

What are your thoughts?

Rescue and Renewal

I have heard too many stories about someone being bailed out of trouble, often multiple times, without learning from a mistake. We live in a bit of a nanny state, where people can make mistakes but still get away with it and not have to suffer consequences. Perhaps you have also experienced the phenomenon of a person told at some point in his life that he was special, and he never forgot it. Every time he does something that would render most people dealing with a fallout and picking up the pieces, he gets rescued by parents or friends, often even the society he lives in. And the cycle repeats.

I think about the Old Testament story of Numbers 12-17. In that stretch of six chapters, God's people do some really bad things. They send 12 spies into the Promised Land. 10 of them bring back a bad report and even exaggerate the negative, while only 2 of them try to hold the people to God's power and promise. They even want to execute God's leaders, including the one who led them out of Egypt and through a body of water that split in two before them and drowned the most feared army of the time behind them. When consequences were doled out (that generation was to die in the wilderness), they tried to go in anyway, and wound up getting whipped. Then community leaders Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, rebelled. They were of the tribe of Reuben, the first-born of Jacob. They may have felt that they had more right to leadership because of the birth order of their ancestors. They even equated the Promised Land with Egypt, and would have executed Moses and Aaron and headed back to Egypt. Those men and everyone who followed them (even their families) were wiped out in a single day.

What if they had been bailed out of trouble? Would this nation of blessing ever have blessed anyone? Would they have become a stench, much like the spoiled child turns into an adult that no one can stand to be around?

Numbers 17 is the story of re-establishing God's order of leadership. The tribes were told to bring a staff with their leader's name carved into it. The staffs were taken before God in the Tabernacle. God would prove the one He chose for leadership by making a dead piece of wood, not connected to a tree or any kind of bush, show buds the next morning. Not only did He do this, but that dead piece of wood created blossoms and ripe almonds. It showed new life, matured life, and the produce of life. And the staff belonged to Aaron. From that time forward, his rod would stay in God's Presence. Anyone who doubted leadership and was tempted to rebel just had to look at the rod and remember God's choice and what had happened to those who rebelled just before this event occurred.

It is interesting how two rods were used in Torah. Moses' rod became a snake, was stretched out to signal the beginnings of plagues, to signal the parting and re-closing of waters (rescue for Israel and judgment against Egypt), and to strike a rock to bring out water. Aaron's rod, like his role, was different. It became a sign of new life, developed into mature beauty and fruitfulness. Moses was the delivering leader. Aaron was the agent of forgiveness and atonement.

What brings a person to Christian maturity? Obviously, there might be pain. The old has to be given up. A person has to "leave Egypt." Christ came to rescue people from slavery to sin. That's the "Moses Rod" part of what He did. He was stricken on the cross before any water flowed out that could bring life.

But He also came to atone for sin. He was sacrificed. His death and resurrection brought us atonement. He's still in heaven before God's throne representing us. He promised to come back. the "Aaron's Rod" part of what Christ did brings with it new, maturing, and fruitful life from what was once dead.

Back to the original thought. What if the consequences of rebellion were not suffered? What would Israel have turned out to be? I would suggest an empty shell of what she would (for a time at least) become. Rescue without renewal--a new life!--is empty. Israel had to become a new "person," rescued (represented by Moses) and renewed (represented by Aaron). The nation needed both.

So do we. I know it's hard. I've had to deal with consequences of mistakes. No one likes it. But without trial, without learning from mistakes, we keep repeating them, and we become people no one wants to be around. We cannot be people of blessing without rescue and renewal. We need them both.

How have you experienced rescue and renewal? What lessons can you share to help others see why both are necessary? Praying that we each will know the blessing of both in our lives, and that we can see past the pain and into the blessing.