As dogs go, he wasn't much of one. Part Newfoundland Hound, part Springer Spaniel, and all ugly. And, sadly, by any standard, he wasn't smart, but he had a smile that the little boy loved. For as long as the boy could remember...nine years to be exact...the two had been inseparable. The dog adored the boy, the boy loved the dog and, until this Christmas, life had been good for both of then.
When the boy's father was drinking, which was often, he had a tendency to become a theologian of sorts. He had a particular fondness for the prophets of the Old Testament and two hours after his birth, as his father was toasting the happy occasion for the sixth time, he decided on a name. On the birth certificate, the boy's name was listed as Amos Ezekiel, but since his mother did not have quite the same regard for the prophets as his father, everyone called him Bud.
Standing outside the flower shop window, the dog watched the boy as he admired the roses through the glass. With his hand on the shaggy, black head, Bud pictured himself walking to his mother's bed and laying the flowers in her hand. He only needed two...maybe three. It would make her Christmas so special and yet, the price was so much more than the few quarters jingling in his pocket.
There had been a time when he simply would have asked his mother for the money and she would have given it to him without much of a thought. That was before his father had left, and it was before the cost of medication and treatment for his mother had swallowed what little money they had. So, it was the dog, the boy, and his mother....and he had overheard the doctor tell his mother that this would likely be her last Christmas.
Running his hand through the dog's thick coat, Bud tried to envision life without his mother. The thought brought tears to his eyes, but he had to stay strong, for he was the man of the family now. His mother had told him that many times, and he tried to be brave, but Christmas without his mother....well, he just couldn't imagine it. If this proved to be her last Christmas, he wanted to make it a good one. The flowers would help, for his mother loved roses, but they were a luxury, and one thing they couldn't afford this year was luxury.
Using his coat sleeve to wipe the tears welling in his eyes, Bud took one more look at the flowers, and slowly walked on with the gray muzzled dog a step behind. He glanced back, and the dog was looking at him with his tongue hanging out, displaying his typical lopsided grin. The grin usually brought a warm feeling to Bud, but on this day before Christmas, even his dog's grin could not stop the cold fear growing in him.
The boy and the dog walked to the end of the block, crossed the road, and sat on the bench facing the Cathedral garden. It was a small but beautiful garden, and a place where Bud would often come when he needed time alone. The dog sat with his head on the boy's lap, as the boy gently rubbed the graying nose. His eyes followed families rushing to finish their Christmas shopping, and people entering the Cathedral to prepare for the evening service. But in his mind, he saw the roses in his mother's hand....only two or three....and they would make his mother so happy, for she loved roses.
A woman plopped down on the bench next to him. She was the choir director from the Cathedral and Bud could tell that she was angry. "Two months," she mumbled, partly to herself and partly to the boy. "We've worked on it for two months, and they still can't get it right...it will be a disaster! The tenors are tone deaf, the altos can't count, and the soloist is working up a great case of laryngitis. This is the last year I'll ever do this."
"I'm sorry," said the boy, for he knew nothing about choirs and really didn't know what else to say. "I'm sure it will go well."
"There's no possible was that it's going to go well!" the lady almost shouted. "Christmas will be ruined and I'll never be able to show my face in that church again." With a sigh, she lifted herself from the bench and started back toward the building. As an afterthought, she turned to the boy and said, "Have a good Christmas, young man."
Bud forced a weak smile and watched her walk away, but in his mind he saw his mother, and pictured himself handing her the roses....only two or three...and they would make her so very happy, for she loved roses.
"It's going to be the worst sermon I've ever preached!" the larger of the two approaching men shouted in a loud baritone voice. He was addressing the chairman of the deacon's board and the two had stopped at the street corner next to the garden bench. "I just haven't had time to work on it, and it reads like a bad novel. It'll be a catastrophe! Maybe I need a vacation."
"I'm sure it will be just fine, pastor," came the reply. "What really worries me is the music. Have you heard that choir? And even worse, Viola misses half the notes when she sings, 'What Child is This?' She used to have such a wonderful voice, but she should have stopped singing years ago."
For the first time, they noticed Bud. "Smile, my boy, it's Christmas Eve!" boomed the pastor. "Why are you sitting here with that glum look? You should be home with your family."
"I'm a little sad," said the boy as he looked away from the men and down at his dog, "My mother's not feeling well," was all he could say.
"Why don't you and your mom come to our Christmas Eve service tonight?" offered the deacon. "It might cheer you up."
"Splendid idea," said the pastor, as he reached into his coat pocket for a flyer. "All the information is on here," he said as handed the paper to Bud. "Now, I really must get to work on my sermon."
"And I need to pick up a few things before the stores close," added the deacon as they hurried away in opposite directions.
The flyer slipped from the boy's listless fingers and settled in the snow. He barely felt the dog lick his chin. In his mind, he saw his mother, and pictured himself handing her the roses...only two or three...and they would make her so happy....for she loved roses.
Two women walked from the church and crossed the road. "The tree started to die a week ago. There will only be brown needles left by tonight," one whispered to the other, as they waited at the corner. "And have you ever seen such pathetic looking wreaths?"
"I told you they started decorating too early," came the reply. "The whole thing was poorly planned from the beginning. Well, I'm tired of telling them. Just let them be embarrassed tonight. We'll be a laughingstock, but maybe they'll do it right next year. If I wasn't so busy, I'd do it myself!"
A whine from the dog, drew their attention to the boy. Bud was absentmindedly scratching behind the dog's ear, and the dog loved it. He whined again, completely content with life.
"What a cute dog," the lady lied. "But shouldn't you be home getting ready to open your presents? All you kids seem to think about these days is what you'll get for Christmas. You've lost sight of what the season is all about."
Bud sat quietly, staring at his hands. He hadn't even thought of what he might get, but he did know that it wouldn't be much. Before he could say anything, the woman was digging through her purse. "Here," she said, handing him a tract she had pulled from the bag. "This explains what Christmas really means."
"Thanks," was all the boy had a chance to say before the women hurried across the road. Bud read the title, "Putting Christ Back Into Christmas," but he couldn't get much further. He just didn't feel like reading. The tract soon found a place next to the flyer. In his mind, he saw his mother, and pictured himself handing her the roses...only two or three...and they would make her so happy, for she loved roses.
A man in an expensive suit hurried across the road and collapsed on the end of the bench. "Two months," he almost shouted at the startled boy. "For two months we've been shopping...we have dolls, doll houses, doll dresses, and doll cars....we have board games, computer games, CD's, DVD's, and clothes....we can barely walk through our bedroom. And this afternoon, the brat decides she wants a puppy for Christmas. A puppy! My wife chases me out of the house and tells me not to come back without a puppy. Why am I telling you this? You're just a kid and all you kids are just alike....spoiled rotten and always after something for nothing."
Bud looked at the grinning dog on the ground next to him. An uncomfortable thought was inching its way into his mind, and it kept advancing, regardless of how hard he tried to push it back. He stared at the stupid, lopsided smile, but all he saw were the roses...the roses in his mother's hand. Oh, how his mother loved roses, and he only needed two or three.
"Mister," the boy's voice was barely audible, as he kept his eyes on the ground away from the dog. "I'll sell you my dog."
Laughter burst from the man and the belly beneath the expensive suit jiggled. "Son, I appreciate the offer, and I'm sure he's a fine animal, but if I brought that mutt home, my wife would divorce me." He looked at the dog and giggled again. "Where can I find a puppy on the day before Christmas?" he spoke to himself as he stood and began to walk away. "Have a merry Christmas, kid."
Bud was ready to go home, but the dog had climbed up with him, and was sleeping soundly with his head in the boy's lap. Just as he was about to wake him and leave, an old man staggered across the road and dropped unceremoniously onto the bench. Fumes of whiskey enveloped the area as the ragged man shouted with a smile, "Merry Christmas, youngster," and gave him a slap on the leg. The drunk ran his hand through the thick hair of the sleeping animal and told the boy that he had a unique looking dog. "What do you make him out to be?" he questioned.
"I guess he's pretty much of a mutt," the boy answered. "But over the years, I've grown kind of fond of him." The dog was dreaming and his grin grew even more goofy and lopsided. Bud rubbed the nose as he had so many times over the years. Again he saw the roses in the hand of his mother, and almost without thinking, he turned to the man, "Mister, I'll sell him to you for six dollars.
"Now, why would you want to sell a fine dog like that for six dollars?"
The question caused words to flow from Bud like they had never flowed before. He told the inebriate about his mother...about her illness....about the roses, and his mother's love of roses.
When the boy had finished, the gray haired old man had a far away look in his eye. Somehow, through his alcohol muddled mind, he had traveled back more than half a century. Clearly, he saw his mother and he saw a child handing the woman a small bouquet of wild flowers. He recognized the child as himself, before the world had beaten him into the man he was today, living from drink to drink, waiting only for death to remove the pain.
His hand went to his pocket and he felt the well worn ten dollar bill he had hoarded to buy the whiskey that would make Christmas Eve and Christmas Day bearable, or at least help him sleep through it. He looked at the dog, then at the boy, and he saw himself all those years ago.
Standing slowly, and with much effort, the grizzled old man took the bill from his pocket and laid it on the bench. "Keep the dog," was all he said, as he slowly walked away. Bud jumped to his feet startling the dog. The boy grabbed the bill, and ran after the retreating figure. When he caught up to him, the old man smiled through the tears in his eyes, "You'd better get to the flower shop before it closes."
In his joy, the boy hugged the old man and turned toward the store. The man watched him go. "Kids nowadays," he said to himself as he turned toward his little shack on the edge of town.
Bud raced into the house with the grinning dog close behind him and three beautiful roses in his hand. Slowly he walked to his mother's room, looked inside, and made his way to the side of the bed. Her eyes opened slowly, and a smile crossed her face as she saw her son place the roses on her arm. She was to weak to speak but the smile, and the tears slowly moving down her cheek told Bud that his gift had touched her. He went to the other side of the bed, crawled in next to her, and held her hand. As he began to doze, he dreampt that the hand would always be there for him to hold. The peacefulness of the dream shattered when his eyes slowly opened. To him, she had always been the most beautiful woman in the world, and in death she remained so. While he had slept, she had pulled the roses onto her chest, close to her face as if to catch their fragrance. Her other arm was around Bud's shoulder, pulling him close. As he looked at her, through his tears, he pushed a wayward strand of hair back into place. He kissed her cool forehead and let the tears flow freely. The dog put his head on the edge of the bed, his eyes on the boy, and for the first time the boy could remember, the stupid grin was gone. In the background he heard the gentle music from the radio, "So this is Christmas....and what have you done...another year over....and a new one's begun..."
On the edge of town, the old man lay under his blanket on a small, rickety bed. He was starting to shake as his body demanded whiskey that he could not supply, and he knew it was just the beginning. The night would be a sleepless one and Christmas Day would be dreadfully long, but he remembered the joy on the kid's face and had no regrets.
In another house, closer to the center of town, a little girl had brought two months of shopping to an end in fifteen minutes. Wrapping paper and half used toys were scattered everywhere. The mother carried the little girl to bed while the father went to the kitchen to make a place for the puppy. It would be a long night for him as well.
As the Cathedral bells chimed, people began to file from the church. It had been an extraordinary service, by all accounts. The pastor had preached one of his best sermons in years, and was receiving the congratulations due him. The choir absolutely brought the music to life, and even Viola sounded twenty years younger. In the candlelight, the oldest members had to agree that the setting was the most beautiful they had ever seen in the church. It had been a most memorable Christmas indeed.
On the first Christmas Eve, a young woman prepared to give birth to the greatest thing to ever set foot on this spinning pile of dirt. The Creator God, wrapped in human flesh and taking human form would step from eternity into time. The Creator touching his creation. Some two thousand years later, as pastors preached, choirs sang, and gifts were exchanged, that same Creator was still touching his creation. He was gently wrapping his arms around a little boy....a boy holding three beautiful roses and hugging an ugly dog, as they sat through the darkest of nights. And, perhaps to the dismay of some of the more religious, He was also in a lonely shack on the edge of town, sitting close to the bed of a shaky old man who had given a few moments of Christmas joy to a young stranger.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Reflections of a Prodigal
With even a cursory evaluation of fifty-eight years of living, one fact rapidly rises above all others. I have relentlessly been stalked by the grace of God. I have waited all summer to type those words. The thought has been running through my mind as we worked our way through a hectic summer. One of my kids made his annual pilgrimage home from a distant land. Another stood before me with the woman he had chosen, and spoke the vows of matrimony. Through it all we were surrounded by family, and trying to pull the most from the few short months that Minnesota summers reluctantly yield to it's inhabitants. Like I said, hectic. As I experienced and absorbed it all, the intense realization that my life has been one that has been ferociously pursued by God's grace became so very real to me.
Perhaps that is why I was so touched when I first heard one of Matt Redman's most recent songs, "Your Grace Finds Me." If you have never heard it, stop reading right now...find it...and listen to the beautiful words of truth the brother penned. I'm serious. Here's a link to help you out.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqd8MoiCbcI. What did I tell you? So I write the thought that has occupied my mind for months....the thought that I have been unceasingly stalked by God's grace....and I'm more than impressed with the way Matt Redman fleshed the thought out in that wonderful song of praise. I just need to testify of the truth of his words. I do realize that it's not a unique observation. Indeed, it is the very core of God's Word to us, but the truth of it has surrounded me this summer. I just need to say that God's grace has pursued me with reckless abandon, and I suspect that I will be praising him for all eternity for that fact.
Along with it, Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son has also been brought to my attention. I mean it's shown up at every turn for the past few weeks. In my daily bible reading, a couple times in a book I've been reading, and even in an article on the CNN website. So, spiritually, my mind has been dwelling on God's persistent grace, and his abounding love. Just a little side note. The Parable of the Prodigal Son could more aptly be called, "The All Consuming Love of a Father", or something like that. I'm just saying.
This parable is the longest of all of the parables of Christ and, I am fairly certain, it is probably the most well known. You know the story. A father has two sons. One basically says to his father, "I wish you were dead. Give me my portion of the inheritance now." The father gives him his portion of the inheritance, the son gets out of the country, lives a wild life style and wastes the money. He ends up hiring himself out to a man to slop his pigs. Jesus says that the young man was so hungry that he would gladly have eaten the pods that were in the pig's slop.....but no one was giving him anything to eat.
Here's how the Message describes the next part:
"That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand. He got right up and went home to his father."
"When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.' "
"But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time." (Luke 15:17-24 MSG)
Turns out, the older son was not at all impressed with the party. He was disgruntled that his father treated his brother so well after he had squandered his inheritance and treated his father so poorly.
I just love the father's response: "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours— but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!' " (Luke 15:31-32 MSG)
Perhaps the reason this parable of Christ's is so well known....so popular....is because we can all relate to it. I know that I can relate to it from every angle. I can put myself in the role of each of the characters.
From a human perspective, I can place myself in the role of the father. As I mentioned, one of my kids makes an annual pilgrimage home from a distant land every summer. He's not a prodigal son, but he has inherited a wanderlust from somewhere in my gene pool, and is determined to live in any country that is not the United States. But he comes home every summer, and at the beginning of the summer, I find myself sitting in the same seat at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, watching plane loads of people walking down the ramp. It's odd that he is never in the middle of the mass of people exiting the plane, but usually comes sauntering down the walkway when it is nearly empty. He's always relaxed and never seems rushed, but when he sees me, he smiles the smile I remember from his childhood.
What happens inside of me when I see that smile can only be understood by a parent who longs for a child. I would like to say that I leap from my seat and run to him like the father in Christ's parable. But sadly, I have a Scandinavian heritage that will not allow such a display of emotion, so I walk to him, hug him briefly, and we head over to claim his luggage. Let me be clear, however. On the inside I am like the father sitting on the porch, looking for his son, and when seeing him, my heart pounds....I hike my robe up around my waist, and run to him. I can relate to the father who hugs the returning son with a hug that stifles his breath and showers him with kisses.
And for the short time he's home we gather at our home with his brothers, and we eat. It's not like I have a fatted calf ready to slaughter, but I bet we go through half a beef. Lot's of meals. Lots of time talking. Lots of time just being together. We celebrate.
So, I can relate to the father in this parable.
Spiritually, I can relate to the older brother to a degree. I am sure, over the decades, that there have been times when I have wondered how my heavenly Father can pour his blessings out on a brother or sister who has strayed from the flock. I imagine I have been one of the ninety-nine sheep who didn't stray, glancing with an air of judgmental jealously at the Shepherd carrying a lost one back into the fold. I say that I can only relate to the older brother to a degree because, more often than not, I have been the one slung over the shoulder of the Shepard as he carried me back to a place of safety.
I do not say it with pride, but of the three characters in this parable of Christ's, I can most readily relate to the prodigal. I suspect that is true of most people, but it is especially true of me. Pride, ego and self-sufficiency have a tendency to run rampant in me. As a result, I often find myself slopping the pigs, longing to feed my hunger with the pods or corn husks scattered among the slop.
That is why I need to testify that through fifty-eight years of existence, I have relentlessly been stalked by the grace of God. That is why the song "His Grace Finds Me," strikes a chord deep in my soul.
In those distant lands....far from home.....far from the Father....metaphorically slopping pigs....God's grace finds me even there. Like a fog gently covering the landscape, his grace envelops me, reminding me who I really am. Reminding me who my Father is. Reminding me of where I belong.
In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, two people moved. One walked. One ran. We prodigals are always the walkers. Actually, I am usually limping. But our Father, whose grace never lets go of us, is always scanning the horizon and, when we move toward him, he runs. He runs, unashamedly, toward his limping, wayward kids and showers them with love. And then, according to Jesus' story, he throws a party. We deserve rebuke. We deserve punishment. We deserve condemnation. But we are shown love. We are shown acceptance. We are shown compassion. That, my friend is grace. And my Father's grace never lets go.
Perhaps that is why I was so touched when I first heard one of Matt Redman's most recent songs, "Your Grace Finds Me." If you have never heard it, stop reading right now...find it...and listen to the beautiful words of truth the brother penned. I'm serious. Here's a link to help you out.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqd8MoiCbcI. What did I tell you? So I write the thought that has occupied my mind for months....the thought that I have been unceasingly stalked by God's grace....and I'm more than impressed with the way Matt Redman fleshed the thought out in that wonderful song of praise. I just need to testify of the truth of his words. I do realize that it's not a unique observation. Indeed, it is the very core of God's Word to us, but the truth of it has surrounded me this summer. I just need to say that God's grace has pursued me with reckless abandon, and I suspect that I will be praising him for all eternity for that fact.
Along with it, Jesus' Parable of the Prodigal Son has also been brought to my attention. I mean it's shown up at every turn for the past few weeks. In my daily bible reading, a couple times in a book I've been reading, and even in an article on the CNN website. So, spiritually, my mind has been dwelling on God's persistent grace, and his abounding love. Just a little side note. The Parable of the Prodigal Son could more aptly be called, "The All Consuming Love of a Father", or something like that. I'm just saying.
This parable is the longest of all of the parables of Christ and, I am fairly certain, it is probably the most well known. You know the story. A father has two sons. One basically says to his father, "I wish you were dead. Give me my portion of the inheritance now." The father gives him his portion of the inheritance, the son gets out of the country, lives a wild life style and wastes the money. He ends up hiring himself out to a man to slop his pigs. Jesus says that the young man was so hungry that he would gladly have eaten the pods that were in the pig's slop.....but no one was giving him anything to eat.
Here's how the Message describes the next part:
"That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand. He got right up and went home to his father."
"When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.' "
"But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time." (Luke 15:17-24 MSG)
Turns out, the older son was not at all impressed with the party. He was disgruntled that his father treated his brother so well after he had squandered his inheritance and treated his father so poorly.
I just love the father's response: "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours— but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!' " (Luke 15:31-32 MSG)
Perhaps the reason this parable of Christ's is so well known....so popular....is because we can all relate to it. I know that I can relate to it from every angle. I can put myself in the role of each of the characters.
From a human perspective, I can place myself in the role of the father. As I mentioned, one of my kids makes an annual pilgrimage home from a distant land every summer. He's not a prodigal son, but he has inherited a wanderlust from somewhere in my gene pool, and is determined to live in any country that is not the United States. But he comes home every summer, and at the beginning of the summer, I find myself sitting in the same seat at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, watching plane loads of people walking down the ramp. It's odd that he is never in the middle of the mass of people exiting the plane, but usually comes sauntering down the walkway when it is nearly empty. He's always relaxed and never seems rushed, but when he sees me, he smiles the smile I remember from his childhood.
What happens inside of me when I see that smile can only be understood by a parent who longs for a child. I would like to say that I leap from my seat and run to him like the father in Christ's parable. But sadly, I have a Scandinavian heritage that will not allow such a display of emotion, so I walk to him, hug him briefly, and we head over to claim his luggage. Let me be clear, however. On the inside I am like the father sitting on the porch, looking for his son, and when seeing him, my heart pounds....I hike my robe up around my waist, and run to him. I can relate to the father who hugs the returning son with a hug that stifles his breath and showers him with kisses.
And for the short time he's home we gather at our home with his brothers, and we eat. It's not like I have a fatted calf ready to slaughter, but I bet we go through half a beef. Lot's of meals. Lots of time talking. Lots of time just being together. We celebrate.
So, I can relate to the father in this parable.
Spiritually, I can relate to the older brother to a degree. I am sure, over the decades, that there have been times when I have wondered how my heavenly Father can pour his blessings out on a brother or sister who has strayed from the flock. I imagine I have been one of the ninety-nine sheep who didn't stray, glancing with an air of judgmental jealously at the Shepherd carrying a lost one back into the fold. I say that I can only relate to the older brother to a degree because, more often than not, I have been the one slung over the shoulder of the Shepard as he carried me back to a place of safety.
I do not say it with pride, but of the three characters in this parable of Christ's, I can most readily relate to the prodigal. I suspect that is true of most people, but it is especially true of me. Pride, ego and self-sufficiency have a tendency to run rampant in me. As a result, I often find myself slopping the pigs, longing to feed my hunger with the pods or corn husks scattered among the slop.
That is why I need to testify that through fifty-eight years of existence, I have relentlessly been stalked by the grace of God. That is why the song "His Grace Finds Me," strikes a chord deep in my soul.
In those distant lands....far from home.....far from the Father....metaphorically slopping pigs....God's grace finds me even there. Like a fog gently covering the landscape, his grace envelops me, reminding me who I really am. Reminding me who my Father is. Reminding me of where I belong.
In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, two people moved. One walked. One ran. We prodigals are always the walkers. Actually, I am usually limping. But our Father, whose grace never lets go of us, is always scanning the horizon and, when we move toward him, he runs. He runs, unashamedly, toward his limping, wayward kids and showers them with love. And then, according to Jesus' story, he throws a party. We deserve rebuke. We deserve punishment. We deserve condemnation. But we are shown love. We are shown acceptance. We are shown compassion. That, my friend is grace. And my Father's grace never lets go.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
God's View of You
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
The pitcher stretches and hurls the ball toward home plate. The catcher catches the pitch. The batter turns to the umpire with the question, "Was it a ball or a strike?"
The umpire says, "It's nothing until I say it's something."
Seems like an obvious truth, doesn't it? The fans in the stands see one thing. The pitcher and catcher both have their own thoughts. Each dugout is filled with various opinions. But, the reality is, the pitch is nothing until the umpire says it's something. And, it will be what he says it is.
Friend, that is the ultimate reality for the believer as well. In the end, we are whatever God says we are. And, if you are one of his, the Father says that you are righteous. He says that you are holy. He says that you are blameless in his sight.
Just as with the pitch in baseball, there are going to be many other opinions. The enemy will continually try to get you to define yourself by your mistakes. His goal is to cause you to characterize yourself by your failure rather than the position you hold as a child of God through Christ. It's his job. It's what the slimy, little weasel does.
But it's not just Satan. Each of us are surrounded by people much like the spectators in the stands. They have seen the pitch. They have formed an opinion based on some of the good things we have done, as well as some of the bad things. And, depending on their evaluation of what they have seen or heard, whether they are true or not, they begin to place describers around us. They characterize us by adjectives, some of them positive, and some negative.
That is just the way it is in the world we live. Satan is going to continue to remind us of our failures since he is the accuser, and he lives to accuse. And, people are people. It seems to be the nature of humankind to magnify the faults of others in order to minimize our own. I imagine that is why the bible speaks so often against judgment, slander and gossip. Just the other day I read Tony Campolo's take on the old Christian mantra, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." Tony claims, and I just love this, that a more accurate description of Christ's teaching would be, "Love the sinner, hate your own sin."
I have been told that a person's self esteem is directly related to how the most important individual in their life views them. The image we have of ourselves directly corresponds to how we perceive the person closest to us evaluates us. It can be seen most clearly in children. When a parent continually berates and runs down a child, that child will most likely develop a poor self image. It is most obvious with small children, but it is equally true with adults. The way we see ourselves is directly related to how the most meaningful entity in our lives sees us.
That is probably one of the reasons we're such a fan of dogs. By and large, your dog is going to think you're the greatest thing that ever existed regardless of what might have happened the day before, or even the hour before. If I yell at my dogs one day for not responding when I call them...maybe I even grab them and give them a little shake...they are over it in minutes. The next time I walk past their kennel I can guarantee that they will be at the gate with their tails wagging a hundred miles an hour and smiling their stupid dog smiles. They think I'm the most wonderful thing that ever breathed. If they were the most important things in my life, my self image would be god-like.
Here is the good news for the believer. If Jesus Christ is the most important person in your life, he thinks you're great....he thinks you're wonderful. He not only thinks it, but he proved it by carrying the cross up Calvary, and punctuated his desire for you by allowing the spikes to be driven into his hands and feet. His love for you is indescribable, his pursuit of you is relentless, and his patience toward you is never ending. That should be a daily esteem booster for every child of God.
And, dear believer, never forget that you are what God says you are. Who you really are is not defined by the whisperings of the enemy, or the opinions of those in the stands, regardless of how close to you they may be. Who you really are is not even defined by the image you have of yourself, or the describers you place on yourself because of past sin and failure. You are what God says you are and, through Christ, he says you are perfect.
Let me give you just a few of the adjectives the Father uses to describe his children:
Your are forgiven: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
You are righteous: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:2)
You are holy, blameless, and beyond reproach: "Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—" (Colossians 1:22)
You are a child of the Creator of all things: "Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3:2
You are a sanctified (set apart) brother (or sister) of Christ's: "For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers...." Hebrews 2:11
Your are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven: "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Philippians 3:20)
You are qualified as an heir of God: "And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise." (Galatians 3:29)
You are joint heirs with Jesus Christ and a child of the living God: "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:16-17)
"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1)
And, of course, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Friend, if you belong to Christ, you are what God says you are....and he chooses to see you as marvelously perfect. Don't allow yourself to be defined by anything apart from that regardless of what the enemy may whisper in your ear, or the adjectives that may come from the spectators in the stands.
The pitcher stretches and hurls the ball toward home plate. The catcher catches the pitch. The batter turns to the umpire with the question, "Was it a ball or a strike?"
The umpire says, "It's nothing until I say it's something."
Seems like an obvious truth, doesn't it? The fans in the stands see one thing. The pitcher and catcher both have their own thoughts. Each dugout is filled with various opinions. But, the reality is, the pitch is nothing until the umpire says it's something. And, it will be what he says it is.
Friend, that is the ultimate reality for the believer as well. In the end, we are whatever God says we are. And, if you are one of his, the Father says that you are righteous. He says that you are holy. He says that you are blameless in his sight.
Just as with the pitch in baseball, there are going to be many other opinions. The enemy will continually try to get you to define yourself by your mistakes. His goal is to cause you to characterize yourself by your failure rather than the position you hold as a child of God through Christ. It's his job. It's what the slimy, little weasel does.
But it's not just Satan. Each of us are surrounded by people much like the spectators in the stands. They have seen the pitch. They have formed an opinion based on some of the good things we have done, as well as some of the bad things. And, depending on their evaluation of what they have seen or heard, whether they are true or not, they begin to place describers around us. They characterize us by adjectives, some of them positive, and some negative.
That is just the way it is in the world we live. Satan is going to continue to remind us of our failures since he is the accuser, and he lives to accuse. And, people are people. It seems to be the nature of humankind to magnify the faults of others in order to minimize our own. I imagine that is why the bible speaks so often against judgment, slander and gossip. Just the other day I read Tony Campolo's take on the old Christian mantra, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." Tony claims, and I just love this, that a more accurate description of Christ's teaching would be, "Love the sinner, hate your own sin."
I have been told that a person's self esteem is directly related to how the most important individual in their life views them. The image we have of ourselves directly corresponds to how we perceive the person closest to us evaluates us. It can be seen most clearly in children. When a parent continually berates and runs down a child, that child will most likely develop a poor self image. It is most obvious with small children, but it is equally true with adults. The way we see ourselves is directly related to how the most meaningful entity in our lives sees us.
That is probably one of the reasons we're such a fan of dogs. By and large, your dog is going to think you're the greatest thing that ever existed regardless of what might have happened the day before, or even the hour before. If I yell at my dogs one day for not responding when I call them...maybe I even grab them and give them a little shake...they are over it in minutes. The next time I walk past their kennel I can guarantee that they will be at the gate with their tails wagging a hundred miles an hour and smiling their stupid dog smiles. They think I'm the most wonderful thing that ever breathed. If they were the most important things in my life, my self image would be god-like.
Here is the good news for the believer. If Jesus Christ is the most important person in your life, he thinks you're great....he thinks you're wonderful. He not only thinks it, but he proved it by carrying the cross up Calvary, and punctuated his desire for you by allowing the spikes to be driven into his hands and feet. His love for you is indescribable, his pursuit of you is relentless, and his patience toward you is never ending. That should be a daily esteem booster for every child of God.
And, dear believer, never forget that you are what God says you are. Who you really are is not defined by the whisperings of the enemy, or the opinions of those in the stands, regardless of how close to you they may be. Who you really are is not even defined by the image you have of yourself, or the describers you place on yourself because of past sin and failure. You are what God says you are and, through Christ, he says you are perfect.
Let me give you just a few of the adjectives the Father uses to describe his children:
Your are forgiven: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
You are righteous: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:2)
You are holy, blameless, and beyond reproach: "Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—" (Colossians 1:22)
You are a child of the Creator of all things: "Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3:2
You are a sanctified (set apart) brother (or sister) of Christ's: "For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers...." Hebrews 2:11
Your are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven: "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Philippians 3:20)
You are qualified as an heir of God: "And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise." (Galatians 3:29)
You are joint heirs with Jesus Christ and a child of the living God: "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ..." (Romans 8:16-17)
"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1)
And, of course, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Friend, if you belong to Christ, you are what God says you are....and he chooses to see you as marvelously perfect. Don't allow yourself to be defined by anything apart from that regardless of what the enemy may whisper in your ear, or the adjectives that may come from the spectators in the stands.
Friday, May 10, 2013
All Things Reconciled
There are, to be sure, many things of which I am uncertain. I believe that I have a very sound theology but, at the same time, understand that my beliefs and the way I comprehend my God are probably not one hundred percent accurate. When I find areas where my understanding of who the Creator really is, and how he relates to his creation need to be tweaked, or even completely restructured, my theology evolves to accommodate the new-found knowledge. As a result, the way I perceive the Father today, is different from the way I perceived him thirty-five years ago.
The point is, I readily acknowledge that there are many things of which I am not certain. The one thing of which I am certain, however, is that God is going to complete what he has started. When God spoke into existence this incomprehensibly vast universe, he had a plan. The plan has not changed. His blueprint has not been altered. And God is going to finish what he has started. I am equally as certain that when he does complete what he has ordained from eternity, and his blueprint becomes reality, I will blush with embarrassment for ever pretending to understand even a fraction of what he has purposed. "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) I Have to admit that if Paul sees dimly, then I barely see at all.
The word of the week for me has been "reconcile." Actually, reconcile, reconciled, reconciling, reconciliation....particularly as they relate to Colossians 1:20. But, before I get to that scripture, I need to back up.
In looking back on my life, in the light of my understanding of God's word, I realize that there was a time when the Spirit of the Creator breathed life into my spirit bringing the revelation that there was a God. He brought the revelation that there was something greater than myself from which every portion of the universe, including the being that was me, drew it's existence. Something came to life in my very core which convinced me that I was not a product of some spontaneous random act of nature, but rather a part of a deliberate, purpose driven action of a Creator God.
With the revelation that there was a God who gave me life, also came the revelation that there was something in me that was inherently hostile toward him. That there was enmity between the Creator, and the part of his creation the world knew as Jim Laposky. The Spirit that breathed life into my lifeless spirit gently whispered the words Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "....on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
God's Spirit softly spoke those words to my inner man, and my spirit responded. Through the work of that same Spirit, the ministry of God's word, and the leading of the people the Father surrounded me with, I grabbed hold of Christ's sacrifice and was truly reconciled to my Creator. I learned the truth of Paul's words to the Romans:
".....but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
Romans 5:8-11
There is so much that can be said of that scripture, but what I praise my Savior for today is that I have been reconciled to the Creator of all things through his shed blood. I have received reconciliation through the life Christ lived, his sacrifice on the cross, and his ultimate victory over the grave and the power of death. God's Spirit now bears witness with my spirit that I am one of God's kids. I love the Message's paraphrase of Paul's words in Romans 8:16, "God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children."
That is wonderful news for a rebel like me. The Greek word we translate as reconcile (apokatallassso) is bigger than just reconcile. It is an intense reconciliation. It is to reconcile completely and fully. It pictures the total, complete and full restoration of relationship to the Father through which he becomes Abba (Daddy) to us. It is great news for helpless, ungodly sinners like me, and I rejoice because I am no longer defined by the things I have done, but by to whom I belong.
So I understand, in part, the reconciliation that has taken place that allows me to be in relationship with my Father. But what has been occupying my mind for the past week is the reconciliation that is to come. The scripture that came to mind as I walked the dogs one morning last week was Colossians 1:20 which reads:
"For in him (Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1: 19-20)
It is an amazing thought. Everything....on earth and in heaven....will be reconciled under Christ. All things means, surprisingly, all things. It encompasses every nook and cranny of the whole universe. All things material, all things spiritual, and all things created will be reconciled completely and fully through him. Every atom. Every particle. Every molecule. Every action of man. Everything will be intensely and perfectly reconciled under Christ.
Again, Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of that passage in the Message is marvelous:
"So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding.
"Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross.
I cannot picture what that will be like, but I long for it. Come Lord Jesus! As believers, God has reconciled us to himself through Christ, but he is not finished. The day is coming when he will turn to Jesus and say, "Son, bring home your bride." And the Messiah will. In that instant, in a fraction of a blink of an eye, my reconciliation with the Father will be complete. I will see with my eyes what I now know as truth in my spirit. But, in the same breath, the reconciliation of all creation to the Creator will become a reality....all the dislocated pieces of the universe-people and things, animals and atoms-will get fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies....
I love the words, "vibrant harmony." The image they paint is not one of God taking broken, jagged pieces of a fallen creation and fitting them together as best he can to make something functional. Rather, it is a picture of a masterpiece, eternal in design, in which the great Designer majestically touches and weaves together every flaw, each imperfection, and all the imperfect blots into a tapestry containing the whole of his creation. This universal tapestry, reconciled under Christ, will not only be perfect in it's perfection, but vibrant harmonies will spontaneously flow from it, singing for all eternity the beauty of all the glories of God.
Today, I find rest in the reconciliation of all things under Christ, and I pray with certain hope and expectancy with all of creation, "Come Lord Jesus!"
The point is, I readily acknowledge that there are many things of which I am not certain. The one thing of which I am certain, however, is that God is going to complete what he has started. When God spoke into existence this incomprehensibly vast universe, he had a plan. The plan has not changed. His blueprint has not been altered. And God is going to finish what he has started. I am equally as certain that when he does complete what he has ordained from eternity, and his blueprint becomes reality, I will blush with embarrassment for ever pretending to understand even a fraction of what he has purposed. "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12) I Have to admit that if Paul sees dimly, then I barely see at all.
The word of the week for me has been "reconcile." Actually, reconcile, reconciled, reconciling, reconciliation....particularly as they relate to Colossians 1:20. But, before I get to that scripture, I need to back up.
In looking back on my life, in the light of my understanding of God's word, I realize that there was a time when the Spirit of the Creator breathed life into my spirit bringing the revelation that there was a God. He brought the revelation that there was something greater than myself from which every portion of the universe, including the being that was me, drew it's existence. Something came to life in my very core which convinced me that I was not a product of some spontaneous random act of nature, but rather a part of a deliberate, purpose driven action of a Creator God.
With the revelation that there was a God who gave me life, also came the revelation that there was something in me that was inherently hostile toward him. That there was enmity between the Creator, and the part of his creation the world knew as Jim Laposky. The Spirit that breathed life into my lifeless spirit gently whispered the words Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "....on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
God's Spirit softly spoke those words to my inner man, and my spirit responded. Through the work of that same Spirit, the ministry of God's word, and the leading of the people the Father surrounded me with, I grabbed hold of Christ's sacrifice and was truly reconciled to my Creator. I learned the truth of Paul's words to the Romans:
".....but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
Romans 5:8-11
There is so much that can be said of that scripture, but what I praise my Savior for today is that I have been reconciled to the Creator of all things through his shed blood. I have received reconciliation through the life Christ lived, his sacrifice on the cross, and his ultimate victory over the grave and the power of death. God's Spirit now bears witness with my spirit that I am one of God's kids. I love the Message's paraphrase of Paul's words in Romans 8:16, "God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children."
That is wonderful news for a rebel like me. The Greek word we translate as reconcile (apokatallassso) is bigger than just reconcile. It is an intense reconciliation. It is to reconcile completely and fully. It pictures the total, complete and full restoration of relationship to the Father through which he becomes Abba (Daddy) to us. It is great news for helpless, ungodly sinners like me, and I rejoice because I am no longer defined by the things I have done, but by to whom I belong.
So I understand, in part, the reconciliation that has taken place that allows me to be in relationship with my Father. But what has been occupying my mind for the past week is the reconciliation that is to come. The scripture that came to mind as I walked the dogs one morning last week was Colossians 1:20 which reads:
"For in him (Christ) all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1: 19-20)
It is an amazing thought. Everything....on earth and in heaven....will be reconciled under Christ. All things means, surprisingly, all things. It encompasses every nook and cranny of the whole universe. All things material, all things spiritual, and all things created will be reconciled completely and fully through him. Every atom. Every particle. Every molecule. Every action of man. Everything will be intensely and perfectly reconciled under Christ.
Again, Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of that passage in the Message is marvelous:
"So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding.
"Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross.
I cannot picture what that will be like, but I long for it. Come Lord Jesus! As believers, God has reconciled us to himself through Christ, but he is not finished. The day is coming when he will turn to Jesus and say, "Son, bring home your bride." And the Messiah will. In that instant, in a fraction of a blink of an eye, my reconciliation with the Father will be complete. I will see with my eyes what I now know as truth in my spirit. But, in the same breath, the reconciliation of all creation to the Creator will become a reality....all the dislocated pieces of the universe-people and things, animals and atoms-will get fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies....
I love the words, "vibrant harmony." The image they paint is not one of God taking broken, jagged pieces of a fallen creation and fitting them together as best he can to make something functional. Rather, it is a picture of a masterpiece, eternal in design, in which the great Designer majestically touches and weaves together every flaw, each imperfection, and all the imperfect blots into a tapestry containing the whole of his creation. This universal tapestry, reconciled under Christ, will not only be perfect in it's perfection, but vibrant harmonies will spontaneously flow from it, singing for all eternity the beauty of all the glories of God.
Today, I find rest in the reconciliation of all things under Christ, and I pray with certain hope and expectancy with all of creation, "Come Lord Jesus!"
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Ramblings on Being Human
Last week I read an account of cosmologist Stephen Hawking's address to a group of people at the California Institute of Technology. It truly is hard not to be impressed with the man's brilliant mind, and his very determined battle with the devastating disease of ALS. It came as no surprise to me that when he spoke at Caltech he outlined a concept of creation which does not include a creator. The article from NBC News stated that Hawking believes that, "Time began at the moment of singularity, and this likely occurred only once." It is not clear to me how, "The moment of singularity," and, "In the beginning God created," differ, but I am not a cosmologist, physicist or any type of scientific thinker, so that is to be expected.
Apparently, according to the article, he also discussed something called the M-theory which, "posits that multiple universes are created out of nothing,with many possible histories and many possible states of existence. In only a few of these states would life be possible, and in fewer still could something like humanity exist." Again, mine is not a scientific mind, so I don't pretend to understand it.....but that is apparently what he believes.
One of my earliest memories....and I fully realize that I am not going to be able to put this into words that explain it real well... but, one of my earliest memories is of lying in bed, in the stillness of the night, trying to sense what it was that made me....well....me. Trying to feel what it was that made me different from, say, my brother who was probably in a bed on the other side of the room. What was it that allowed me to be who I was, and not somebody else? Weird, I know. Or, perhaps everyone goes through this phase and have the wisdom not to speak of it.
I knew that as I played with my friends on the playground, that we all looked different, that we all had different levels of ability and inability.....but, as a lay in the quiet darkness, I would try to touch the essence of my individuality. Although I did not realize it at the time, I was trying to grab hold of what made me human. More importantly, I was trying to grasp what made me different than every other human around me. When I say, "different," I don't mean better or worse, I mean unique. What made me unique from the kids next to me, and what made them unique from me? What was it that made us individually unique human beings? One last try. What made them....them? And what made me....me?
Occasionally, in those short moments between wakefulness and sleep, I would grasp the truth that what made me the person I was had to be defined by something more than the physical...something more than what I saw in the mirror. And, at times, I could almost grab onto it....or however a child would describe that sense.....I would come close to grasping it...close to laying hold of it. I would feel, for an instant, the part of me that was really me. But only for an instant. Then I would fall asleep, and get up in the morning to play army in the backyard. Understand, I wasn't trying to comprehend it, for that would not have been possible for a child....but something would well up within me through which I could almost touch that part of my being that made me the individual I was.
I remember the sensation. I remember the feeling. I remember, in the quietness of the night, consciously putting myself in the place to consider the uniqueness of being me. That was over five decades ago, and I have not experienced the feeling since. I can remember reaching a point, as I grew older, where I would try, but other thoughts would enter my mind, and I could never get myself back to a quiet enough state to experience the sensation.
I understand that it is weird, and I warned you that I wasn't going to be able to explain it very well, but there you have it.
I believe children have a much stronger sense of the spiritual than adults. Children in their innocence, without preconceptions , predispositions, or biases, are able to perceive the divine in its absolutely simplest form. They absorb it, without attempting to explain it. They are not afraid of it, so they allow themselves to be drawn to it.
It has been over a half century since I experienced what I have spent several paragraphs trying to explain, and with those years I have grown to understand that in my childhood innocence I had began to lay hold of my soul....to lay hold of my spirit....to lay hold of that which was divinely placed in me. I had begun to grab onto that intangible part of me that made me human. Even more than that, it was the part of me that made me unique as a human being.
I understand now that I have a body, but I am a living soul. "Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7 St. Augustine spoke of the soul as a “rider” on the body, making clear the distinction between the material and the immaterial, with the soul representing the “true” person.
Scholars like Stephen Hawking would maintain with theories like the M-Theory that there are, as I quoted earlier, "Many possible states of existence. In only a few of these states would life be possible, and in fewer still could something like humanity exist." And that without intelligent design. Without a Creator God.
I, on the other hand, would maintain that humanity exists only by the touch of the Creator. Only through the breath of God.
The problem is, the soul and spirit that gives us life.....that makes the body of clay a living being...cannot be quantified. It cannot be explained by equations on a white board, or dissected in a laboratory. It cannot be calculated with mathematics or formulas, or determined by physics or cosmology. And without grasping what it is that makes humankind human, one cannot begin to comprehend the reasons, purposes or power that spun the rest of creation into existence.
"At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to little children." (Matthew 11:25)
Man can attempt to explain creation, and the Creator has given us minds to explore and question and comprehend. But to do so without. "In the beginning God created," or "Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul," is nothing short of folly. String theory, M-Theory, and the moment of singularity may touch on some of the physics and principles the Creator set in place when what we know as the universe flowed from the perfection of the Godhead.....but the knowledge is miniscule. It is as insignificant as a sigh in a hurricane.
I'm rambling, I know. But I do join my Savior in thanking the Father that he has hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to little children. I praise him for breathing into me the breath of life, and making me a living soul. But, more than anything, I praise him for allowing his Spirit to touch mine and allowing me to be a soul that belongs to him. A soul that is sealed by him. And, in eternity, a soul that will continue to grow in the knowledge of the depth of all that took place when, "In the beginning God created...."
Apparently, according to the article, he also discussed something called the M-theory which, "posits that multiple universes are created out of nothing,with many possible histories and many possible states of existence. In only a few of these states would life be possible, and in fewer still could something like humanity exist." Again, mine is not a scientific mind, so I don't pretend to understand it.....but that is apparently what he believes.
One of my earliest memories....and I fully realize that I am not going to be able to put this into words that explain it real well... but, one of my earliest memories is of lying in bed, in the stillness of the night, trying to sense what it was that made me....well....me. Trying to feel what it was that made me different from, say, my brother who was probably in a bed on the other side of the room. What was it that allowed me to be who I was, and not somebody else? Weird, I know. Or, perhaps everyone goes through this phase and have the wisdom not to speak of it.
I knew that as I played with my friends on the playground, that we all looked different, that we all had different levels of ability and inability.....but, as a lay in the quiet darkness, I would try to touch the essence of my individuality. Although I did not realize it at the time, I was trying to grab hold of what made me human. More importantly, I was trying to grasp what made me different than every other human around me. When I say, "different," I don't mean better or worse, I mean unique. What made me unique from the kids next to me, and what made them unique from me? What was it that made us individually unique human beings? One last try. What made them....them? And what made me....me?
Occasionally, in those short moments between wakefulness and sleep, I would grasp the truth that what made me the person I was had to be defined by something more than the physical...something more than what I saw in the mirror. And, at times, I could almost grab onto it....or however a child would describe that sense.....I would come close to grasping it...close to laying hold of it. I would feel, for an instant, the part of me that was really me. But only for an instant. Then I would fall asleep, and get up in the morning to play army in the backyard. Understand, I wasn't trying to comprehend it, for that would not have been possible for a child....but something would well up within me through which I could almost touch that part of my being that made me the individual I was.
I remember the sensation. I remember the feeling. I remember, in the quietness of the night, consciously putting myself in the place to consider the uniqueness of being me. That was over five decades ago, and I have not experienced the feeling since. I can remember reaching a point, as I grew older, where I would try, but other thoughts would enter my mind, and I could never get myself back to a quiet enough state to experience the sensation.
I understand that it is weird, and I warned you that I wasn't going to be able to explain it very well, but there you have it.
I believe children have a much stronger sense of the spiritual than adults. Children in their innocence, without preconceptions , predispositions, or biases, are able to perceive the divine in its absolutely simplest form. They absorb it, without attempting to explain it. They are not afraid of it, so they allow themselves to be drawn to it.
It has been over a half century since I experienced what I have spent several paragraphs trying to explain, and with those years I have grown to understand that in my childhood innocence I had began to lay hold of my soul....to lay hold of my spirit....to lay hold of that which was divinely placed in me. I had begun to grab onto that intangible part of me that made me human. Even more than that, it was the part of me that made me unique as a human being.
I understand now that I have a body, but I am a living soul. "Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7 St. Augustine spoke of the soul as a “rider” on the body, making clear the distinction between the material and the immaterial, with the soul representing the “true” person.
Scholars like Stephen Hawking would maintain with theories like the M-Theory that there are, as I quoted earlier, "Many possible states of existence. In only a few of these states would life be possible, and in fewer still could something like humanity exist." And that without intelligent design. Without a Creator God.
I, on the other hand, would maintain that humanity exists only by the touch of the Creator. Only through the breath of God.
The problem is, the soul and spirit that gives us life.....that makes the body of clay a living being...cannot be quantified. It cannot be explained by equations on a white board, or dissected in a laboratory. It cannot be calculated with mathematics or formulas, or determined by physics or cosmology. And without grasping what it is that makes humankind human, one cannot begin to comprehend the reasons, purposes or power that spun the rest of creation into existence.
"At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to little children." (Matthew 11:25)
Man can attempt to explain creation, and the Creator has given us minds to explore and question and comprehend. But to do so without. "In the beginning God created," or "Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul," is nothing short of folly. String theory, M-Theory, and the moment of singularity may touch on some of the physics and principles the Creator set in place when what we know as the universe flowed from the perfection of the Godhead.....but the knowledge is miniscule. It is as insignificant as a sigh in a hurricane.
I'm rambling, I know. But I do join my Savior in thanking the Father that he has hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to little children. I praise him for breathing into me the breath of life, and making me a living soul. But, more than anything, I praise him for allowing his Spirit to touch mine and allowing me to be a soul that belongs to him. A soul that is sealed by him. And, in eternity, a soul that will continue to grow in the knowledge of the depth of all that took place when, "In the beginning God created...."
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Brennan Manning, Fellow Ragamuffin
“In the end everything will be all right, nothing can harm you permanently; no loss is lasting, no defeat more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever.” (Brennan Manning: "The Ragamuffin Gospel)
If you were to search for that quote, or portions of it, in the past couple of days, you would have found it in many places. The most notable of these would have been Brennan Manning's obituary (http://brennanmanning.com/). It is true, the ragamuffin who taught many of us that we are nothing more than tattered, disreputable, messes until we are overwhelmed by God's grace is now, as the obituary says, "Resting safely in the arms of his Abba." I love that. If, when I join the band of ragamuffins in glory, someone should choose to mark the memory of my existence on a piece of granite....and I really don't give a rip either way....but, if someone should, those would be wonderful words to chisel on the stone.
I first read The Ragamuffin Gospel more than two decades ago when I had taken a pretty serious fall from self deluded images of me flying at spiritual heights. In the years leading up to that time, if I were to be brutally honest, although I would never have dared speak it or really even to think it, a small part of me was convinced that Christ was pretty fortunate that I had made the choice to follow him. Successful ministries. People becoming Christians. Words of praise from believers and nonbelievers alike. I understood the necessity of grace, and could preach on it convincingly, but there was always my ability, my pride, my ego running like varicose veins through the beauty of the abundant grace the Father had poured into my life.
But, as the Message paraphrases Proverbs 16:18, "First pride, then the crash— the bigger the ego, the harder the fall." Well, there was a fall, and Brennan's book was there to begin to explain to me that everything is grace. Through the years, with some successes and many failures, I have grown to realize the depth of this truth and have plunged head long into the infinite pool of grace poured out on Calvary, and I am staggered by it's magnitude every day. I have grown to appreciate Brennan's words:
“The deeper we grow in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the poorer we become - the more we realize that everything in life is a gift. The tenor of our lives becomes one of humble and joyful thanksgiving. Awareness of our poverty and ineptitude causes us to rejoice in the gift of being called out of darkness into wondrous light and translated into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.”
I call Brennan by his first name, not because I knew him personally or ever met the man, but because his life parallels mine in some respects, and I have always felt a certain kinship with him. Ragamuffins, I suppose. Since both of us have had our battles with alcohol, two quotes from The Ragamuffin Gospel have always stuck with me. The first is: "When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer." The other is: "Through no merit of mine, I have been given a bona fide invitation to drink new wine forever in the Kingdom of God. (Incidentally, for a recovering alcoholic, that's heaven.)" Not that I make light of anyone's struggle with alcohol...but I did like the quotes.
I paged through my copy of The Ragamuffin Gospel again this morning, reading the portions I had marked all those years ago. So many wonderful thoughts.
"Whatever past achievements might bring us honor, whatever past disgraces might make us blush, all have been crucified with Christ and exist no more except in the deep recesses of eternity, where "good is enhanced into glory and evil miraculously established as part of the greater good." As a side note, I would refer the reader to Augustine's paraphrase of Paul: "That for those who love God everything works unto good, even sin."
Or, "The saved sinner is prostrate in adoration , lost in wonder and praise. He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven. Thus the sequence of forgiveness then repentance, rather than repentance and then forgiveness, is crucial for understanding the gospel of grace."
Or this, "The Christian with depth is the person who has failed and learned to live with it."
Another, “The ragamuffin who sees his life as a voyage of discovery and runs the risk of failure has a better feel for faithfulness than the timid man who hides behind the law and never finds out who he is at all.”
There are so many, but I will leave you with this one: “The confessing church of American Ragamuffins needs to join Magdalene and Peter in witnessing that Christianity is not primarily a moral code but a grace-laden mystery; it is not essentially a philosophy of love but a love affair; it is not keeping rules with clenched fists but receiving a gift with open hands.”
I have not read Brennan Manning's last book, but it is next on my list. It is appropriately entitled, "All is Grace," and I absolutely love the one quote I've seen from it:
My life is a witness to vulgar grace — a grace that amazes as it offends. A grace that pays the eager beaver who works all day long the same wage as the grinning drunk who shows up at ten till five. A grace that hikes up the robe and runs breakneck toward the prodigal reeking of sin and wraps him up and decides to throw a party, no ifs, ands, or buts. A grace that raises bloodshot eyes to a dying thief’s request — “Please, remember me” — and assures him, “You bet!”…This vulgar grace is indiscriminate compassion. It works without asking anything of us. It’s not cheap. It’s free, and as such will always be a banana peel for the orthodox foot and a fairy tale for the grown-up sensibility. Grace is sufficient even though we huff and puff with all our might to try and find something or someone that it cannot cover. Grace is enough… ~ Brennan Manning (All is Grace)
Amen, brother Brennan....Amen!
If you were to search for that quote, or portions of it, in the past couple of days, you would have found it in many places. The most notable of these would have been Brennan Manning's obituary (http://brennanmanning.com/). It is true, the ragamuffin who taught many of us that we are nothing more than tattered, disreputable, messes until we are overwhelmed by God's grace is now, as the obituary says, "Resting safely in the arms of his Abba." I love that. If, when I join the band of ragamuffins in glory, someone should choose to mark the memory of my existence on a piece of granite....and I really don't give a rip either way....but, if someone should, those would be wonderful words to chisel on the stone.
I first read The Ragamuffin Gospel more than two decades ago when I had taken a pretty serious fall from self deluded images of me flying at spiritual heights. In the years leading up to that time, if I were to be brutally honest, although I would never have dared speak it or really even to think it, a small part of me was convinced that Christ was pretty fortunate that I had made the choice to follow him. Successful ministries. People becoming Christians. Words of praise from believers and nonbelievers alike. I understood the necessity of grace, and could preach on it convincingly, but there was always my ability, my pride, my ego running like varicose veins through the beauty of the abundant grace the Father had poured into my life.
But, as the Message paraphrases Proverbs 16:18, "First pride, then the crash— the bigger the ego, the harder the fall." Well, there was a fall, and Brennan's book was there to begin to explain to me that everything is grace. Through the years, with some successes and many failures, I have grown to realize the depth of this truth and have plunged head long into the infinite pool of grace poured out on Calvary, and I am staggered by it's magnitude every day. I have grown to appreciate Brennan's words:
“The deeper we grow in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the poorer we become - the more we realize that everything in life is a gift. The tenor of our lives becomes one of humble and joyful thanksgiving. Awareness of our poverty and ineptitude causes us to rejoice in the gift of being called out of darkness into wondrous light and translated into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.”
I call Brennan by his first name, not because I knew him personally or ever met the man, but because his life parallels mine in some respects, and I have always felt a certain kinship with him. Ragamuffins, I suppose. Since both of us have had our battles with alcohol, two quotes from The Ragamuffin Gospel have always stuck with me. The first is: "When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer." The other is: "Through no merit of mine, I have been given a bona fide invitation to drink new wine forever in the Kingdom of God. (Incidentally, for a recovering alcoholic, that's heaven.)" Not that I make light of anyone's struggle with alcohol...but I did like the quotes.
I paged through my copy of The Ragamuffin Gospel again this morning, reading the portions I had marked all those years ago. So many wonderful thoughts.
"Whatever past achievements might bring us honor, whatever past disgraces might make us blush, all have been crucified with Christ and exist no more except in the deep recesses of eternity, where "good is enhanced into glory and evil miraculously established as part of the greater good." As a side note, I would refer the reader to Augustine's paraphrase of Paul: "That for those who love God everything works unto good, even sin."
Or, "The saved sinner is prostrate in adoration , lost in wonder and praise. He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven. Thus the sequence of forgiveness then repentance, rather than repentance and then forgiveness, is crucial for understanding the gospel of grace."
Or this, "The Christian with depth is the person who has failed and learned to live with it."
Another, “The ragamuffin who sees his life as a voyage of discovery and runs the risk of failure has a better feel for faithfulness than the timid man who hides behind the law and never finds out who he is at all.”
There are so many, but I will leave you with this one: “The confessing church of American Ragamuffins needs to join Magdalene and Peter in witnessing that Christianity is not primarily a moral code but a grace-laden mystery; it is not essentially a philosophy of love but a love affair; it is not keeping rules with clenched fists but receiving a gift with open hands.”
I have not read Brennan Manning's last book, but it is next on my list. It is appropriately entitled, "All is Grace," and I absolutely love the one quote I've seen from it:
My life is a witness to vulgar grace — a grace that amazes as it offends. A grace that pays the eager beaver who works all day long the same wage as the grinning drunk who shows up at ten till five. A grace that hikes up the robe and runs breakneck toward the prodigal reeking of sin and wraps him up and decides to throw a party, no ifs, ands, or buts. A grace that raises bloodshot eyes to a dying thief’s request — “Please, remember me” — and assures him, “You bet!”…This vulgar grace is indiscriminate compassion. It works without asking anything of us. It’s not cheap. It’s free, and as such will always be a banana peel for the orthodox foot and a fairy tale for the grown-up sensibility. Grace is sufficient even though we huff and puff with all our might to try and find something or someone that it cannot cover. Grace is enough… ~ Brennan Manning (All is Grace)
Amen, brother Brennan....Amen!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Lessons From Abby and Hunter
Don't know if I've mentioned it on here or not, but we have a couple of dogs. A brother and a sister. Abby and Hunter. We tell people that they are part black lab and part Rottweiler. The veterinarian claims that they have a few more breeds than those two in them, but Abby and Hunter seem content with those two, so we don't tell them anything else. They are almost four years old, are not allowed in the house, but are considered part of the family none-the-less. Since they have been together since birth....except for the one night Hunter had to spend at the veterinarian with a badly cut paw....they are extremely close dogs.
I walk with them and jog with them regularly. They enjoy it, it's good exercise for all of us, and a wonderful time of prayer and meditation for me. It certainly works out for everyone involved.
One of my favorite places to walk with them is along the Kettle River. Since I grew up on that river, it has a special place in my heart. The view along the road/trail we walk on is fantastic, we don't meet many people, the dogs run freely, and it's one of my most treasured places to pray and meditate.
Occasionally, especially during a walk on a particularly beautiful day, my mind drifts to what life will be like in eternity. I am nowhere close to being an expert on the matter but, as I understand it, we believers will rule with Christ in a new heaven and new earth. Obviously, I have no idea what that will be like, and I am not sure how it will look or work out in practice. But I do imagine that river being a part of the new creation. I picture that same rough road running along it's edge. I admit to my Lord that I have no idea how responsibility will be divided when he returns to reign, but I make it clear that I would be perfectly content managing that section of the Kettle River. Perhaps I deserve less. I doubt I deserve more. But I have put in my request, and would be satisfied walking that road with my Savior in eternity. It would be nice if the dogs could walk it with us, but I am in no position to insist upon it.
Over the years I have had many dogs, and the Holy Spirit has used them all to teach me lessons. Abby and Hunter taught me one last week.
When I jog with the dogs, it's always along the same path. Down the road from our house, take a left to the railroad tracks, and then follow the tracks home. When we jog, I let them run freely when possible but I leave their leashes on in case we meet a car. I then grab the leash's until the car passes, and then they run freely again. Usually, when we get to the end of the railroad tracks the dogs are close by and will catch up to me when I call.
During this particular run, I got to the end of the tracks and called for them, but the dogs did not come. I waited awhile thinking that they would eventually show up, but they didn't. I got my car, drove around our jogging area calling for them, went back to the end of the tracks and called some more....but no sign of my dogs. I was getting concerned, especially since neither of them were showing up. I began walking back up the tracks, becoming increasingly concerned that something bad had happened, calling and scanning the woods for any sign of my puppies. I was determined not to go home without them.
About a mile up the tracks, when I yelled I thought I heard a whine in the distance. I knew it was the dogs, but I had no idea how I would find them in the thick woods. I called again and heard the same whine, this time closer. I kept walking up the tracks, trying to figure out the general area the noise was coming from when Abby came running from the woods toward me. Obviously, I was relieved that she was alright, but was still concerned with what might be going on with Hunter. We walked further down the tracks until Abby ran back into the woods. I followed. In the end, Abby led me right to Hunter. His leash was tangled in some brush, and he was not able to free himself. With a little effort I was able to untangle him, and the dogs and I walked home down the tracks.
I know what you're thinking. Great story, Jim. And you tell it so well.
I did take a couple of lessons from it.
First, I was a man of limited capabilities looking for a couple of worthless dogs. I did it because they were my responsibility. They were my dogs, and I was their master. It reminded me of Christ's words in Matthew 18:12: "What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? Or his words in John 10:28 " I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
I am bright enough to understand that these scriptures are talking about sheep, and I'm writing about dogs, but the truth is the same. If I, being flawed, will go to whatever lengths necessary to get my dogs home....What lengths will the Savior go to in order to get his sheep home? What lengths will he go to that he might bring me home?
We all have gone astray. We all have wandered off the tracks. We all have been lost. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:6)
I will be led home, perhaps to manage my two mile stretch of the Kettle River, not because I have always been faithful, but because my Master has always been faithful to me. Not because I haven't been lost, but because the Shepherd has always found me. Not because I haven't ever been tangled in some brush somewhere off the tracks, but because the Savior refuses to leave me there.
I was also impressed with Abby. She's hyper and can be a tad annoying. But she refused to leave her brother when he was stuck in the woods. She could have left him, caught up to me and been safely in her warm kennel eating dog biscuits. She wouldn't do that. She stayed with him until I showed up, and led me to her trapped brother. In a world where, as the saying goes, "Christians tend to shoot their wounded," it was wonderful to see a dog stick with a stranded brother until he could be set free and led home.
Ah, gotta love the dogs.
I walk with them and jog with them regularly. They enjoy it, it's good exercise for all of us, and a wonderful time of prayer and meditation for me. It certainly works out for everyone involved.
One of my favorite places to walk with them is along the Kettle River. Since I grew up on that river, it has a special place in my heart. The view along the road/trail we walk on is fantastic, we don't meet many people, the dogs run freely, and it's one of my most treasured places to pray and meditate.
Occasionally, especially during a walk on a particularly beautiful day, my mind drifts to what life will be like in eternity. I am nowhere close to being an expert on the matter but, as I understand it, we believers will rule with Christ in a new heaven and new earth. Obviously, I have no idea what that will be like, and I am not sure how it will look or work out in practice. But I do imagine that river being a part of the new creation. I picture that same rough road running along it's edge. I admit to my Lord that I have no idea how responsibility will be divided when he returns to reign, but I make it clear that I would be perfectly content managing that section of the Kettle River. Perhaps I deserve less. I doubt I deserve more. But I have put in my request, and would be satisfied walking that road with my Savior in eternity. It would be nice if the dogs could walk it with us, but I am in no position to insist upon it.
Over the years I have had many dogs, and the Holy Spirit has used them all to teach me lessons. Abby and Hunter taught me one last week.
When I jog with the dogs, it's always along the same path. Down the road from our house, take a left to the railroad tracks, and then follow the tracks home. When we jog, I let them run freely when possible but I leave their leashes on in case we meet a car. I then grab the leash's until the car passes, and then they run freely again. Usually, when we get to the end of the railroad tracks the dogs are close by and will catch up to me when I call.
During this particular run, I got to the end of the tracks and called for them, but the dogs did not come. I waited awhile thinking that they would eventually show up, but they didn't. I got my car, drove around our jogging area calling for them, went back to the end of the tracks and called some more....but no sign of my dogs. I was getting concerned, especially since neither of them were showing up. I began walking back up the tracks, becoming increasingly concerned that something bad had happened, calling and scanning the woods for any sign of my puppies. I was determined not to go home without them.
About a mile up the tracks, when I yelled I thought I heard a whine in the distance. I knew it was the dogs, but I had no idea how I would find them in the thick woods. I called again and heard the same whine, this time closer. I kept walking up the tracks, trying to figure out the general area the noise was coming from when Abby came running from the woods toward me. Obviously, I was relieved that she was alright, but was still concerned with what might be going on with Hunter. We walked further down the tracks until Abby ran back into the woods. I followed. In the end, Abby led me right to Hunter. His leash was tangled in some brush, and he was not able to free himself. With a little effort I was able to untangle him, and the dogs and I walked home down the tracks.
I know what you're thinking. Great story, Jim. And you tell it so well.
I did take a couple of lessons from it.
First, I was a man of limited capabilities looking for a couple of worthless dogs. I did it because they were my responsibility. They were my dogs, and I was their master. It reminded me of Christ's words in Matthew 18:12: "What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? Or his words in John 10:28 " I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."
I am bright enough to understand that these scriptures are talking about sheep, and I'm writing about dogs, but the truth is the same. If I, being flawed, will go to whatever lengths necessary to get my dogs home....What lengths will the Savior go to in order to get his sheep home? What lengths will he go to that he might bring me home?
We all have gone astray. We all have wandered off the tracks. We all have been lost. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:6)
I will be led home, perhaps to manage my two mile stretch of the Kettle River, not because I have always been faithful, but because my Master has always been faithful to me. Not because I haven't been lost, but because the Shepherd has always found me. Not because I haven't ever been tangled in some brush somewhere off the tracks, but because the Savior refuses to leave me there.
I was also impressed with Abby. She's hyper and can be a tad annoying. But she refused to leave her brother when he was stuck in the woods. She could have left him, caught up to me and been safely in her warm kennel eating dog biscuits. She wouldn't do that. She stayed with him until I showed up, and led me to her trapped brother. In a world where, as the saying goes, "Christians tend to shoot their wounded," it was wonderful to see a dog stick with a stranded brother until he could be set free and led home.
Ah, gotta love the dogs.
That Some Might be Saved II
I was reading in Matthew this morning but, as I tried to concentrate on the scripture, my mind was drawn again to Acts and the Apostle Paul. Specifically, my thoughts wandered to Paul becoming all things to all people in order that he might save some, as I wrote about a couple of days ago.
Try as I might to contemplate the words from Christ's sermon on the mount, which are certainly worthy of meditating on, I found myself picturing Paul wandering through the city of Athens (Acts 17). Might have been the Holy Spirit leading me there or, equally as possible, my ADHD kicking in. Either way, the thought of Paul wandering the streets of Athens, looking at the multitude of idols and the variety of alters to various gods that filled the city was stuck in my mind. So I went with it.
In the centuries prior to Paul's visit to Athens, it was considered to be a city of education and wisdom. It was a city known as a center of philosophy, architecture and art. The people inhabiting Athens were the intellectuals of the time and, to some degree, it was still true when Paul passed through. For Paul, what was meant to be a short lay over as he waited for his traveling companions becomes the place of the longest recorded sermon that we have of Paul preaching to Gentiles.
And, as would be expected. Paul does it brilliantly. As he casually strolled through the streets of the city, waiting for his friends to arrive....well scripture describes it best: "His spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. Acts 17:16. I particularly like the way the Message says it: "The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got—all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols".
Paul's spirit was provoked within him and he became angry. As he stood among these self proclaimed scholars and arrogant philosophers, Paul was probably considered a foolish man proclaiming a foolish and worthless religion. In reality, Paul was the intellectual giant among them. Paul knew what they were thinking and how little regard they had for him. Without a doubt, he could have debated any of them to ashes on any topic. He could have shredded their religions and beliefs with relative ease. He could have ground their philosophies to nothingness without giving it much thought. At the very least, he could have impressed them with his knowledge and massaged his ego.
Paul, that he might save some, did none of the above. Paul brilliantly begins his discourse with them with a complement, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious." Acts 17:22 Brilliant! In his anger....in the provocation in his spirit, he could of condemned them as pagans, or he could have ridiculed them as idol worshipers. He could have proved their various gods as useless and worthless as the stones they were made from. Paul had it within him, and could have done it as easily as swatting a troublesome fly.
But he begins with a complement. He meets them where they are by mentioning one of their own alters....the alter they had erected to an unknown god. Paul then says, "Let me tell you about this unknown God." He uses that as a foundation to explain to them about the true God, and salvation there is in Christ. Absolutely beautiful.
The success is described in verse 34: " But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them."
It brings me back to: "To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some."
Perhaps the Spirit will bring me back to the sermon on the mount tomorrow, but for today it is enough.
Try as I might to contemplate the words from Christ's sermon on the mount, which are certainly worthy of meditating on, I found myself picturing Paul wandering through the city of Athens (Acts 17). Might have been the Holy Spirit leading me there or, equally as possible, my ADHD kicking in. Either way, the thought of Paul wandering the streets of Athens, looking at the multitude of idols and the variety of alters to various gods that filled the city was stuck in my mind. So I went with it.
In the centuries prior to Paul's visit to Athens, it was considered to be a city of education and wisdom. It was a city known as a center of philosophy, architecture and art. The people inhabiting Athens were the intellectuals of the time and, to some degree, it was still true when Paul passed through. For Paul, what was meant to be a short lay over as he waited for his traveling companions becomes the place of the longest recorded sermon that we have of Paul preaching to Gentiles.
And, as would be expected. Paul does it brilliantly. As he casually strolled through the streets of the city, waiting for his friends to arrive....well scripture describes it best: "His spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. Acts 17:16. I particularly like the way the Message says it: "The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got—all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols".
Paul's spirit was provoked within him and he became angry. As he stood among these self proclaimed scholars and arrogant philosophers, Paul was probably considered a foolish man proclaiming a foolish and worthless religion. In reality, Paul was the intellectual giant among them. Paul knew what they were thinking and how little regard they had for him. Without a doubt, he could have debated any of them to ashes on any topic. He could have shredded their religions and beliefs with relative ease. He could have ground their philosophies to nothingness without giving it much thought. At the very least, he could have impressed them with his knowledge and massaged his ego.
Paul, that he might save some, did none of the above. Paul brilliantly begins his discourse with them with a complement, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious." Acts 17:22 Brilliant! In his anger....in the provocation in his spirit, he could of condemned them as pagans, or he could have ridiculed them as idol worshipers. He could have proved their various gods as useless and worthless as the stones they were made from. Paul had it within him, and could have done it as easily as swatting a troublesome fly.
But he begins with a complement. He meets them where they are by mentioning one of their own alters....the alter they had erected to an unknown god. Paul then says, "Let me tell you about this unknown God." He uses that as a foundation to explain to them about the true God, and salvation there is in Christ. Absolutely beautiful.
The success is described in verse 34: " But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them."
It brings me back to: "To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some."
Perhaps the Spirit will bring me back to the sermon on the mount tomorrow, but for today it is enough.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
That Some Might be Saved
As Jacquie and I were studying the book of Acts last week, we came upon a scripture that has always been a little puzzling to me. We were in chapter 21 of the book and came to verse 20. What follows in the narrative is a request from the leaders in Jerusalem for Paul to enter into what appears to be a Nazarite vow. They were requesting it in order to appease Jewish individuals among them who had become believers in Christ but still followed the law of Moses. Under a Nazarite vow the person was to abstain from alcohol, not cut his hair or go near a dead body, and when the days of the vow were completed they were to present an offering in the temple.
And Paul agreed. This man who had already written his magnificent treatise on grace to the Romans declaring that salvation is through grace alone, apart from works of the law. He had, at this point in his life, written to the Galatians strongly discouraging them from falling from the freedom of grace to works of the law. (" Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" Galatians 3:3) He had written two letters to the Corinthians and two to the Thessalonians, all expounding a righteousness and salvation that can be found only by grace through faith in Christ.
Having preached and written extensively on the superiority of grace to the law, the complete necessity of Christ's imputed righteousness over any human effort, and strongly condemning the thought of any benefit coming from the form and ritual of the law, in my mind his actions in this chapter do not make sense. It doesn't sound like the Paul I imagine. There is no indication that Paul was shy or timid or had any doubt about his teaching. And I say that sarcastically. (" But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8) Paul boldly and unashamedly proclaimed the Gospel of Christ and salvation by grace wherever he was and to whomever he was speaking. We see it in his actions in Acts, and we read about in his letters. He knew that it didn't make him popular with everyone, but Paul just did not care and he paid the price, "From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus." (Galatians 6:17) I'm equally sure that he was not concerned about confronting the other Apostles or other leaders when he disagreed, " But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. (Galatians 2:11)
So when I read that scripture in Acts as I did with my wife the other night, it just doesn't fit the perception I have of Paul. I mentioned it to her, and we finished the rest of the chapter. What I expect when the leaders made the request for him put himself under a vow, especially when it is to appease Jewish believers who still followed the law, is for Paul to stand and address them. I'm not sure what I would have him say, but it might start something like this, "Brothers, heaven forbid. Have you not listened to anything I've said...to anything I've been preaching. Do you not understand that we have been set free from the meaningless rituals and traditions of the law through the sacrifice of the Savior."
I don't know....something like that. Paul probably could have said it better. But he didn't. They said, "We think you should do this to make these people happy" and Paul said, "Sounds good."
I found myself thinking about it again yesterday during my walk and prayer time. As I considered and wondered at Paul's response, the Spirit of God gently whispered the words, "That by all means I might save some." They are, of course, words associated with Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians.
"To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law."
"To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law."
"To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." (1 Corinthians 9:20-22)
That by all means I might save some. Paul could have destroyed anyone in a debate concerning the law verses grace. Scripture by scripture he could have torn them apart. Even with the Apostles and other church leaders, Paul could have proven them completely wrong in even asking him to take the vow of the Nazarite. But, rather than trying to convince them of the soundness of his theology, Paul determines to take whatever steps necessary that by any and all means he might lead some to salvation.
It's something I plan on taking into the next season of my life. As a Lutheran youth, I would argue theology with my Catholic best friend. As I young Christian, I would debate with the Calvinist's. In these last years, I've been discussing the truths of Calvinism with anyone who would listen. Mine is a developing theology, to be sure. And, while I am a fan of sound theology, in the end what's going to matter is that some might be saved.
And Paul agreed. This man who had already written his magnificent treatise on grace to the Romans declaring that salvation is through grace alone, apart from works of the law. He had, at this point in his life, written to the Galatians strongly discouraging them from falling from the freedom of grace to works of the law. (" Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" Galatians 3:3) He had written two letters to the Corinthians and two to the Thessalonians, all expounding a righteousness and salvation that can be found only by grace through faith in Christ.
Having preached and written extensively on the superiority of grace to the law, the complete necessity of Christ's imputed righteousness over any human effort, and strongly condemning the thought of any benefit coming from the form and ritual of the law, in my mind his actions in this chapter do not make sense. It doesn't sound like the Paul I imagine. There is no indication that Paul was shy or timid or had any doubt about his teaching. And I say that sarcastically. (" But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8) Paul boldly and unashamedly proclaimed the Gospel of Christ and salvation by grace wherever he was and to whomever he was speaking. We see it in his actions in Acts, and we read about in his letters. He knew that it didn't make him popular with everyone, but Paul just did not care and he paid the price, "From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus." (Galatians 6:17) I'm equally sure that he was not concerned about confronting the other Apostles or other leaders when he disagreed, " But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. (Galatians 2:11)
So when I read that scripture in Acts as I did with my wife the other night, it just doesn't fit the perception I have of Paul. I mentioned it to her, and we finished the rest of the chapter. What I expect when the leaders made the request for him put himself under a vow, especially when it is to appease Jewish believers who still followed the law, is for Paul to stand and address them. I'm not sure what I would have him say, but it might start something like this, "Brothers, heaven forbid. Have you not listened to anything I've said...to anything I've been preaching. Do you not understand that we have been set free from the meaningless rituals and traditions of the law through the sacrifice of the Savior."
I don't know....something like that. Paul probably could have said it better. But he didn't. They said, "We think you should do this to make these people happy" and Paul said, "Sounds good."
I found myself thinking about it again yesterday during my walk and prayer time. As I considered and wondered at Paul's response, the Spirit of God gently whispered the words, "That by all means I might save some." They are, of course, words associated with Paul's writing in 1 Corinthians.
"To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law."
"To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law."
"To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." (1 Corinthians 9:20-22)
That by all means I might save some. Paul could have destroyed anyone in a debate concerning the law verses grace. Scripture by scripture he could have torn them apart. Even with the Apostles and other church leaders, Paul could have proven them completely wrong in even asking him to take the vow of the Nazarite. But, rather than trying to convince them of the soundness of his theology, Paul determines to take whatever steps necessary that by any and all means he might lead some to salvation.
It's something I plan on taking into the next season of my life. As a Lutheran youth, I would argue theology with my Catholic best friend. As I young Christian, I would debate with the Calvinist's. In these last years, I've been discussing the truths of Calvinism with anyone who would listen. Mine is a developing theology, to be sure. And, while I am a fan of sound theology, in the end what's going to matter is that some might be saved.
Monday, April 8, 2013
The Danger of Looking Back
To even the most casual student of the Bible, if the phrase, "Pillar of salt," is mentioned, the thought goes to the story of Lot's wife. It's a familiar one. Lot and his family are told to flee from Sodom before God, in his wrath, destroyed the city. As they were leaving Sodom, they were told not to look back at the destruction taking place behind them. Of course, Lot's wife looked back, and that's where the pillar of salt appears. Literally.
Well, I've been thinking about the fate of this woman lately and have found that there are lessons from it that can be applied to our lives even today. In reading the account in Genesis 19, two verses stand out to me.
The first is: "When they had brought them outside, one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away." Genesis 19:17 (NASB)
The second verse is this one: "But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 19:26 (ESV)
What has stood out to me is this. In the walk of the believer there are valley experiences and there are mountain top experiences. Personally, I would like to spend all of my days walking with my Father on the mountain top. In practice, however,....because of circumstances....because of sin.....because of out right rebellion....I do find myself walking in some pretty deep and long valleys. It occurs to me that, as believers, our challenge is to minimize the time in the valleys of life and to experience to the fullest the times on the mountain. Admittedly, much of our time is spent on the flat lands in between, but the valleys can be devastating.
Now, I'm not a theologian, but it seems to me Lot's wife's mistake was the looking back. Pretty profound, huh. They were told not to look back, and she looked back. Simple as that. She looked back, became a pillar of salt, and never left the valley. She never made it to the flat land. She never made it to the mountain. Pillar's of salt don't move.
While, as far as I know, this woman was the only person in history to be walking one moment and frozen as an eternal salt figurine the next. However, I would suggest that there are more than a few believers who have become spiritual pillar's of salt, perpetually stranded in one of the valleys of life. I would also suggest that they are stranded there by the same mistake made by Lot's wife. They've spent too much time looking back. Perhaps they're looking at the trail that led to the valley, regretting choosing that path. Perhaps they're dwelling on the circumstances, some of them beyond their control, that led to the decent into the valley. It could be a number of things. Being a follower of Christ does not exempt us from plunging into the valleys, but we do have a friend on the mountain gently beckoning us to join him. The key is to learn the valley lessons, remember that Christ walks with us through them, and then to plant our face toward the mountain of God. I have learned that it is much easier to move forward when I am not continually looking over my shoulder.
It is the encouragement we get from Paul in Philippians 3:13-14: "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
I don't like the valleys. I try to avoid them, but if I find myself traveling through one, I determine to make the trip short. I determine with everything that is in me to take the advice of the author of Hebrews and set my eyes on Jesus. It's done through prayer. It's done through the cleansing of the word. And it's done by daily bathing in the grace that was poured out on Calvary. I find that when I dwell on those things, the temptation to look back is greatly lessened, and the journey through the valley becomes a form of glory. And, when I am on the mountain and I look back at the valley, I appreciate even more the grace and mercy that brought me through.
Well, I've been thinking about the fate of this woman lately and have found that there are lessons from it that can be applied to our lives even today. In reading the account in Genesis 19, two verses stand out to me.
The first is: "When they had brought them outside, one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away." Genesis 19:17 (NASB)
The second verse is this one: "But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 19:26 (ESV)
What has stood out to me is this. In the walk of the believer there are valley experiences and there are mountain top experiences. Personally, I would like to spend all of my days walking with my Father on the mountain top. In practice, however,....because of circumstances....because of sin.....because of out right rebellion....I do find myself walking in some pretty deep and long valleys. It occurs to me that, as believers, our challenge is to minimize the time in the valleys of life and to experience to the fullest the times on the mountain. Admittedly, much of our time is spent on the flat lands in between, but the valleys can be devastating.
Now, I'm not a theologian, but it seems to me Lot's wife's mistake was the looking back. Pretty profound, huh. They were told not to look back, and she looked back. Simple as that. She looked back, became a pillar of salt, and never left the valley. She never made it to the flat land. She never made it to the mountain. Pillar's of salt don't move.
While, as far as I know, this woman was the only person in history to be walking one moment and frozen as an eternal salt figurine the next. However, I would suggest that there are more than a few believers who have become spiritual pillar's of salt, perpetually stranded in one of the valleys of life. I would also suggest that they are stranded there by the same mistake made by Lot's wife. They've spent too much time looking back. Perhaps they're looking at the trail that led to the valley, regretting choosing that path. Perhaps they're dwelling on the circumstances, some of them beyond their control, that led to the decent into the valley. It could be a number of things. Being a follower of Christ does not exempt us from plunging into the valleys, but we do have a friend on the mountain gently beckoning us to join him. The key is to learn the valley lessons, remember that Christ walks with us through them, and then to plant our face toward the mountain of God. I have learned that it is much easier to move forward when I am not continually looking over my shoulder.
It is the encouragement we get from Paul in Philippians 3:13-14: "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
I don't like the valleys. I try to avoid them, but if I find myself traveling through one, I determine to make the trip short. I determine with everything that is in me to take the advice of the author of Hebrews and set my eyes on Jesus. It's done through prayer. It's done through the cleansing of the word. And it's done by daily bathing in the grace that was poured out on Calvary. I find that when I dwell on those things, the temptation to look back is greatly lessened, and the journey through the valley becomes a form of glory. And, when I am on the mountain and I look back at the valley, I appreciate even more the grace and mercy that brought me through.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
The Moments of Life
As a Christian, it only makes sense that I would try to follow the example of the characteristics displayed by Christ. And I have. Admittedly, there are some days that I have been more successful at it than others. Some years have been better than other years. Actually, one minute might be better or worse than the next. Sadly, my emulation of Christ has been more fluid than I would have planned at the beginning of the journey. But it is what it is, and perhaps that is why I am such a fan of grace and mercy. It also makes me totally reliant on the imputed righteousness of Christ, and a lover of the book of Romans.
As we are going through this Easter season, and I contemplate on the days leading up to the brutal crucifixion and glorious resurrection of the Savior, one quality of Christ has stood out in my thinking. It is one that I have been prayerfully trying to copy... one moment successfully, and the next not always as successful. What has stood out to me is the ability Christ had to live in the moment.
It occurs to me that most of us spend each moment either reliving the past, or imagining the future. Christ did not allow that to happen in his life. He pulled everything there was out of each moment he walked on this planet. We tend to live in the, "What might-have-been,"and, "What's going to be." Christ lived in the now. He didn't dwell on the past. And, apart from striving to reach the goal of Calvary, he didn't waste a second worrying about the future. His energy went into into the moment....into the now.
As one reads the gospel, one gets a real sense of the calm, peaceful pace of Christ's life. He had so much to accomplish during His short stay walking among us, and yet Jesus never seems rushed. He was continually surrounded by people needing his touch, people needing his teaching and people needing his love, but the Lord ministered to each of them in a pace that seemed anything but frenzied.
That characteristic was evident whether Christ was walking quietly with his disciples explaining to them what was to come, or on a mountain proclaiming the Kingdom of God to thousands. It was there as he sat by the well with the really messed up Samaritan woman and whispering to her, "I am the Messiah." Or, as he knelt on the ground, writing in the dirt. The woman caught in adultery standing before him. The victorious glare of the Pharisee's as they stared at him, waiting for an answer they could pounce on. "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." Moment by moment, a perfectly paced life.
That pace is particularly amazingly evident in the days before his death. Christ knew what was coming. The beatings. The scourging. The mockery. The cross. And the most difficult for him to face....His separation from the Father. With all of that before him, his focus was still on the moment. The certain agony ahead did not distract him from the now. It was, indeed, the perfect example of walking in the peace that surpasses all understanding. It was a life lived in perfect peace moment by moment.... even when the spikes were being driven into his hands and feet.
I would suggest that Christ lived those words of the Prophet to perfection. Christ lived each moment in that perfect peace because he trusted his Father for the next one.
So, it's a discipline I'm working on. Completely trusting God for the coming moment so that I can enjoy the present one to the fullest. But then, just as importantly, it includes trusting the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice to cover every moment of my past that has fallen short of God's glory, so the weight of guilt doesn't distract from the joy that's available in the present. I have determined to, as much as is within me, live in the now. To love the moment. To not allow the pendulum to swing to the, "What might-have-been" or the anxieties of the, "What's going to be."
Admittedly, it is beautiful in it's simplicity, but more difficult in practice. But the beautiful reality is that God says, "Trust me with your past. Trust me with your future. And, allow me to carry you through the moment."
Friends, it's the enemy's most productive weapon. He will remind us of past failures, or he will cause us to dread what might be in the future. He whispers the lie that God's grace isn't sufficient for the past, or that his mercy doesn't guard our future. It drains joy. It destroys peace. And it allows Satan to rob the life God desires for us, one moment at a time.
As we are going through this Easter season, and I contemplate on the days leading up to the brutal crucifixion and glorious resurrection of the Savior, one quality of Christ has stood out in my thinking. It is one that I have been prayerfully trying to copy... one moment successfully, and the next not always as successful. What has stood out to me is the ability Christ had to live in the moment.
It occurs to me that most of us spend each moment either reliving the past, or imagining the future. Christ did not allow that to happen in his life. He pulled everything there was out of each moment he walked on this planet. We tend to live in the, "What might-have-been,"and, "What's going to be." Christ lived in the now. He didn't dwell on the past. And, apart from striving to reach the goal of Calvary, he didn't waste a second worrying about the future. His energy went into into the moment....into the now.
As one reads the gospel, one gets a real sense of the calm, peaceful pace of Christ's life. He had so much to accomplish during His short stay walking among us, and yet Jesus never seems rushed. He was continually surrounded by people needing his touch, people needing his teaching and people needing his love, but the Lord ministered to each of them in a pace that seemed anything but frenzied.
That characteristic was evident whether Christ was walking quietly with his disciples explaining to them what was to come, or on a mountain proclaiming the Kingdom of God to thousands. It was there as he sat by the well with the really messed up Samaritan woman and whispering to her, "I am the Messiah." Or, as he knelt on the ground, writing in the dirt. The woman caught in adultery standing before him. The victorious glare of the Pharisee's as they stared at him, waiting for an answer they could pounce on. "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." Moment by moment, a perfectly paced life.
That pace is particularly amazingly evident in the days before his death. Christ knew what was coming. The beatings. The scourging. The mockery. The cross. And the most difficult for him to face....His separation from the Father. With all of that before him, his focus was still on the moment. The certain agony ahead did not distract him from the now. It was, indeed, the perfect example of walking in the peace that surpasses all understanding. It was a life lived in perfect peace moment by moment.... even when the spikes were being driven into his hands and feet.
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
I would suggest that Christ lived those words of the Prophet to perfection. Christ lived each moment in that perfect peace because he trusted his Father for the next one.
So, it's a discipline I'm working on. Completely trusting God for the coming moment so that I can enjoy the present one to the fullest. But then, just as importantly, it includes trusting the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice to cover every moment of my past that has fallen short of God's glory, so the weight of guilt doesn't distract from the joy that's available in the present. I have determined to, as much as is within me, live in the now. To love the moment. To not allow the pendulum to swing to the, "What might-have-been" or the anxieties of the, "What's going to be."
Admittedly, it is beautiful in it's simplicity, but more difficult in practice. But the beautiful reality is that God says, "Trust me with your past. Trust me with your future. And, allow me to carry you through the moment."
Friends, it's the enemy's most productive weapon. He will remind us of past failures, or he will cause us to dread what might be in the future. He whispers the lie that God's grace isn't sufficient for the past, or that his mercy doesn't guard our future. It drains joy. It destroys peace. And it allows Satan to rob the life God desires for us, one moment at a time.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The Shattering of Job
"I was at ease, but He shattered me." Job 16:12
Now, if I were to speak those words, most people who know me, even casually, would say, "Dude deserved it. If anyone should be in line for a good shattering, it would be old Jim." Sadly, even I would agree with that judgment. There have been many occasions in the course of my life when I could have spoken those words, and every time they would have been not only true, but deserved.
But this is Job. This is the man God himself bragged of, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8) Now, apart from the imputed righteousness of Christ, there has never been a moment in my life when the Father could have spoken those words of me. I regret it, but it is true. It has, however, given me a greater understanding of Christ's words about the woman who anointed his feet with oil, "She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal." (Luke 7:47 MSG) Or, in short, he who has been given much forgiveness....loves Christ very much. To the depths of my being, I know the love that flows from the gratefulness of a heart that has experienced the magnitude of grace and mercy the Father has shown me through the cross.
God holds Job up as an example of an excellent servant, and then gives Satan permission to shatter him. Understandably, Job is confused and does not understand why his life took such a negative turn. Modern day readers of Job's story wonder the same thing. I have heard people try to explain Job's plight with one verse, " For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. (Job 3:25) The rational goes that since Job feared and dreaded it, the door was opened to Satan, and Job got what he feared. That is absolute drivel. One can't explain the actions of God toward a faithful servant by grabbing one verse out of the whole book, and using it to say that Job got what he deserved. Not only is that explanation contrary to the book itself, it nullifies the great truth of Job's story.
In the latter part of the book, God speaks to Job at length. It is quite telling that in the entire conversation God never explains to Job the reason He allowed what he allowed in Job's life. God does go to great lengths, however, to give Job a glimpse of the magnitude of the glory of the Creator as well as the magnitude of the glory of everything God is and everything God does.
That is the main point of the book of Job. God is God, and will do what he chooses. Actually, Arthur Pink describes it in his book, "The Sovereignty of God," much better than I can. (Although he is not specifically referring to Job.) "Since God is God, He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases: that His great concern is the accomplishment of His own pleasure and the promotion of His own glory." (Page 17)
Friends, God did not create us because he needed someone to love, as nice as that sounds. God, in the glory of the Trinity, was and is, and always will be completely complete in Himself. He did not need anyone or anything to add to that completeness. While God keeps many of plans and purposes to Himself..."The secret things belong to the Lord." Dt. 29:29.... He does tell us in Isaiah 43:7 his purpose in creating us, "...everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” A few chapters later in Isaiah the scripture drives the shaft of God's glory deep into our minds: "For my own sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you that I may not cut you off. Behold I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another." Isaiah 48:9-11
The driving motives in all that God did in creation, and does in history, in the church, and in individual lives, including Job's, is to maintain the honor of His name and to display His glory. I would suggest that creation itself was the natural outflow or overflow of the glory of God streaming through eternity. It is not merely his plan, it is an extension of every characteristic that makes God who He is literally exploding into time and creation. And on the history of that creation he creates a stage on which he displays, and will always display his glory.
Understand, as God, He can do no less than magnify and glorify that which is perfect. To do less, would not be possible for a righteous God....a God of truth. Since He is perfect, it is only natural and understandable that he glorifies His own perfection.
Creation declares His glory. His love for us demonstrates the glory of the love of the Godhead in the eternity before time. His forgiveness of us shouts of the glory of His grace and mercy. Even His judgment and wrath displays the glory of His holiness and righteousness.
I have, admittedly, found myself questioning the reasoning's and purposes of God, much like Job....although with far less human justification. But when I take the time to prayerfully consider the glory of who God is, and the glory He displays with His dealings with men....well, like Job, I can only respond in one way:
"I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." (Job 42:3)
"Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6)
Now, if I were to speak those words, most people who know me, even casually, would say, "Dude deserved it. If anyone should be in line for a good shattering, it would be old Jim." Sadly, even I would agree with that judgment. There have been many occasions in the course of my life when I could have spoken those words, and every time they would have been not only true, but deserved.
But this is Job. This is the man God himself bragged of, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8) Now, apart from the imputed righteousness of Christ, there has never been a moment in my life when the Father could have spoken those words of me. I regret it, but it is true. It has, however, given me a greater understanding of Christ's words about the woman who anointed his feet with oil, "She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal." (Luke 7:47 MSG) Or, in short, he who has been given much forgiveness....loves Christ very much. To the depths of my being, I know the love that flows from the gratefulness of a heart that has experienced the magnitude of grace and mercy the Father has shown me through the cross.
God holds Job up as an example of an excellent servant, and then gives Satan permission to shatter him. Understandably, Job is confused and does not understand why his life took such a negative turn. Modern day readers of Job's story wonder the same thing. I have heard people try to explain Job's plight with one verse, " For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me. (Job 3:25) The rational goes that since Job feared and dreaded it, the door was opened to Satan, and Job got what he feared. That is absolute drivel. One can't explain the actions of God toward a faithful servant by grabbing one verse out of the whole book, and using it to say that Job got what he deserved. Not only is that explanation contrary to the book itself, it nullifies the great truth of Job's story.
In the latter part of the book, God speaks to Job at length. It is quite telling that in the entire conversation God never explains to Job the reason He allowed what he allowed in Job's life. God does go to great lengths, however, to give Job a glimpse of the magnitude of the glory of the Creator as well as the magnitude of the glory of everything God is and everything God does.
That is the main point of the book of Job. God is God, and will do what he chooses. Actually, Arthur Pink describes it in his book, "The Sovereignty of God," much better than I can. (Although he is not specifically referring to Job.) "Since God is God, He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases: that His great concern is the accomplishment of His own pleasure and the promotion of His own glory." (Page 17)
Friends, God did not create us because he needed someone to love, as nice as that sounds. God, in the glory of the Trinity, was and is, and always will be completely complete in Himself. He did not need anyone or anything to add to that completeness. While God keeps many of plans and purposes to Himself..."The secret things belong to the Lord." Dt. 29:29.... He does tell us in Isaiah 43:7 his purpose in creating us, "...everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” A few chapters later in Isaiah the scripture drives the shaft of God's glory deep into our minds: "For my own sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you that I may not cut you off. Behold I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another." Isaiah 48:9-11
The driving motives in all that God did in creation, and does in history, in the church, and in individual lives, including Job's, is to maintain the honor of His name and to display His glory. I would suggest that creation itself was the natural outflow or overflow of the glory of God streaming through eternity. It is not merely his plan, it is an extension of every characteristic that makes God who He is literally exploding into time and creation. And on the history of that creation he creates a stage on which he displays, and will always display his glory.
Understand, as God, He can do no less than magnify and glorify that which is perfect. To do less, would not be possible for a righteous God....a God of truth. Since He is perfect, it is only natural and understandable that he glorifies His own perfection.
Creation declares His glory. His love for us demonstrates the glory of the love of the Godhead in the eternity before time. His forgiveness of us shouts of the glory of His grace and mercy. Even His judgment and wrath displays the glory of His holiness and righteousness.
I have, admittedly, found myself questioning the reasoning's and purposes of God, much like Job....although with far less human justification. But when I take the time to prayerfully consider the glory of who God is, and the glory He displays with His dealings with men....well, like Job, I can only respond in one way:
"I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know." (Job 42:3)
"Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes." (Job 42:6)
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Contemplating the Dimensions of God
Praise be to the precious God of all creation, who fills every dimension with his glory, and who allowed that glory to slip into the dimension of man through his precious Son, Jesus Christ.
There was a time, decades ago, when I fancied myself a scientist. I did enjoy the sciences, and had a decent knowledge of certain science related things. Physics was not one of them. I struggled through several physics classes in high school and college but never did truly grasp the concepts any better than a baby grasps the purpose of his hand. It should be noted, although not surprising, that my lack of physics comprehension is closely rivaled by my mathematics comprehension. Some people can just visualize that stuff. I can't.
I mention these inadequacies not at an attempt at self deprecation but as a backdrop to my recent preoccupation with the concepts of dimensions beyond our three dimensional reality. My preoccupation is not with the dimensions themselves, but rather as they may relate to the God I serve. As mentioned, I am not a physicist, and I am not a theologian, but my mind wanders and here is where it has been wandering as of late.
I have read that people educated in the deeper aspects of physics and mathematics have proven the existence of ten or eleven dimensions. Actually, as I understand it, some speculate that there may be twenty or more. Understand, they cannot picture what these dimensions actually are or what they may look like, but they would claim that it is actually mathematically provable that they exist. As a believer, that would make sense to me for I understand that, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God..(Dt. 29:29)." and if man can speculate on the possible existence ten or twenty dimensions, God probably exists in hundreds or thousands or, dare I say, in an infinity of dimensions.
Understand, I don't insist on any of these thoughts, nor are any of them provable, but as I consider the puniness of the three dimensional world that is the reality of our three dimensional minds, and contemplate the absolute beyond comprehension magnitude of God's hundreds or thousands or millions of dimensions.....Well, I stand completely in awe of Him.
First, if one were to pick one point....any point....in space, that point would be non dimensional. No dimensions. If one would draw a line from that point to another random point, that would be a line. Since lines can only differ in size by one measurement....length... they are one dimensional. If I were to take four lines and make a square, the square would be two dimensional since each square can differ from another square by two measurements. Width and length. The height would be non existent. Stay with me now. If we take several squares and place them perpendicular to each other we have a cube. Cubes can differ from each other by three measurements....width, length and height. Three dimensions. The world we live in. The world we comprehend.
If that doesn't make sense to you, I have to ask you. What did you expect? I'm not, as mentioned, a physicist or mathematician. The point is our reality exists in the three measurements of width, length and height. With those those measurements comes the sense of depth. It's what our minds comprehend. Our reality is a three dimensional reality.
I'm almost through. Here's one of the simplest definitions I've found for the fourth dimension of space. The fourth dimension is all space that one can get to by traveling in a direction perpendicular to three-dimensional space. Right. That's just the fourth dimension as it relates to space and not time. When time is thrown in....well....time warps and does bizarre things that tangle my mind into knots that are hard to undo.
Here's the point, if there is one. The jump from the third dimension to the fourth dimension is a quantum one for those of us living in a three dimensional world, viewing life with a three dimensional mind. It is one fantastically exponential jump. Imagine the jump from the fourth dimension to the fifth, sixth or seventh. Totally, in-comprehensively impossible. Then, attempt to consider the hundreds or thousands or more dimensions in which God exists, moves and manifests his glory. Impossible, for sure....but totally awesome in it's scope and possibility.
Back to two dimensions. If there were a two dimensional world and, yes, I am aware of the book Flatland. But, if there were people living in a two dimensional world, and I were to pass my wedding ring through their world, the ring would not appear to them as it appears to a three dimensional mind. In my world, I see a round, circlet, gold band that tells the world of my commitment to my wife. Our friends in the two dimensional world would view the ring as it passed through their world in a totally different way. They would see a dot that spreads into two dots that move apart until the ring is half way through. As the ring passes the rest of the way through the dots would move back together until there was one dot....and then that would disappear as the ring left their two dimensional world. They would have no idea of what they had seen not to mention the meaning behind it.
If I could communicate with our two dimension inhabitants, perhaps through a note or even a book, I would try to explain that what they had seen was a round, circlet, gold band that tells the world I live in of my commitment to my wife. Some of the inhabitants might believe me, and realize what they had seen was a wedding band from a three dimensional world that had deep significance to the one who sent it through their two dimensional world. Others would contend that all they saw was a dot that spread into two dots...then converged back into a dot, and disappeared.
I don't insist upon this, but perhaps all that God is fills those ten or twenty or thousand dimensions beyond our puny little three dimensional reality. Perhaps all that is spiritual lives and moves according to the design of the Creator in those dimensions beyond ours. It would mean that despite what our three dimensionally trained minds tells us is real....the real reality exists in those dimensions that are flowing around us.
Remember when Elisha and his servant were surrounded by the king of Aram in the city of Dothan. (2 Kings 6) The servant panicked as would any sane person looking at their dire situation through a three dimensional reality. Elisha prayed that the eyes of the servant would be opened, and they were. This is what we're told, "Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." Is it possible that God opened the servant's eyes, not to see just a one time event, but to obtain a snapshot of the symphony that God has orchestrated in the dimensions beyond ours? Did he momentarily open the eyes blinded by three dimensional reality to see a portion of the Creator's design in his higher dimensions....dimensions that still flow in and through our three dimensional world? A glimpse for the servant, but a reality seen often by Elisha.
How about when Peter, James and John walked up a mountain with Jesus as described in Matthew 17. And He (Jesus) was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Did God put together a moment for Peter and the others to demonstrate that Christ was his son.....or did he, for a moment, allow them to see the reality Christ continually walked in?
It's a beautiful and awesome thought to me. God, eternity, heaven, everything that is good, true and real.....Not a million galaxies away....but among us flowing in, around and through everything we can see with our limited vision. The only thing not allowing us to see it is a mind that is trained to see and perceive three dimensionally.
When I read or hear of near death experiences, and the marvelous things that are seen, heard and encountered as the brain ceases to function I do wonder. I wonder if the vision of the spirit and soul, unencumbered by a three dimensional mind, are beginning to experience the magnitude of the multitude of dimensions that are God.
Theological concepts may not become more clear, but they becomes more understandable as to why they are not as clear as we would like. Just as I tried to explain my wedding ring to our imaginary two dimensional friends, how does a God who fills every dimension explain the concept of the trinity to a three dimensional mind. Free will or God's choice. Multidimensional concepts filtered through a three dimensional brain.
Again, I don't insist upon it.
But if the Creator were to pass something special through our world. Say, for example, his Son. He then gives us a book attempting to describe the event, and the significance to him. Some will read the book and believe that something special has passed through our dimension. Others would look at it and say all it they saw was a dot that spread into two dots...then converged back into a dot, and disappeared.
I feel sorry for the people who will not see past the dots. People who will not see what the dots represent. Whether it's dimensions or something else, I do know that there are, "Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9) How I long for the day when these eyes are opened to see all of reality....to know as I have been known....and to see all things reconciled under the Lordship of Christ. (Colossians 1:20)
There was a time, decades ago, when I fancied myself a scientist. I did enjoy the sciences, and had a decent knowledge of certain science related things. Physics was not one of them. I struggled through several physics classes in high school and college but never did truly grasp the concepts any better than a baby grasps the purpose of his hand. It should be noted, although not surprising, that my lack of physics comprehension is closely rivaled by my mathematics comprehension. Some people can just visualize that stuff. I can't.
I mention these inadequacies not at an attempt at self deprecation but as a backdrop to my recent preoccupation with the concepts of dimensions beyond our three dimensional reality. My preoccupation is not with the dimensions themselves, but rather as they may relate to the God I serve. As mentioned, I am not a physicist, and I am not a theologian, but my mind wanders and here is where it has been wandering as of late.
I have read that people educated in the deeper aspects of physics and mathematics have proven the existence of ten or eleven dimensions. Actually, as I understand it, some speculate that there may be twenty or more. Understand, they cannot picture what these dimensions actually are or what they may look like, but they would claim that it is actually mathematically provable that they exist. As a believer, that would make sense to me for I understand that, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God..(Dt. 29:29)." and if man can speculate on the possible existence ten or twenty dimensions, God probably exists in hundreds or thousands or, dare I say, in an infinity of dimensions.
Understand, I don't insist on any of these thoughts, nor are any of them provable, but as I consider the puniness of the three dimensional world that is the reality of our three dimensional minds, and contemplate the absolute beyond comprehension magnitude of God's hundreds or thousands or millions of dimensions.....Well, I stand completely in awe of Him.
First, if one were to pick one point....any point....in space, that point would be non dimensional. No dimensions. If one would draw a line from that point to another random point, that would be a line. Since lines can only differ in size by one measurement....length... they are one dimensional. If I were to take four lines and make a square, the square would be two dimensional since each square can differ from another square by two measurements. Width and length. The height would be non existent. Stay with me now. If we take several squares and place them perpendicular to each other we have a cube. Cubes can differ from each other by three measurements....width, length and height. Three dimensions. The world we live in. The world we comprehend.
If that doesn't make sense to you, I have to ask you. What did you expect? I'm not, as mentioned, a physicist or mathematician. The point is our reality exists in the three measurements of width, length and height. With those those measurements comes the sense of depth. It's what our minds comprehend. Our reality is a three dimensional reality.
I'm almost through. Here's one of the simplest definitions I've found for the fourth dimension of space. The fourth dimension is all space that one can get to by traveling in a direction perpendicular to three-dimensional space. Right. That's just the fourth dimension as it relates to space and not time. When time is thrown in....well....time warps and does bizarre things that tangle my mind into knots that are hard to undo.
Here's the point, if there is one. The jump from the third dimension to the fourth dimension is a quantum one for those of us living in a three dimensional world, viewing life with a three dimensional mind. It is one fantastically exponential jump. Imagine the jump from the fourth dimension to the fifth, sixth or seventh. Totally, in-comprehensively impossible. Then, attempt to consider the hundreds or thousands or more dimensions in which God exists, moves and manifests his glory. Impossible, for sure....but totally awesome in it's scope and possibility.
Back to two dimensions. If there were a two dimensional world and, yes, I am aware of the book Flatland. But, if there were people living in a two dimensional world, and I were to pass my wedding ring through their world, the ring would not appear to them as it appears to a three dimensional mind. In my world, I see a round, circlet, gold band that tells the world of my commitment to my wife. Our friends in the two dimensional world would view the ring as it passed through their world in a totally different way. They would see a dot that spreads into two dots that move apart until the ring is half way through. As the ring passes the rest of the way through the dots would move back together until there was one dot....and then that would disappear as the ring left their two dimensional world. They would have no idea of what they had seen not to mention the meaning behind it.
If I could communicate with our two dimension inhabitants, perhaps through a note or even a book, I would try to explain that what they had seen was a round, circlet, gold band that tells the world I live in of my commitment to my wife. Some of the inhabitants might believe me, and realize what they had seen was a wedding band from a three dimensional world that had deep significance to the one who sent it through their two dimensional world. Others would contend that all they saw was a dot that spread into two dots...then converged back into a dot, and disappeared.
I don't insist upon this, but perhaps all that God is fills those ten or twenty or thousand dimensions beyond our puny little three dimensional reality. Perhaps all that is spiritual lives and moves according to the design of the Creator in those dimensions beyond ours. It would mean that despite what our three dimensionally trained minds tells us is real....the real reality exists in those dimensions that are flowing around us.
Remember when Elisha and his servant were surrounded by the king of Aram in the city of Dothan. (2 Kings 6) The servant panicked as would any sane person looking at their dire situation through a three dimensional reality. Elisha prayed that the eyes of the servant would be opened, and they were. This is what we're told, "Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." Is it possible that God opened the servant's eyes, not to see just a one time event, but to obtain a snapshot of the symphony that God has orchestrated in the dimensions beyond ours? Did he momentarily open the eyes blinded by three dimensional reality to see a portion of the Creator's design in his higher dimensions....dimensions that still flow in and through our three dimensional world? A glimpse for the servant, but a reality seen often by Elisha.
How about when Peter, James and John walked up a mountain with Jesus as described in Matthew 17. And He (Jesus) was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Did God put together a moment for Peter and the others to demonstrate that Christ was his son.....or did he, for a moment, allow them to see the reality Christ continually walked in?
It's a beautiful and awesome thought to me. God, eternity, heaven, everything that is good, true and real.....Not a million galaxies away....but among us flowing in, around and through everything we can see with our limited vision. The only thing not allowing us to see it is a mind that is trained to see and perceive three dimensionally.
When I read or hear of near death experiences, and the marvelous things that are seen, heard and encountered as the brain ceases to function I do wonder. I wonder if the vision of the spirit and soul, unencumbered by a three dimensional mind, are beginning to experience the magnitude of the multitude of dimensions that are God.
Theological concepts may not become more clear, but they becomes more understandable as to why they are not as clear as we would like. Just as I tried to explain my wedding ring to our imaginary two dimensional friends, how does a God who fills every dimension explain the concept of the trinity to a three dimensional mind. Free will or God's choice. Multidimensional concepts filtered through a three dimensional brain.
Again, I don't insist upon it.
But if the Creator were to pass something special through our world. Say, for example, his Son. He then gives us a book attempting to describe the event, and the significance to him. Some will read the book and believe that something special has passed through our dimension. Others would look at it and say all it they saw was a dot that spread into two dots...then converged back into a dot, and disappeared.
I feel sorry for the people who will not see past the dots. People who will not see what the dots represent. Whether it's dimensions or something else, I do know that there are, "Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9) How I long for the day when these eyes are opened to see all of reality....to know as I have been known....and to see all things reconciled under the Lordship of Christ. (Colossians 1:20)
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