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.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
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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