When a Disliked Verse Becomes Beautiful

Photo Licensing: See footnote

"Save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh."  (Jude 1:23)

Clearly this verse, when viewed in its context, is talking about doing something good for sinners.  And we can easily recognize that the first part of the verse mirrors the kindness that the angels showed to Lot in Gen 19:16.  But what on earth is that "with fear" and "hating clothes" thing supposed to mean?

I always disliked the latter portion of this verse.  It made me picture a sneering guy in priestly garb, his nostrils flared with disgust while doing whatever charitable deed he felt forced to do.  If this "mercy-giver" had to touch the recipient of his "kindness," he'd do so with as few fingers as possible, and with an expression of nausea on his face.

But whether I like it or not, this verse says, "hate even their clothes."  So I have to be the arrogant jerk described above, because that's what it says, right?

Or is that what it really says?

Thanks in part to the wonderful Biblehub.com website, which allows laymen to study Biblical words in their original languages, I was able to learn that this verse is, in fact, beautiful.  It is a command to walk in humble love and mercy toward others when they sin, knowing that we're sinners ourselves.  But in order to understand that, we have to get a handle on some fundamentals here.  Namely, we must understand:

1.  Why the fear and hatred?
2.  What is the proper spirit of this hatred and fear?
2.  What do the clothes represent?

First of all, it's important to note that "show mercy" is a command, but unlike what I had assumed for years, the word "hating" is not!  (It looks like it could be a command in the English, but in the original Greek it's quite clear that it's not.) "Hating" in this sentence is a simple statement of the emotional condition that you're in while you're being negatively affected by something.  In this case the negative is the idea of "staining" or "contamination."

Okay, but isn't "hating clothes" a weird way to talk about our reaction to sinners?  Not to the First-Century Jewish writer and his audience!  Back in Leviticus 15, the Jews were taught the laws regarding items, including clothing, which were contaminated by contact with an unclean person.  Those items had to be dealt with in ways that sometimes seem drastic to modern readers.  And these laws were deeply ingrained into the Jewish psyche and way of life.

God's reasons for such laws were multifaceted.  He taught the people the basics of quarantining and hygiene, millennia before germ theory ever entered the human mind.  But he also taught them a strong loathing for sin by equating sin with uncleanness.  Don't miss that.  In the Bible, sin is uncleanness.

Back to our verse in Jude.  The hatred here is not primarily for the clothes.  The focus is on the uncleanness.  It's about hating uncleanness so much that you hate even clothes which have become contaminated.  And hatred for uncleanness (sin) is commanded all throughout the Bible.  It's the right thing to feel.

Yes, as distasteful as this fact sounds to modern ears, sin is offensive.  It is offensive to our holy God, and when it affects us, it offends us, too.  If we're honest, we have to admit that the sins we excuse when they're done by us, really bug us when they're done to us.

The Bible makes it clear that we're to hate sin.  And the Bible also makes it clear that it's impossible to truly love our neighbor and remain indifferent to the sin that is destroying his soul.  If our own souls have tasted the sweetness of undeserved mercy and salvation, how can we not hate the sin that destroys our neighbor?  Hating sin is part of loving our neighbor, no matter what the modern mantra of tolerance says.

It's also important to understand that, in Jewish ceremonial laws, when a clean thing comes into contact with an unclean thing, it's always the uncleanness that spreads.  The clean thing doesn't cleanse the unclean thing.  Rather, the unclean thing contaminates the formerly clean thing (Haggai 2:12-13).

So why would a Jewish person hate and fear touching an unclean thing?  Because he would become unclean himself!  "The garment stained by the flesh" is metaphorically loathsome because it represents contagion...the contagion of sin.

But wait...didn't Jesus touch unclean people, like lepers, without becoming unclean Himself?  Absolutely!  That's because Jesus' cleanness was not merely ceremonial.  He was the perfect, holy Son of God.  So His cleanness can never be lost.  He's the only one who cannot be contaminated.

Photo licensing:  See footnote

And here's where, if we're looking at our Bibles humbly, we recognize that there's no place in the "fear of contamination" for us to be proud. No place for the sneer.  No place for the "holier-than-thou" attitude.  Why?  Because we know we are absolutely contaminable.  We are not God, we're mere mortals.  Other people's sins can influence us to sin.

This is one of many things that the Pharisees (the religious elite of Jesus' day) got all wrong.  They really did think they were better than everybody else, and so they wouldn't touch anything they considered unclean (and they had made their own rules about clean/unclean things, which were even more restrictive than God's law)!  So blind were they to their own uncleanness, that they would order the murder of the sinless Son of God on trumped-up charges in an illegal court proceeding, but during that process, they would refuse to go into the house of an "unclean" Gentile, so that they wouldn't be contaminated and be unable to celebrate the Passover.  They would stand in the Temple without a qualm about their own uncleanness, while declaring that the blood money they had used to pay for Christ's betrayal was too unclean to be put in the Temple coffers. Blind pharisees, indeed!

No, though we must hate uncleanness, it can't be an arrogant hatred if we know we are sinners.

How do we know that the hatred and fear in Jude 1:23 is a humble recognition of our own contaminability?  By comparing it with verses like Gal 6:1, which command us to be gentle with others and careful of ourselves when confronting someone who is caught in sin, "lest we also be tempted."

So what is the point of this verse as I now understand it?  Simply this:  When rubbing elbows with sinners like yourself, who are currently in a really dangerous spot and need spiritual rescue, of course you need to show them mercy!  That's a command.  And of course you're likely to feel a certain revulsion if the sin offends you...but be revolted at the sin only.  Love the person and show mercy to him despite those feelings!  Don't let those feelings stop you from showing mercy!  And be humbly aware that you're in the same boat with this guy.  Unless you're God (and you're not), sin is contagious to you! You can easily be tempted and fall into the very same sin that you're trying to help him escape.  So you must be gentle with him, and fearful of your own sinfulness...not rudely condescending to him and fearful of his sinfulness.  No plugging your nose here.

This verse is a call to be like Christ, and to bring people to Christ, the only one who gently, lovingly touches sinners like us and makes us clean.

Sinners like us.

This is a beautiful verse.

------------------------------------------------------

Footnote:  I was unable to find licensing information for these photos.  Please contact me in the comments section if you own the rights to either photo and wish to rescind or altar my use of it.

For Those Who Can't Walk on Water Either

Sarah Trimmer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

"Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Was Jesus rebuking Peter for lacking the faith to keep walking on the water?

That's the way I've always heard it, but now I wonder.

You see, I've had a life full of sinkings.  So many sinkings that I rarely get out of the boat.  And I'm less likely to get out of it if I think that my next drubbing will be rebuked by Jesus because... terrible failure that I am... I can't do the impossible.

Is the Christian life a process of learning to walk on the water?

I wonder.

Years ago I wrote something that I knew I needed to read again this morning.  (I hope you'll read it too, and I'll link to it so you can.)  I said,  "What if 'arrival' has nothing to do with reaching a certain level of perfection, and everything to do with maintaining the kind of humble, childlike faith that expects nothing from itself and relies totally on God?"

I really believe that that's true.  Please do read the article I linked to above, for more reasons WHY I believe it.

Whole sermons have been written about Peter's lack of faith causing him to sink.  Because of that mindset, people strive to grow stronger faith, and when they're faced with stormy seas or risky situations, they can only see two options.

• Proudly step out, believing their faith to be mighty enough
• Stay in the boat, believing that they haven't yet achieved a strong enough faith.

What if neither of those options are right?  What if the "proudly stepping out" is just that...religious pride rather than true faith in Christ? And what if the "staying in the boat" is a sign of spiritual failure?  What if both are wrong, and neither is right?

UGH!  Before long you can start running in circles like a terrified rabbit, and you give up on this "faith thing" because it just drives you nuts.  You can't do it.  You can't figure out which is right!  You can't figure out your own motives!  You can't see any way to step out in faith or to stay in faith, because you can see sin in yourself either way.  So you get paralyzed.  

To that I say (both to you and to myself):

STOP IT!

Right now, just STOP IT!

Jesus didn't say to any of the disciples, "Why did you stay in the boat?"  And I don't believe he said to Peter, "Why did you sink?"

For what doubt did Jesus rebuke Peter?

Will He rebuke you, too, if you step out of your safe place, and you start to sink?

No, that's not my Jesus.  More importantly, that's not the Biblical Jesus...the Jesus who is tender towards the weakest, the lowliest, the most helpless.  He does not break the bruised reed (Matt 12:20).

There are several accounts in the Bible of Jesus saving the disciples from stormy seas.  In the one we've been looking at, Jesus walked on the water to the boat, and Peter walked out to meet him.  In another case, Jesus was asleep in the boat, and they came and woke him up.  In both cases, they were terrified.

And in both cases, the rebuke was the same.  "Why did you doubt?  Where is your faith?"

Maybe we've been asking the wrong question.  Maybe the question isn't, "Why did Peter sink?"

What if the right question is, "Why did Peter fear that Jesus wouldn't save him when he sank?"

Remember, in both stormy situations, for the disciples both in and out of the boat, the question was the same. The gentle, loving rebuke was the same.  "Why did you doubt?"

Why do you and I doubt that He will save us when we are sinking?  Why are we making "in vs. out of the boat" the issue?  Why are we making "on top of the water vs. going under the water" the issue?

Are we to fear, in either location?

Was half-dunked Peter filled with less faith than the ones in the boat?  I don't think so.  All of them were afraid of going under, regardless of where they were when it happened.

Joyful, free faith doesn't have to examine its own perfection to see whether it should get out of the boat or stay there.  It doesn't say, "I'm disqualified from getting out of the boat, because I can spot sin remaining in myself and in my motives." It doesn't say, "Oh no, my sinking must mean that my faith wasn't strong enough!"

Joyful, free faith trusts Jesus no matter where we feel the water threatening to overwhelm us, even though we're not yet perfected, because HE is our Savior.

Why must we keep relearning that HE saves us?  Why do we keep thinking that we save ourselves by making our faith perfect enough, instead of believing that He saves people of little faith?

He is the Savior...not of the perfected, but of sinners (Luke 5:31-32)!  Why do we doubt?  He who saves those in the boat, will he not save those who walk out on the water and then start to sink?

Where are you in your walk?  Does Jesus want you to believe that you could be anywhere, anywhere where He cannot save you?

The life of faith is not a life of staying always on top of the waves.  It's a life of believing that you are free to walk with Him in humble-but-imperfect ways, without doubting that His love will pull you out of the water no matter where you are when you start to sink.

Because you WILL sink sometimes.  I guarantee it.  Life's billows WILL overwhelm you.

Cancer.  Loss of a loved one.  Betrayal.  Failure.  Injury.  Job loss.  Moving to an unfamiliar place.

You WILL sink sometimes.

The question from Jesus, I believe, is not, "Why did you sink?"

It is, "Why did you fear I would not be here to lift you up when you sank?"

So step out if you feel that's what God is calling you to do.  Don't question if you have enough faith to stay on the water.  Just believe that He will save you when you get wet.

And here's a final word of love to those who are currently under the waves, and have been there, perhaps, for a long time.  I am NOT preaching a despicable "prosperity gospel" (which I hate) here.  I am not saying that Jesus will always take the waves away.  His salvation is sometimes through the trials, not from the trials. Your pain does not mean He loves you less, or that you are a failure.  Trust Him, trust Him, that He will pull you out of the water when the time is right, when that part of your life's story has been written to perfection (even if that relief doesn't come in this lifetime).  Trust that He is your Savior, no matter where you are in relation to the boat, the water, or the other disciples. He will bring you to the right place because of your continued, trusting obedience.  Remember, as long as we're on this earth, it's a Christian walk, not a Christian arrival.

Trust Him, trust Him, trust Him, wherever you are, no matter how far you've gone under life's overwhelming forces.

That's a stronger faith than one which skips lightly across the waves.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Photo by Loleia

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
                                                                     (Rom 5:1-5 ESV)

I hate to admit it, but to me the Scripture passage above always seemed to start at soaring heights, only to plop down with an ungraceful thud.

I would start out reading words that promised to make all of my life's sufferings worthwhile, promised to make sense of the pain.  Promised to make me dare to hope again...even though for many years I had hated hope with my whole being.

Yes, yes, that's what I want.  I need to know that this agony called life will be worth it all in the end!  So tell me...why won't hope put me to shame?  It always has, you know.  Hope strings you along and then drops you in the dust and grinds your face in the shards of your shattered dreams.  Hope is a cruel trickster, a sadistic torturer who preys on weaklings who are stupid enough to believe its lies.

So tell me...why doesn't hope put me to shame?  

"Because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

*Thud.*

With apologies to Tina Turner, what's love got to do with it?  

Want to confuse an Olympic hopeful?  Tell him to keep sweating and agonizing because...what?  He'll get gold and glory?  No, he'll get God's love poured out in his heart.  He'll look at you like you're nuts.  Love is nice, but that's not what he's suffering for.

Romans 5:5 may be a nice sentiment, Lord, but love isn't what I'm suffering for.  You'll need to do better than that if you want to convince me to hope again.

Let those words simmer in your ears.  "Love isn't what I'm suffering for."

Are you sure?  Maybe it's not your goal for your suffering, but could it be His goal for your suffering?

Love is what Jesus suffered for.  True, He suffered for sin...ours, not His.  But He didn't have to do that.  He could have just annihilated us, or tossed us all into damnation without a backward glance.  It was His love for us that brought Him to Bethlehem, to the dusty streets of Israel, to Calvary, to the grave.

And that journey took Him back into glory, as the firstborn from the dead, followed by all those that He purchased for Himself with His own blood.

Either He was a fool, or love is worth suffering for.

Maybe...just maybe...love is the only thing worth suffering for.

As my prayer life has become increasingly focused on aligning my priorities with His, I'm finding this whole messy "love" business is becoming more central.  And because I'm such a self-centered person, love is something I mostly grieve because of its weakness or even absence in my life.  Only occasionally do I get to rejoice because of how strongly love has poured out of me.

Every sin you and I commit is, at the very least, a failure to love.  Unquestionably, sin is always a failure to love the Lord with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, which is the most important commandment.  And most sins also spring from our failure to love our neighbor as ourselves, which Jesus says is the second most important thing we should do.  And each of these failures harms us and harms those around us.  Sometimes the wounds are deep and lasting.

The more I kneel to pray God's priorities, and the more I see the wounds I cause when I choose my own priorities over God's, the more I find myself pleading for God to fill me with love for Himself and for others.

And suddenly Romans 5:1-5 begins to make sense.

"Hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." 

The words of encouragement won't make any sense until your priorities line up with His.  But when they do, you'll find the encouragement runs deep.  (See Ps 37:4 for another example of this truth...that promises depend on priorities.)

"Lord, I am choosing to hope in Your love for me, and in the outpouring of Your Spirit that will change my heart into a loving one, so that I will love both You and my neighbor as I should.  And I am trusting you that this growth in love will make all of life's sufferings worthwhile."

Prompts for Thinking of Others As Better Than Yourself

Photo by Brokenarts

Prompts For Thinking of Others As 

Better Than Yourself

This command from God, to think of others as “better” or “more significant” than ourselves (Php 2:3) is a tough one for me.  Is it for you, too?

“Why should I?” is often my attitude.  And even when I feel like I ought to obey “just because He said so,” I often catch myself feeling like, “Okay, I need to go live in Pretend World so I can think of so-and-so more highly than myself.”  

My attitude is hideous, I know, which is why I rarely even dare to put it into words in my own mind...but that doesn't mean I don't FEEL it.  Is anyone out there willing to assure me that I’m not the only one?

I'm beginning to truly hate the particular brand of Fundamentalism that permeated the South when I was in my formative years.  The Fundamentalism which forgot the fundamentals of Christlike love and humility, in favor of an attitude of arrogant, hateful superiority.  One which taught me that I already KNEW my neighbor and/or my enemy, because I’d seen and heard his caricature lampooned often enough.  One that saw no reason to even try to get to know those on the Outside better.

Him?  Her?  Just one of those.  You know how those are.

Hateful, infamous travesty.  Nothing Christlike about it.  It was a pleasure to cast it aside at last.

But still...I’m to consider all others more important than myself?  Why not just as important?

Well, frankly, I don’t know for sure.  But I DO know that obedience to this command doesn’t involve a trip to Pretend World.  (The One who issued the command doesn’t live there.)  In fact, it involves two of the most real things in the world (unfortunately often counterfeited):  humility and love.

Those are two things that I need to get from the Spirit, because my flesh has precious little of them to go around.

But even though I don’t know why He gave this command, I’m still to obey it.  So I’m trying to think of ways to help myself do that, and (naturally), I’m writing it down here.  Hey, it’s what bloggers do.  

Here’s what I’m hoping to remember when I find myself in a situation that makes it hard for me to think of others more highly than myself (surely there’s one that will fit whatever circumstance it may be):

• This person has a need, and the Lord has given me the ability to share His love in meeting that need.  Kind-of like triage...people with needs are very significant!
• I have a need, and this person could help/is helping.  This is humbling for me, and I honor them for their resources and their help. 
• This person is made in the image of God, but does not yet know her Creator.  Jesus seeks the lost.  He died for the lost!  This person is very significant.
• This person is made in the image of God, and he knows and glorifies his Creator.  What could be more significant?
• This person’s life is a story being written by God.  Right now, my story intersects with his/hers, and I don’t know how much or for how long.  I’d better consider him/her very significant!
• This person wants to share something of herself with me!  What a precious, significant gift!
• God created this person with his unique characteristics, and placed him in this time and place. He must be significant!
• God is generous to the generous.  I am free to meet this person’s needs without fear of being drained dry.  (This has been a BIG fear for me all my life).  And since it’s His plan that we should serve one another so He can bless both recipient and giver, then I’d better do my job and prioritize this person!

Hey, I’m beginning to see a trend!  Writing things down really helps to clarify thoughts, doesn’t it?

Do you see it?

To think of someone as more significant than myself does NOT mean figuring out how much each of us is worth, and then sticking those things on a scale, and somehow making sure that my side of the balance always flies toward the ceiling.

It DOES mean deciding whose significance should have my attention right now.  Whose significance should inform my actions and priorities right now.  

God help me to learn to live this way!

The Faith of a Mustard Seed

 

"Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you."  (Matt 17:20)

What is the faith of a mustard seed?

Sometimes people add a few words to this verse.  They say, "Faith the size of a mustard seed."  They take this verse to mean that even small faith can do large things.  And there may be truth in that.  But Jesus didn't say anything about the size of the seed in this passage.  He said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed."

So what is that?  Whatever it is, it is supposed to enable me to move mountains.

On a clear day, if I walk just a little way from my home, I can see the towering, perennially snowcapped twins called Long's Peak and Meeker.  Now, I am a person of growing faith, but I have no desire to "put God to the test" by ordering those giants to move (Mat 4:7).  If I did decide to try it, those mountains would doubtless stay put.  And it's a good thing, too.  Could you imagine the chaos if people went around literally rearranging geography all the time?

Prosperity preachers and their "Name it and claim it" devotees would tell me that if I had more faith, those folks in the mountains would have reason to tremble in their shoes.  But I must ask them, "Is that your definition of faith?  Does faith really mean getting all of your selfish whims and desires fulfilled, without any thought to God's plans for the world, for history, for the people who would be affected by your actions?  Does faith mean telling God to move over so you can sit on His throne and be in charge instead of Him?" 

God forbid that I should ever have such power!  Yes, my faith gives me the power to move mountains…but only the mountains that God wants me to move.  Aren't you glad to know that, mountain folk?

People of true faith in the one true God do not wish to move any mountains that the Lord wants left alone.  Oh, they might long for the day when those mountains move, but they are not willing to step an inch outside of God's will in order to satisfy their own desires.  (Or, if they do try to sinfully move those mountains themselves, God graciously refuses to let them succeed.)  People of faith trust God's plan for where things are supposed to be.  They do not want to usurp God's place, or to turn their religion into a maniacal power trip.

But if God tells them to move a mountain, they speak to it with confidence.

And it moves.

God gives us faith to accomplish His will, not our own.  And true faith wouldn't want it any other way.  True faith sees God on the throne, and is content to have Him there.

It is mustard-seed faith.

What is the faith of a mustard seed?  It's a faith that says, "Oh, I'm a mustard seed.  So that means that God wants me to be a mustard plant.  He gives me His rain, His sunshine, His dirt, and His air, and everything I need to grow into what He designed me to be.  And that's exactly what I want to do."  And it does it.

Mustard seeds do not try to be dandelions, roses, oaks, or eagles.  Nor do they transplant themselves from wherever God placed them, longing for some source of provision other than His.  They are content to use what God gives them in order to grow into what God designed them to be.

Some people have been planted in horrible soil.  Hard, rocky, and inconveniently located (say…right next to a blast-furnace, perhaps?)  Everything in them wants to be somewhere else, growing into something else. 

But let me say it again.  Despite the pain and tears, despite the longing for a better day, mustard seed faith is content to use what God gives it in order to grow into what God designed it to be. This is the kind of faith that our Lord commends.

God may have planned to make me a literal mountain-mover, but probably not.  I doubt that the residents of Meeker have anything to worry about.  So if I'm not supposed to be a mountain-mover, what did God design me to be?

At the very least, He designed me to be my husband's wife, and my children's mother…and to do so with a heart full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control.

Suddenly, moving mountains looks less impossible.  In fact, compared to my actual assignment, making Long's Peak tiptoe to the East might be relatively simple.

My heart is evil.  The amount of wickedness I've seen in my own heart has been sufficient to make me despair of it without an outright miracle.  And God tells me that my heart is a whole lot worse than even I realize (Jer 17:9).  I need divine help to become anything worth being.

Am I content to use what God gives me as I grow in this life?  Will I access His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control for my protection and strength?  Or will I seek to transplant myself into the world's soil, drawing up its hatred and rage and deceit and selfishness as my sources of power and safety?

Am I content to be what He designed me to be, or would I rather be something else, something modeled after my flesh's desires and cut from the world's pattern?  Am I content to grow into a mere mustard plant, unnoticed, on harsh ground?

Lest you accuse me of setting my sights too low, let me remind you that mustard seeds have no idea what is going to become of them.  In fact, Jesus did mention the size of mustard seeds in another passage.  He said that though they are very small seeds, yet they grow up and become larger than all the other plants in the garden (Mark 4:31-32).

And God's Word tells us that we, too, do not know what we're going to grow into.  But it gives us a hint…and if we let it sink in, it will blow our minds.

"Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2 NKJV).

We shall be like Him. 

WE shall be like Him.  "We" means little folks like us, wholly undeserving little bits of matter that look like nothing in the world's eyes, but who are precious in the eyes of God because of our faith in Christ.

We SHALL be like Him.  "Shall" means it's going to happen.  It is a promise from the mouth of God, and it will not fail.

We shall BE like Him.  "Be" is a state of existence, and this particular "be" is eternal in its scope.  If we're drawing our life from the Vine (John 15:5-6), then our eternal state will be more glorious than we can imagine.  Heaven isn't just about what we will enjoy.  It's also about who we will become!

We shall be LIKE Him.  Restored to being flawless image-bearers, like Adam and Eve were, except even better…because we won't ever sin!

We shall be like HIM!  Like Jesus.  Like the One we are growing to love more than anyone or anything on earth.  Like the one whose glories will be the joy of Heaven forever.

This is the future that God had in mind when He fashioned the DNA of the little seeds called "you," fellow believers, and "me." It is the future that He planned for when He planted us in the soil we now find ourselves rooted in…and when He planted us in yesterday's soil, and in tomorrow's too.  It is the future He is preparing for us as He buffets us with every wind of adversity, tries us with every drought, and refreshes us with every Spring rain.  It is the future that He provides for, when He develops His likeness ever-so-slowly in us throughout this life (See Gal 5:22-23).

God grant us mustard-seed faith, a faith that is content to use what He provides (scorning other sources), in order to become what He designed us to be (scorning other outcomes).

I don't know about you, but at the end of this day I'd rather be able to look back and see increasing love in my heart, increasing joy, increasing peace (and all the other fruits), than to look back at any feats of geographical gerrymandering. 

To know that the pains and heartaches and joys and efforts of today are preparing me to be like Him for eternity…what could be more glorious?

Quotables for 2/18/10

I am often blessed by what others say, and I frequently copy snippets into my Bible notes or Evernote for future enjoyment.  But I'm beginning to wonder if I ought to do more to share them.  So here is an eclectic mix of "quotables" that have caught my eye this week.  In each case where a link is provided, you'll find much more than what you read here.

---------------------------------------

(The problem with the whole idea of "Love Languages.")

"You and I need to learn a new language if we are to become fit to live with each other and with God. The greatest love ever shown does not speak the instinctively self-centered language of the recipients of such love. In fundamental ways, the love of Christ speaks contrary to your 'love language' and 'felt needs.' Does anyone naturally say, 'I need You to rule me so I’m no longer ruled by what I want'? Does anyone naturally say, 'For Your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity for it is great' (Psalm 25:11)? Does anyone naturally say, 'My greatest need is for mercy, and then for the wisdom to give mercy. I long for redemption. May Your kingdom come. Deliver us from evil'?"

~David Powlison, "Love Speaks Many Languages Fluently."  Quoted by Justin Taylor in the blog, "First Things."  Brought to my attention by Tim Challies.  (Isn't it wonderful how the internet brings together so many people who will probably never meet this side of Heaven?)

--------------------------------------

(Regarding John 3:5)

"[Jesus] employed the words Spirit and water to mean the same thing, and this ought not to be regarded as a harsh or forced interpretation; for it is a frequent and common way of speaking in Scripture, when the Spirit is mentioned, to add the word Water or Fire, expressing his power. We sometimes meet with the statement, that it is Christ who baptizeth with the Holy Ghost and with fire, (Mat 3:11; Luke 3:16,) where fire means nothing different from the Spirit, but only shows what is his efficacy in us."

~John Calvin, quoted by David at The Thirsty Theologian.

------------------------------------------

(Regarding the men who let their friend down through the roof to be healed in Mark 2:4):

"There is no hint that they ever asked permission before they began digging through that roof. There are people who would not smash a roof, though by doing it they might save a thousand souls. To them property is sacred. But to these comrades the sacred thing was life, and they were willing to destroy a hundred roofs if so doing they could save a brother. That is the spirit we want within the Church, the spirit that sees the worth of personality; the spirit ready, for the Master's sake, to break through everything that keeps us snug and comfortable. After all, it is only a matter of values, and whenever we see the value of one soul, then many an old roof will have to go, no matter what Peter's wife may think about it."

~G.H. Morrison, in the electronic collection of devotionals made available with the eSword Electronic Bible.

----------------------------------

I hope you enjoyed these "quotables."  If people benefit by them, I'll probably do more of this kind of thing in the future, when I am still awaiting the time or inspiration to write something myself…

 

Counting the Cost and Forsaking All

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
(Luke 14:28-33)

There’s some hard words from Jesus!  But what do they mean?

I’ve heard this passage taught as a call to self-reliant toughness, to making sure you have what it takes to succeed as a Christian.  “Take stock of yourself.  Are you good enough?  Can God count on you?”

The problem is, that teaching is the antithesis of God-reliance.  It appeals to pride, not to humility.  And nothing which appeals to pride could come from our Lord, who resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6)!

So what is Jesus talking about?

I think the key comes from the last verse in the passage, and the key turns on the word “likewise.”

Likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has…

Now wait just a minute…the word “likewise” is supposed to connect two ideas by drawing on a similarity between them.  It means, “In the same way.”  But Jesus went from talking about seeing if you’ve got what it takes, to talking about forsaking what you have!  Where’s the “likewise” in that?  How is “forsaking all that you have” done in the same way with “counting the cost?”

Oh, how confusing the Bible can be when we look at it from a man-centered viewpoint, and how much clearer everything becomes when we take a God-centered approach!

Man-centeredness looks to self for strength, for success, for sufficiency.  God-centeredness looks to God for these things.  Man-centeredness says, “I am everything.”  God-centeredness says, “I am nothing, but God is everything!”

Look back at the passage.  Is it coming clearer yet?

What is Jesus saying to the would-be tower builder?  What is He saying to the king?

“Tower builder…do you have what it takes?  People will mock you if you aren’t able to finish.”

Boy, this is a bummer!  Modern-day health and wealth preachers would never take this approach!  Isn’t God here to stroke our egos, to bolster our self-esteem, and to assure us that we really do have what it takes?  Isn’t He supposed to encourage us with a vision of our success, not warn us about our failure?

What do you think?  As you’re pondering the question, you might want to look at something else Jesus said:

“Without Me you can do nothing.”
(John 15:5b)

While you’re chewing on that, let’s think about what Jesus said next in the parable.  I’ll paraphrase it.

“Hey, King, the enemy has a whole lot more soldiers than you have.  You’d better start thinking about finding out his terms for surrender.”

Now, some may accuse me of looking at this passage in an unnecessarily negative light.  Is Jesus really assuming our failure here, or is He just warning us about the possible consequences if we fail?  Why look at it so negatively?

I think we have to look at it in this “negative” way if we’re going to be true to the text, especially if we’re going to deal with that pesky little “likewise.”

Likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has…

The only way we can make sense of this “likewise” is to draw the conclusion that the tower builder and the king were supposed to forsake all that they have, and we are to do the same.

The tower builder is supposed to forsake his plans, because he sees he doesn’t have enough money. 

The king is supposed to find out the terms of surrender, because he realizes he can’t defeat his enemy.  He’s supposed to give up his throne to the opposing king, on that king’s terms, in order to save his neck.

Who is the enemy (the opposing king with his bigger army) in this parable?  According to everything I can figure out, the enemy is God Himself. 

Now, before you accuse me of being really depressing (or even heretical), think about this in light of the following verse:

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works…(Col. 1:21a).

We are all enemies of God before we’re saved, and the best thing that can happen to us is to surrender.  To be reconciled and make peace with Him.  To be made holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight.  That’s how the above passage ends.

And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight (Col. 1:21-22)

In other words, Jesus is urging us to forsake all of our own ideas of saving ourselves, and to cast ourselves helplessly at His feet to ask for His mercy.  What’s more, we’re to forsake all self-sufficiency and surrender all of our plans to Him, because we cannot build our towers (or our lives) on our own.  We don’t have what it takes. 

Oh, we may be able to succeed in our own eyes, and in the eyes of those around us.  But then comes Judgment Day, when all of our works will be tested in the fire.  Our manmade “towers” will burn up, because they were constructed of flammable things like wood, hay, and straw.  But whatever we build through His Spirit’s power will stand the test, for it will be made of gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Co. 3:11-13).

Jesus’ parable was anything but a call to self-sufficiency and “making sure you have what it takes!”  (After all, the Pharisees had convinced themselves that they had what it takes, and Jesus wasn’t impressed with them at all!)  He’s telling us to take an honest look at ourselves and see that we don’t have what it takes, until we are forced to cry out, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:10-14)

Does this sound like bad news to you?  Depressing, maybe?  Then perhaps you need to ask God to open your eyes to the eternal value of things.  You may find that what you’re clinging to is truly worthless, and what He offers you is immeasurably precious!

God gives wonderful promises to those who forsake all in order to take hold of Him (Matt. 19:29, for example).  And the apostles affirmed His worth as they forsook all…most even giving their life’s blood (Php. 3:7-10, Rom. 8:18, and more).

Do you really want to have what it takes?  Then forsake all hopes of finding it in yourself, and find it in Him instead.  For:

“Without Me you can do nothing.”

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

(John 15:5b, Php. 4:13)

Greatest in the Kingdom?

Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 18:4

What do you think this verse means?  I have to admit, it gives me a little trouble.

First off, "the greatest" can't be exclusive to one person, because more than one person humbles himself in this way.  The word “Whoever” applies to anybody and everybody.  And the verse doesn’t say “whoever humbles himself the most will be the greatest.”  It’s just “whoever humbles himself.”  But how can more than one person be “the greatest?”

Also, Heaven isn’t going to be the kind of place where people compete against one another to be the greatest.  Nothing would be more prideful than "humbling oneself" in order to “out-humble” the next guy and be greater than he is in Heaven (see Mark 9:34-35). 

So what does this mean?  How can anyone be “greatest in the kingdom?”  And how can anyone pursue that by humility?

I don’t know, but I have an idea.  I think that being "the greatest" is not relative to other people, but relative to our standing individually with God.  It's where we fall on a continuum of what we could have been versus what we turned out to be.  True, others will be further along or further behind on their continuum than I will be, but my eyes will not be on them in prideful comparison.

Does that make sense?  What do you think?

(This photo was taken in an “Ames Room,” a specially-designed room that creates an optical illusion of great size differences between people of equal height.  I chose it because it reminds me of exaggerated pride or false humility…two different ways of falsely comparing ourselves with others.)

Moses, Joshua, and Jesus

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."
Num 20:7-12

I’ve always felt sorry for Moses when I read this account. After all, we all sin, and this seemed like such a small error. God said, “Speak to the rock,” but Moses struck it instead. Not a major incident in a life full of obedience, right?

Evidently God thought it was huge. Because of this one act, Moses would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land.

Why did God make such a big deal out of this? Why were the consequences so dire?

It would be easy to take this in any of several directions.

• We could talk about the fact that all sin is serious, and there’s no such thing as a small sin.
• We could discuss how damaging it is when leaders sin
• We could draw out inferences about how pride and anger lead to sin
• We could point out that all sin springs from disbelief, and results in failure to hallow God in the sight of others.

All of those things would be true and worthy of discussion, but there’s another aspect I want to address today. Because one of the amazing things about the Bible is how the Gospel is woven throughout, even many hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. And this story spells out part of the Gospel in vivid detail.

The Old Testament is a living allegory, spiritual truths written into the reality of flesh-and-blood lives. Don’t misunderstand…I’m not saying that the stories are mere allegories, as if the events never happened. What I’m saying is that the events, which actually happened, paint pictures of Spiritual realities far beyond the awareness of those who lived them. And in the meta-narrative of the Children of Israel, metaphors abound.

• Egypt represents the believer’s old life of sin before salvation.
• Moses represents the law.
• The Promised Land represents the believer’s ultimate destination…Heaven itself.

And the whole picture would have been marred beyond recognition if Moses had been allowed to lead the people into the Promised Land.

Why?

Because Moses represents the Law, and the Law cannot save.

So who got to lead the people in? Someone named Joshua. In Hebrew, it’s Yehoshua or Yeshua. In New Testament languages, it is translated “Jesus.”

It means, “Jehovah saves.”

He does indeed.

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son… (Rom 8:3)

Isn’t God awesome? The Gospel is right there. The Law (Moses) can’t bring us into the Promised Land. Jesus (Yeshua or Joshua) does.

Let’s look at some of the other symbolism here.

~~~

Joshua’s leadership ministry was inaugurated by the miraculous passage through the Jordan, which was done to prove that “God is among you”

(Jos 3:10,13).

Jesus’ ministry was inaugurated by the miraculous events surrounding His baptism (the descent of the Spirit, and the Father’s verbal affirmation) in that same Jordan river, which were done to prove that God was among us

(Matt. 3:13-17).

~~~

Immediately after this dramatic inauguration, Joshua was instructed to choose 12 men

(Jos 4:1-2).

After His dramatic inauguration, Jesus chose 12 men (Matt 10:2-4).

~~~

Joshua did not lead his people into unconquered territory. He led them into warfare (see most of the book of Joshua).

Jesus waged all-out war on the forces of evil (Luke 4:41, for example), and leads us in spiritual warfare all of our days, until we enter our rest in our Promised Land (Eph. 6:12)

~~~

There are probably more awesome parallels than these, but you get the picture. These things were written for us to learn from (1 Co. 10:11).

Moses certainly didn’t understand this. If he had, I’m sure it would have comforted him. But as it is, he carried the pain of his punishment until the day he died. In his human frailty, he even stooped to blaming the people for what happened to him that day (Deu 1:37). He had no idea that God had meant it for good, to draw a beautiful picture of salvation through the Heavenly “Joshua,” our Lord Jesus, and not through the Law.

The Scriptures have been written in full for us…at least while we’re here on earth. But there are still holy words being recorded in Heaven (Mal. 3:16), words which I’m sure we’ll see when we get up there. Words which describe the things that people do, and which will record for all of eternity how God painted our lives into a glorious mosaic.

Right now we are just as blind as Moses was to the metaphors built into our stories. We can’t imagine the ways that they will bless others. But I’m convinced that much of eternity will be spent examining the incredible pictures that God crafted from each of our lives. We’ll see how God made the ordinary places of our lives holy by His presence, even when we weren’t aware of it. We’ll see the shadow of Calvary and the glories of grace inked onto every one of our pages, and we’ll come away with an eternal case of holy goosebumps.

What part of God’s mosaic are you living today?

Be a worthy paintbrush for Him. Trust the artist to showcase Christ through whatever your circumstances may be, even if they’re painful. All of creation is looking forward to the day when the masterpiece will be unveiled. When that happens, it will all have been worth it.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
(Rom 8:18-19)

Greased Lightbox

→←+-↻

Loading image

Click anywhere to cancel

Image unavailable

When Jesus Turns Off The Lights…

When Jesus turns off the lights, the darkness is palpable.

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Rev 2:5

What is the lampstand?

According to Rev. 1:20, the seven lampstands in John's vision are the seven churches to which Jesus was about to speak. One of those churches was the church at Ephesus, to which He gave the warning above.

If the lampstand is a church, then what does Jesus mean when He says, "I will remove your lampstand?"

It's a troubling warning, to say the least. 

What is a lampstand's job? Is it the light, or does it hold the light? Does it create light, or just display it?

What happens when the lampstand is removed?

 
Some take it to mean that the church will lose its influence in the world. And I'm sure that's part of the truth. But I'm not convinced it's the whole truth. Because you see, no one lights a candle and puts it under a basket.

Nor do they light a lamp
and put it under a basket,
but on a lampstand,
and it gives light to all
who are in the house.
Mat 5:15

I don’t see Jesus taking away a glowing candle and hiding it under a cover. If He takes away the lampstand, it's because its fire has gone out.

The lampstand isn't merely unable to give away light. No, the truth is far more desolate than that.

It no longer has any light!

If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Mat 6:23

America was once a lampstand. It may not have been a “church,” and may not have appeared in John's vision, but nevertheless, it held up the light for a time.

Watching The Truth Project last night, I heard once again the thundering voices of our nation's founding fathers, proclaiming unashamedly the name of Christ, honoring Him, giving their allegiance to Him, and warning that our nation and its Constitution would collapse if the nation abandoned Christ.  Yes, America once held up the light…imperfectly, because the men who held it were flawed.  As are we.  And what is that light which our nation once displayed?

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
John 8:12

As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world."
(Jesus) John 9:5

"You are the light of the world."
(Jesus to the disciples) Mat 5:14

Jesus is the light of the world because He is light. (1 John 1:5)

We are the light of the world because we are the lampstands that hold His light.

Do we hold His light because we've adopted a creed? Because we've prayed a prayer? Because we attend church on Sundays and do good deeds?

No?  Then how do we get this light?

For it is the God who commanded
light to shine out of darkness,
who has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ.
2Co 4:6

God shines the light in our hearts! He is the one who gives it. And He is the one who can take it away. (See Job 1:21.)

According to the passage in 2 Corinthians, the light we display is the knowledge of the glory of God...the awesome, holy, pure, incorruptible, unbearably bright Shekinah glory of God...all found in one place and one place alone…in the face of Jesus Christ.

Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
Rev 2:5

Does this nation even have its lampstand any more?  I have grave doubts.

 
True, there are lights here. There are Christians who carry the light because they behold the glory of God in the face of Christ, and their own faces glow in response. But the world around them still sits in darkness, untouched by their shining.
Why?

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
2Co 4:3-4

And why did God allow Satan, the god of this age, to do this?

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 3:19

 

they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2Th 2:10-12

For those who love darkness, there is a judgment. In poetic justice, God hands down a sentence of perpetual darkness which cannot see even those few shining candles which remain.  Lovers of darkness are blinded.

So where is hope?

• We must fight for just laws, but laws never cured blindness.
• We must hate sin and be angry about it, but hatred and anger never restored sight.
• We must make sure our own lights burn brightly, but no lamp ever made blind eyes see.

Where is hope?  It is in the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who alone can shine into hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  While we fight for just laws, while we hate sin, while we seek to hold up the light, are we beholding His glory in that precious Face?

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2Co 3:18

If our main focus is on our political agendas, we will not be gazing on His face.  If our vision narrows to see only the sin of our neighbor, how will we see Christ?  If the source of our light is not our transformation into His image, then whose light are we really shining?

Why has America lost its light?  It’s not because darkness has overcome it.  Light always triumphs over darkness.  So why is darkness now prevailing?

Have we, as individual believers, lost our light?  Are we trying to replace His light in us by kindling lights of our own?  If so, let us heed this grave warning:

"Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God.

Look, all you who kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with sparks: walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled— this you shall have from My hand: you shall lie down in torment.
Isa 50:10-11

Beware of self-made lights!

Christians, what is our focus?  Where does our fire come from?  From self, or from gazing on the face of God?

• If we are not God-centered, there will be no transformation in us. 
• If we are not God-centered, our hatred and anger towards sin will degenerate into hatred and anger towards our neighbor. 
• If we are not God-centered, our activism will be ultimately self-centered. 
• If we are not God-centered, we will spend far more time trying to change externals by force of will and law than we will spend on our knees pleading with God to grant repentance to those who oppose us (2 Tim. 2:25), and asking Him to shine in their hearts as He has shone in ours.

Father, please grant us repentance, turn our hearts back to You, and enable our lights to shine brightly once more as we gaze upon You.  And then, dear Lord, please open the blinded eyes of those around us, and help them see not us, but You.  You are the Light, and all our lampstands are in Your hands.  Kindle us, Oh Lord, and place us on a hill where we cannot be hidden…not for our glory, but for Yours alone.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

----------------------

Photo from YlvaS via Flicker