The Beloved Son

Most people wouldn’t know it, but I can be a very fearful person. Oh, I’m not afraid of the dark or heights or spiders or any of the usual things. I’m afraid that the other shoe is going to drop. Life can be going along quite well but I know, I just know, that waiting around the corner is some disaster. And I have every reason to expect this. It’s been my experience time and time again, day in and day out for most of the last four years.

It had gotten to the point where I avoid getting the mail or at least opening it because time after time it contains unwelcome news: letters from the IRS, lawyers, ex-wives (I have two), you name it. The sound of the ringer on my cell phone so regularly caused my heart to jump that I changed the ringer. The sight of a stranger walking up to my house instantly makes me think of process servers and social services case workers.

So many times have I gone to pick up my kids and have been denied visitation for no good or legal reason. So many times I have made an agreement in good faith thinking the matter was finished only to have the other side continue as if there had been no promise made. And how often have I entrusted my heart, my hopes, my dreams and plans – or even my suffering – to someone only to find the secret shared, the dreams laughed at, the suffering trivialized or used to hurt me further.

You see that I have some very, very good reasons to doubt that the good times will last, the friends will stay true and the pain will pass. I’m older now – and wiser. I know what life holds.

But God has other plans for me.

First He pointed out that I was idolizing those who would hurt me. I was placing my ex-wives, the courts, lawyers, the IRS, everyone on a pedestal higher than God. Although I was sure I had good reason (my experience, after all!) and could hardly be blamed for how I felt, my behavior, my thoughts and my fears were sin, plain and simple. I needed to recognize that even if it didn’t change the way I thought.

But now God has begun to train me in new ways. He does this relentlessly, day after day, hour after hour, no matter how slowly I learn. He blesses me with little things and big things. He makes things go smoothly that I thought would be huge problems. He gives me favor with strangers, bureaucrats and sales clerks. Even when things don’t go just the way I’d like, He shows me how much better – for me – His way is. And He doesn’t do this because that’s the way things always are in this fallen world. He does it because He loves me so very, very much and wants me to find out just how much. He’s going to keep blessing me and loving me and hugging me until I cry out, from the depths of my soul, “You DO love me!!) And then He’s going to love me some more. Thank you, God.

For the Glory of God

We’ve talked a bit about one reason for painful things happening in our lives (see Pruning, Job, Heading into the Storm, and The Little Stuff). But there are three other reasons I can see in the Bible. One of these Jesus calls “for the glory of God” (John 9 and 11). But what does that mean? In simplest terms, it means something that reveals – and hopefully advances – the Kingdom of God.

In John 9:1 we meet a man who has been blind all his life. The disciples, only being aware of a connection between suffering and sin, ask Jesus, “Whose fault is it that this man was born blind: was it his sin or the sin of his parents?” Jesus replies that it was the fault of neither but so that the hand of God might be displayed in this man’s life.

Wow. This grown man had been blind (never an easy thing but possibly even worse back then) since birth just so Jesus could come along and heal him? Seems a bit much.

But look at the results. God is revealed to the man, his parents, his neighbors and the religious leaders. To all it has an effect. The man becomes a follower of Jesus while his parents and the leaders choose to reject Jesus.

We see the same thing with the story of the death of Lazarus (John 11 and 12:9-10). Jesus could have saved Lazarus from dying but He didn’t. Not only that, but when He heard that Lazarus was sick, Jesus delayed His response for two days. So Lazarus not only died but, by the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been entombed for longer than the three days that Jewish tradition taught that the soul stayed with the body after death.

Why all the seemingly needless pain and suffering (on the part of Lazarus, his family and his friends) when Jesus was going to restore Lazarus to health and life anyway? Again, to reveal the handiwork of God. As with blind man, everyone one was affected by this miracle. Many put their trust in Jesus while others rejected and sought to kill him.

One final example since, in an earlier post (Heading into the Storm), I spoke of how storms can be used to mature us. In Acts 27:13 – 28:10 Paul encounters a life-threatening storm. It is through no fault of his and, furthermore, there is no clear indication that the storm brings about an increase in Paul’s maturity and closeness to God. Rather, the storm is used (successfully) to declare God to the soldiers and sailors on board the ship as well as to the inhabitants of the island on which they are finally shipwrecked.

So when a storm comes in your life (as they so often do), one thing to look for is how it can positively influence others for the Kingdom of God. It’s not what most people think of when they think of evangelism but it may be the very thing needed to save those around you.

“Innocent” Mistakes

It’s generally understood that a lack of knowledge of the law does not excuse breaking it. But I think we only understand this in the abstract and when it applies to other people. We don’t really think this principle has any effect on us.

But think of the children who are raised by parents who, by word or deed, make it clear that there are no harmful effects of drinking copious amounts of soda, of a sedentary lifestyle or even of smoking. Despite their “innocence”, these children often grow up to suffer the ravages of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. No matter how unfair it may seem, a lack of knowledge of the laws that govern our health does not preclude the consequences of disobeying those laws.

When I was thirteen I was introduced by my grandmother and parents to the writing of a psychic, Edgar Cayce, who would purport to help people with various ailments by entering into a trance and then pronouncing the steps necessary to produce a cure. He also made predictions about the future. I found this to be heady, exciting stuff and it had the imprimatur of those I looked up to. I certainly had no idea how seriously God commands us not to have anything to do with such things (Lev. 19:31, 20:6, etc.).

One of the psychic “readings” that Cayce performed directed a man with poor eyesight to crack his neck on a regular basis and his eyesight would be restored. Having needed glasses since I was nine, I jumped at the idea of healing my eyes and began cracking my neck. Over the next thirty-three years I would never be able to stop what was, at the very least, an annoying habit. I could not not crack my neck – no matter the time or place – although I tried many times. Even the pinched nerves and chronic aches that resulted could not induce me to stop. I was slavishly committed to this habit.

Then one day, almost two years ago, God said to me, “Every time you crack your neck you are paying homage to that which is not God.” I immediately saw the truth of what God had said (i.e. I agreed that I had been sinning against Him every time I cracked my neck) and I asked Him to forgive me and free me from committing this sin. I immediately felt a weight lift from neck and I have not felt a need to crack my neck since.

Bottom line: it was only by acknowledging my sin – something that I had started in what we call innocence and which I had never, ever considered a sin – repenting of it and asking God for His forgiveness and healing that I was miraculously healed from an oppression of over three decades.

Does this sound too incredible to you? Or does the idea that cracking my neck was, for me, a sin sound preposterous? If so, I ask you to reread what I’ve shared here. Consider the sequence of events and the reasoning. But more importantly, ask God. Read the Bible. Ask God to make things clear. He is not only able, He’s very willing.

Black Holes and Light

Been thinking about black holes (objects so massive that not even light travels fast enough to escape their gravity) and light. Some amazing connections:

Time slows down as one goes faster and faster. If you could go as fast as light (670 million miles per hour), time would go so slowly it would come to a stop.

Time also slows down as gravity increases. So time moves more slowly on earth than it does on the moon where the force of gravity is less. If you got to a place where the gravity was so strong that you’d have to travel at the speed of light just to get away (like near a black hole), time would go so slowly it would come to a stop. So what’s the connection between gravity and speed?

Also, things become more massive (“weigh more”) as they go faster and faster. If something was moving at the speed of light it would be more massive than everything in the entire universe combined. So if you travel fast enough (close to the speed of light), you will become a black hole.

But as you become a black hole, the distance from you at which light cannot escape will be someplace inside you. This doesn’t make any sense. Fortunately, as you travel faster, you also become smaller – so no problem. Isn’t it weird the way everything works out so nicely?

Isn’t God amazing?

“Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

When Jesus was about to be arrested and crucified, Peter initially rushed to defend Jesus, cutting off the ear of one of the servants who was present. Jesus restrained Peter and then made the statement above (John 18:11).

I had always read that sentence with the emphasis on the cup: Jesus knew the terribly painful destiny that the Father had planned but was willing to proceed out of obedience. And there is nothing wrong with that reading.

But this morning I read the same sentence but with the emphasis on the word “Father.” I realized that Jesus was saying to Peter, “How could I do anything but accept everything that my Father gives me – since He only knows how to give good things to His children.” And that includes the cup.

The Little Stuff

God does a lot of really nice things for me to make my life more enjoyable. For example, although I am a frequent Delta flyer and virtually never fly United (just because of schedules; nothing against United), on today’s flight from Oklahoma to Chicago and then on to New York, I was seated in First Class on both United planes. This kind of thing happens all the time. A lot of little gifts that make things more pleasant and remind me of God’s love for me on a daily basis.

Which is great because so many of the big things in my life really haven’t been going well for quite some time.

While noticing and appreciating God’s little gifts, I have, in the past, said to Him, essentially, “That’s great and thank you, God, but what about the big stuff? I mean, if you can take care of this small thing, how about fixing something that is an ongoing disaster in my life?” (I’ve been more than a little upset when saying this.)

Then God showed me the way He responded to Jesus’ heart-felt request for deliverance from a much greater travail than mine. In Luke 22:42-44 Jesus is praying so earnestly for deliverance from the trial that He was about to suffer (the crucifixion) that His sweat is like great drops of blood. God responds by sending an angel to strengthen Him (verse 43). Wow. If I had been in Jesus’ shoes I would have said something like, “Gee, thanks, but in case You didn’t notice, I could use a bit more that that.”

But as we’ve discussed previously (Pruning, Job, Heading into the Storm), God often has something much greater in mind which we cannot see. It’s not that He doesn’t care: He cares very much – so much, in fact, that He refuses to accede to our desperate, though myopic, pleas but does as much as He can to comfort us without destroying the greater good that He is working in us, through us and for us.

Now I try to see the little gifts for what they are: examples of my Father’s love, reminders that He loves me just as much in the big things that don’t seem to be going as well, and, always, as simply gifts for my pleasure.

Job

As an example of the post from yesterday (“Pruning”), we have Job. Job hadn’t done anything wrong – he was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1). And yet he suffered the loss of nearly all that was important to him:

- Job was exceedingly rich and, although there is no indication that he loved his wealth or misused it, he lost everything in one day.

- Job had ten children all of whom were killed on the same day that he was financially wiped out.

- Job couldn’t even say, “Well, at least I’ve got my health.” Soon after the loss of his children and his money, Job was afflicted with painful sores from head to toe.

- The one remaining member of his immediate family, his wife, turned on him, withdrawing her support and counseling him to renounce his integrity and turn away from God.

- His friends, in the guise of comforting him, cut out from under him any semblance of remaining support when they advised Job that his troubles were clearly due to his sinful nature.

All Job had left was his life, and that he despised.

And none of this just happened. God was behind every bit of it (see 1:8-12). Why? Did God hate Job? Of course not. God loved Job and knew that Job loved God. So God said to Job, “Come up higher.” The path up higher was extremely painful (as it almost always is) and could only be travelled because Job was righteous and wanted more of God.

In the end, Job grew in his relationship with God. And God, who never forgets that we are only flesh and blood, restored Job’s family and fortunes – and then some.

Pruning

Jesus promises us that, if we bear good fruit, we will be pruned (John 15:2). We don’t often dwell on this scripture and, if we do think of it at all, we usually think of the pruning as removal of dead branches, the elimination of the useless, the impure, and what’s ultimately unwanted from our lives.

But that’s only one type of pruning. Pruning often involves removing perfectly healthy parts of a plant in order to direct its growth, increase its health and promote an even greater yield (the very goal Jesus talked about).

This means that, if we are producing fruit for the Kingdom, Jesus may remove even that which is good. This may result in loss of jobs, financial security, friends and even family. There may not be a problem with these things but God may prune them anyway because He has something even better in mind. Even if my job is not all-consuming, even if I do not have a love of money, even if I have a healthy, balanced and beneficial relationship with family and friends, even if I am growing in God and advancing His Kingdom – no, especially if these things are true – I may find that God prunes these things from my life so that I will grow even closer to Him and produce even more fruit.

Two Thieves

There are two types of people in this world. They are represented by the two thieves who hung on the cross with Jesus. Although we are all like one of the two thieves, we all like both of them in that we are all thieves, sinners, unworthy of forgiveness, and under a sentence of death.

Some of us see Jesus and, in our bitterness, we seek to drag Him down to our level in an attempt to elevate our miserable lives: “Hey, if you’re so great why don’t you fix this mess I’m in.” (Luke 23:39)

Others see Him and recognize that it us and not Him who is deserving of punishment. And that’s good.

But then some of us try to do something to become worthy of His forgiveness. But all that is necessary is to believe and accept that He is our King (verse 42). We can’t do anything to save ourselves anyway: our hands are tied – or even nailed – to a cross of our own making. There’s nothing we can do but ask.

And Jesus responds, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Death

Whenever someone dies, God is heartbroken. You’d think that after billions upon billions of deaths over thousands and thousands of years, He would have become somewhat numb to the whole idea, somewhat used to it. And besides, He’s God: it’s certainly no surprise. And yeah, He’s God, so He could stop all the dying if He wanted to, if it really bothered Him so much.

But it does bother Him. And it doesn’t get easier with time. Each new dew death is another tragedy that breaks the heart of God. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Man was made to live forever with Him.

And He could stop it. But that would be like repealing the law of gravity. That’s not the universe that God made. This universe is predictable: you step off a ladder, you fall. You turn away from God – the very creator and source of your life, you die. It’s so simple and yet so tragic.

God doesn’t change His mind or change the laws that define His perfect creation. But He can always add a new law.

The new law isn’t really a law but it acts like one. It’s a promise. It says that, if you step off that ladder, God Himself with fall to the ground so you don’t hurt yourself. The law of gravity – which requires that an object fall to the ground – is upheld – but not by you.

And the new promise doesn’t change the fact that, if you turn away from Him, death is the result. It’s just not your death anymore. It’s His.

The Matrix

Hopefully, you’ve seen The Matrix, arguably the best film of 1999. (Please don’t see the two sequels; they were raunchy and horrible movies to boot.) There was much in that movie that spoke of God’s Kingdom. (No, it wasn’t a Christian movie but, since God created this world of ours, it’s decidedly difficult for anyone to avoid revealing Him.) There were some really cool parts where the “operator” - a person who could see the whole of reality at once – would speak to Neo or Trinity or one of the others who had descended into the cares and trials of the everyday world of the Matrix. The operator would tell them when and where exactly to move to accomplish some task. They would wait, wait, and then, Now! Move to your right! By listening to the operator who could see the big picture, Neo and Trinity would avoid problems they couldn’t see but which were lurking right around the corner.

A couple of months ago I had the same experience. I had gone to the local Subway and for the second time in a row had been served by a very nice girl in her twenties. As I usually do when out in public, I had chatted with her briefly as she took my order and made my sandwich. Through an insight that God gave me, I was aware that, while she was clearly gifted by God in a number of ways, she had already experienced too much hurt and confusion in her young life. On this, my second trip, as I ate my sandwich, God gave me a word of encouragement for this girl. I took out an index card that I happened to have and wrote what God had told me. It was only a couple of sentences but I sensed it was what this girl needed to hear.

But how to get it to her? The sandwich shop was crowded, she was busy and I didn’t want to just leave it on the counter without a word of explanation and an assurance that she had gotten it. The line had at least six people on it and there was only one other employee behind the counter. To me, it looked hopeless. Since God had definitely given me this to give to her, I figured I was going to just have to give it to her and hope for the best.

But God said to wait. Wait. Keep waiting. OK, now!

I got up, turned around and somehow, miraculously, there she was at the cash register looking up, not doing anything for a moment, no one near her or seeking her attention. It was as if the crowd had parted just for this moment. I walked over, handed her the card and told her I thought she could use this when things seemed down. Her face lit up, she thanked me and I took my leave.

It was the most incredible experience. The God of the Universe, the God who sees everything, had not only known the exact time that I would be able to make the drop, He also told me.

I fully expect that this girl – I don’t even know her name and have not seen her since – was incredibly blessed by what God wanted to say to her. I know I was incredibly blessed to be part of His work that day. Very, very cool.

Heading into the Storm

There’s a passage in Luke 8:22-25 in which Jesus suggests to His disciples that they all travel by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They all get in the boat and set out and Jesus promptly lies down and takes a nap. Next thing you know, a massive storm appears out of nowhere and threatens to capsize the boat. The disciples have good reason to believe that this might be the end. Of course, it’s not. They wake Jesus, He rebukes the wind and the waves and then rebukes the disciples for their lack of faith.

Didn’t Jesus know the storm was coming?? Then why did He tell His disciples to get in the boat? And having knowingly placed them in life-threatening danger, why did He then check out? Did He not care?

Does He not care about me? About you?

You bet He does. The disciples were never in any real danger. Their faith was not being tested, it was being increased. Jesus was teaching and growing His disciples in one of the most – and sometimes only – effective way: through a storm.

Jesus knew the storm was coming. In fact, He planned it that way. He loved His disciples way too much to take them by any other route or on any other day.

He loves us just as much.

Against you, and you alone, have I sinned…

When someone does me wrong I am, of course, angry with her. While my first thought is often how to get back at her or, at the very least, how to force her to stop, I am a mature enough Christian that I quickly squash that thought and turn to God, asking Him to right the wrong, correct the injustice, fight my battle. Scriptures come to mind – such as “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still” (Exodus 14:14) and “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you (Deut. 1:30).

And once in a great while I’m even mature enough to pray for that person. (And not pray that God would open her eyes to see the Truth and know she has done me wrong – but pray the best blessing on her.)

But the Bible teaches that, when we sin, we sin against God and against Him alone (Psalm 51:4).

So wait: when someone has done me wrong, then they have hurt God. If I’m hurting, He’s hurting more. I should be comforting God, not looking for Him to vanquish my enemies – often his children – with the sword of Almighty fury.

He’s heartbroken. Why do I want to make it worse?