Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Sixth Sign

Jesus had some friends, a brother, and two sisters, named: Lazerus, Martha, and Mary. It appears their parents had died, and they were living together. (Perhaps Lazerus was supporting his sisters.) And the three of them appear in a few of Jesus' stories. In one of the stories, Jesus gets word that Lazerus is sick. And Jesus sees an opportunity for God to receive glory. Jesus could have gone to Lazerus, and healed him. But he didn't. He waited.

 

So, a couple of days later, Jesus announces to his disciples, that it is time to return to Judea, and go to Lazerus, because he has died. And, in this case, it was good that he died, because it would provide an opportunity for God to demonstrate his glory.

 

When Jesus arrives in his friends home town, he finds that, not only is Lazerus dead, but he has been buried for four days.

 

Martha comes to Jesus. She is convinced that Jesus has a special relationship with the Father. And Jesus could have saved her borther's life, if he had been there.

 

Jesus assures Martha that Lazerus will live again. And Martha agrees, "Yes, he will rise at the end of time."

 

This is the crux of the matter. Jesus says, "I am the resurrection. I am the life." God's plan and mission center around Jesus. Sin has broken mankind's relationship with the Father. Sin has thrown a monkey wrench into mankind's design. The world is broke. And the first step to fixing it is correcting mankind's realtionship with the Father. Without this step, no social action, no 12-step plan, no therapy, will affect the world's brokenness. People are already dead. Jesus will bring the dead out of the grave. Jesus will install them with new life. Life that opens the door, and begins the process of restoring them to their original design.

 

Then, Martha affirms her confidence in Jesus, and goes to get her sister. Mary comes, and expresses herself in much the same way as Martha did.

 

Jesus asks to go to the grave site. And when they arrive, he asks for someone to remove the stone, and open the crypt.

 

Now, Israel is a hot place, so the body has been rotting for fours days. The crypt would obviously reek. And let's consider the state of the body a little more. Decomposition of the body means a breakdown of the body's parts and functions. Muscle and bone are degrading. Nerves and synapses are collapsing. The body's systems would no long function, even if life would suddenly return to the body.

 

Then, Jesus prays in a loud voice, thanking the Father for his presence, for listening, and for partnering with Jesus. The intent of the prayer is to focus attention on God's involvment and work. Everything about to happen is a work of God. He, only, should receive any glory.

 

Then, Jesus commands Lazerus to come out. And Lazerus, dead for four days, walks out of the crypt. His spirit is reunited with his body. And all of the body functions, that have been disintegrating for four days during the process of decomposition, are restored and renewed.

 

This whole incident was intended to demonstrate that, now or later, life is in, and comes through Jesus. And not just as an escape from death. The quality of life come through Jesus. God designed people. The greatest joy and peace flows through living in agreement with his design.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Thanksgiving

The American holiday of Thanksgiving is this week. Of course, the purpose of the holiday is to get people to slow down, take a deep breath, and remember all the good in their lives. And maybe even to off a prayer, thanking God for those good things.

 

When one reads the Bible, it doesn't take too long to see that God encourages a thankful life. God wants us to see the good in our lives, realize how much comes from him, and have an attitude of thanks, appreciation, which leads to a positive expectation, and courage to forge ahead.

 

But there are a couple of verses that are a little confusing. These verses say: "Be thankful for everything."

 

Really? Everything? Hitler? The bomb? Cancer? Rape and murder? Racism? Arrogance? Studpidity?

 

It is really difficult to see that God, who commands moral perfection, wants people to be thankful for evil in the world.

 

When I was in college, I took a class about aerobics. When a person exercizes (like running), energy and oxygen flow into the person's muscles. These provide the fuel for movement. Eventually, the movement depletes the energy and oxygen. The body keeps shipping, but the muscles cannot efficiently receive. So, the body goes into a state called "oxygen debt."

 

As oxygen debt continues, the runner begins to experience pain in his muscles. Normally, when a person is experiencing pain, he stops whatever it is that is causing the pain. But, for a runner, at the point of pain, the body begins to form new capillaries. The body is creating new channels for energy and oxygen to be transported deep into the muscles, where it is needed most.

 

Trials, the evil in the world, especially where it touches a child of God, is spiritual oxygen debt. God does not create evil, or trials, but God does use them to create channels into a person's heart, allowing God's love, grace, and healing to flow into the broken areas of a person's life.

 

So, we can be thankful in the face of trials, and evil, not because of the evil, but because of the presence of God, moving through the circumstances, bringing blessing and gowth into our lives.

 

When the runner experiences oxygen debt, he receives the benefit, when he acts with courage, and runs through the pain. The child of God in the midst of trial also needs to respond correctly to receive the God's love and grace. And the response varies. Sometimes it is giving forgiveness. Sometimes it is love: patience, kindness, etc.

 

This is part of the process of restoring a person's original design. Scripture describes a lifestyle that cooperates with God building the inner life of his children. So, we can be thankful in all circumstances, because is eternally present in all circumstances, and filling his children with his love, grace, and goodness.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Fifth Sign (3)

Then, Jesus moved onto the second metaphor. He is the good shepherd. The shepherd comes each morning to the sheep pen, and calls his sheep. And the sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd. They follow him out through the gate, and out to find pasture.

It is the shepherd, who provides for the sheep. He guides them to water, and food. He keeps them from danger.

Untended, or poorly tended, sheep can cause tremendous damage to the land by over-grazing, and trampling over, and over, the same ground. Well tended sheep can improve the land. It depends on the skill of the shepherd.

Jesus is the good shepherd, because sacrificed his life for the sheep. The enemy, like a wolf, wants to destroy the sheep. He wants to scatter the flock. He wants to separate them from the shepherd. Jesus gave his life to protect the sheep from the enemy.

Jesus is the good shepherd, because he knows his sheep. He provides for them. He will guide them to live the best way. They will live their truest, best selves. They will benefit the land, when they stay close to the shepherd.

It begins with the shepherd, who loves the sheep. The Father loves thew shepherd, because he sacrifices his life. The Father loves the sheep. The shepherd loves the sheep.

Everything good in the world, everything positive, beneficial, helpful, and edifying, begins with love. Love motivates Father, Son, and Spirit to reach out to people, to provide a permanent solution for sin, to guide people into living as they were designed, and to bring healing and growth.

Fifth Sign (2)

The English word Bible is derived from the Latin word for books. The Bible is a collection of 66 books. When each book was written, it was one continuous narrative. There were no chapters, or verses. Several hundred years ago, someone decided it would be a good idea to facilitate reading to divide the books into chapters. Then, a couple of hundred years later, someone divided the chapters into verses.

And sometimes it causes confusion. 

After Jesus discusses spiritual blindness with the Pharisees, the chapter ends, and in the next chapter, Jesus begins another message, with a completely different metaphor. As it was written, originally, with no breaks, it might be easy to conclude that it is all one message.

~o0o~

A fairly common occupation in Jesus' day was shepherd. Sheep were valuable, because they provided raw material for making cloth, and for provide food.

And, evidently, there was a practice of making a fenced in area, combining multiple flocks overnight. If there was one shepherd for each flock, the shepherd would care for his flock during the day, and he could sleep at night. And the flock would be protected in the sheep pen by a person the shepherds would hire together. Each morning, the shepherd would gather his flock, and lead them out of the gate, and into pasture.

So, the correct way to achieve safety, and pasture, was going through the gate. Not going through the gate meant something was wrong. A predator, or a thief, would try to get into the sheep pen, any other way, but the gate.

Jesus used the gate as the first part of this metaphor. For sheep, there is only one way to get to pasture, safety, and life. And Jesus is that gate.

We have posted before that people need the right kinds of physical fuel to thrive physically, and they need the right kinds of spiritual fuel to thrive spiritually. We can get some spiritual fuel from people, or certain spiritual practices. But other necessary, vital fuels we can only get from the Father of all. To get these fuels, we need to have a relationship with the Father, and be in fellowship with him.

It is the creation of a relationship with the Father, that positions people to receive life from the Father. And like sheep in the sheep pen, there is only one way to get to pasture, and to safety.

Jesus is proclaiming that he is that way. To get to the Father, establish a relationship, and find life, we need to come to Jesus. It is his sacrifice that opens the gate for us.

The ultimate goal is to fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. One of the Son's "jobs" is to open the door, and allow us to come into the Family. It is in the center of the family, that people return to life, as it was designed; it is in the center of the family that peope return to love, grace, and purpose. 

Friday, November 03, 2017

Fifth Sign

There was a common belief among the Jews in Jesus’ day, that personal misfortune (poverty, handicap, or disability) was God’s punishment for a person’s sin. And, in the case of a man born blind, there was the possibility that it was punishment for the parent’s sin. (Apparently, no one read the Scripture where God told one of his prophets that he did not consider the parent’s sin when dealing with children, or the children’s sin when dealing with the parents. He dealt with each person individually, with their behavior alone.)

So, given this belief, when the disciples see a man born blind, they ask a seemingly natural question: Who sinned?

One might think Jesus would quote the prophet I mentioned above. Rather, he approaches the issue from a very different direction. He said the man was blind so God could reveal his glory.

Jesus spat on the ground, mad mud, and dabbed the mud in the man’s eyes. He told the man to wash his face in a particular pool. When the man did, he could see.

So, now we have an interesting situation. If a blind man washes mud from his eyes, and afterward, he can see, that must be an act of God. But, a Jewish teacher had used that exact scenario as an example of not keeping the Sabbath. (When Jesus healed the man, it happened to be on the Sabbath.)

So, according to the Jewish leaders point of view, a miracle was performed, that only God could do, for a man who God was punishing for his sin, through a man who was sinning by doing the miracle on the Sabbath.

No wonder they were confused!

So, the leaders call the man to investigate. They asked the man what happened. They called his parents to confirm he had been born blind.

Then, the man and the leaders have the weirdest debate of recorded history. The leaders insist that God did not work through Jesus, because he broke the Sabbath. And the man points out that only God could heal a man born blind, and God does not listen to sinners. So, if Jesus had sinned, he could not be used by God in this way.

Since, the leaders were the experts, and have all the answers, and the man posed a problem that upset their pre-conceptions, they got mad, and threw the man out.

Later, Jesus found the man, and asked him if he believed in the Son of Man, and then, identified himself as the Son of Man. And the man accepted that, and bowed to Jesus in submission.

And Jesus proclaimed that he came into the world to give sight to the blind – that is, to show people the truth. And to convince the one who think they have it all figured out, that they don’t.

Some Pharisees standing there, asked if he thought they were blind. And Jesus replied that the ignorant were held accountable. But, because they thought they held all the answers, God held them guilty.