Job 23:8 “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,and backward, but I do not perceive him;9 on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
***
Luke 17:20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” [15] 22 And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. [16]
***
It seems that Job experienced something that has, according to some, been common to our era - a hidden God. Certainly the end of his story is full of divine revelation, but in the thick of his trials, God feels a bit distant. Jesus predicted this same feeling for the age that would come after him. The disciples had the luxury and the responsibility of knowing him in the flesh, but we believe without seeing. Thanks to doubting Thomas, we even get an extra blessing for believing without seeing. Nevertheless, we long to see, sing songs about seeing Him, and look forward to seeing Him just as we are fully seen.
***
Jesus describes "his day" as though he will shift from being a man to something more like how I understand the Holy Spirit to operate. He will not be confined by conventional rules of time and space. This is not to say that Jesus will cease to be a man - I believe this is His eternal form, but it seems, from his own description, that we will expect and desire him in a way that he will not come. How exciting!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Just a Passin Through
Psalm 39:4 “O Lord, make me know my endand what is the measure of my days;let me know how fleeting I am!5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,and my lifetime is as nothing before you.Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow!Surely for nothing [4] they are in turmoil;man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! 7 “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?My hope is in you.8 Deliver me from all my transgressions. ... 11 When you discipline a manwith rebukes for sin,you consume like a moth what is dear to him;surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah 12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,and give ear to my cry;hold not your peace at my tears!For I am a sojourner with you,a guest, like all my fathers.
***
When we were kids we used to sing a hymn, "The world is not my home, I'm just a passin through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue." I think of that hymn as a read this psalm and I meditate with a certain sense of awe today because my fourth child was just born a few hours ago. My son, a mortal creation like myself, has started the adventure of this short life. For a few years we will suffer together under the various afflictions of our current human condition, and then, eventually, we may both enjoy eternal love and fellowship beyond this world. This side of life is short but feels long sometimes - the other side, in God's Kingdom, is forever-long and I'm sure it flies by like to grandest of days.
Tday was a grand day and it certainly did fly by. I am so thankful for today and I see the nature of God shining through today. I love Him.
***
When we were kids we used to sing a hymn, "The world is not my home, I'm just a passin through. My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue." I think of that hymn as a read this psalm and I meditate with a certain sense of awe today because my fourth child was just born a few hours ago. My son, a mortal creation like myself, has started the adventure of this short life. For a few years we will suffer together under the various afflictions of our current human condition, and then, eventually, we may both enjoy eternal love and fellowship beyond this world. This side of life is short but feels long sometimes - the other side, in God's Kingdom, is forever-long and I'm sure it flies by like to grandest of days.
Tday was a grand day and it certainly did fly by. I am so thankful for today and I see the nature of God shining through today. I love Him.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Stay Awake
Mark 13:5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand. 24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard, keep awake. [10] For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants [11] in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, [12] or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.”
***
On one hand it seems like an impossible task to be watchful in an age of so much information streaming in from all sides. And anyway, we are so tuned and trained to watch the things with please us, it hardly seems natural or good to be on the watch for something as unpleasant as the end times. I didn't grow up studying eschatology or even the book of Revelation really. Its all relatively new to me, but certainly fascinating. But I think our generation will see a day, and perhaps that day is already upon us, when the ends times prophecies are the headlines of the TV. Ironically, the medium of our entertainment and the focal point for our spiritual vigil will collide as world events intertwine on the media's stage in Hollywood and in the news. But that actually isn't a change. God's Kingdom has always been emergent, growing roots in the midst of our subterranean world. He is challenging us to stay awake and stay focused on something which is happening right in front of us. Yesterday I imagined getting to heaven and having God ask why I didn't pray more often. I heard myself respond, "well, I couldn't see you, so it was hard." And he replied with a question, "Why do you need to see in order to listen or to speak?" And this question left me truly speechless. It seems that a similar question emerges as we attempt to perceive the end times. We don't know the exact hour, but we still have ways of knowing we are near to it.
***
On one hand it seems like an impossible task to be watchful in an age of so much information streaming in from all sides. And anyway, we are so tuned and trained to watch the things with please us, it hardly seems natural or good to be on the watch for something as unpleasant as the end times. I didn't grow up studying eschatology or even the book of Revelation really. Its all relatively new to me, but certainly fascinating. But I think our generation will see a day, and perhaps that day is already upon us, when the ends times prophecies are the headlines of the TV. Ironically, the medium of our entertainment and the focal point for our spiritual vigil will collide as world events intertwine on the media's stage in Hollywood and in the news. But that actually isn't a change. God's Kingdom has always been emergent, growing roots in the midst of our subterranean world. He is challenging us to stay awake and stay focused on something which is happening right in front of us. Yesterday I imagined getting to heaven and having God ask why I didn't pray more often. I heard myself respond, "well, I couldn't see you, so it was hard." And he replied with a question, "Why do you need to see in order to listen or to speak?" And this question left me truly speechless. It seems that a similar question emerges as we attempt to perceive the end times. We don't know the exact hour, but we still have ways of knowing we are near to it.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Intermarriage
Ezra 10:10 The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ ...18 Now there were found some of the sons of the priests who had married foreign women...19 They pledged themselves to put away their wives
***
On one hand I understand that God is giving the Jews practical instuction on how to avoid mixing with a bad crowd. On the other hand, it seems uncharacteristic of Him to condone the abandonment of the foreign wives and children once they have been grafted into the family. I struggle with this passage both in implication and application. Should I read it symbolically for my own life, looking for parallels for pure living, or would the equivelant be marrying a non-Christian? On one hand, the laws of the Old Testament were much more lenient on divorce than Jesus. At the same time, the New Testament teachings seem to be much for graceful to those outside the family DNA, so to speak. Wouldn't God want these foreign wives and children to be loved? Perhaps it would have been better, rather than putting their wives and children out, to lay themselves before the Lord and repent, asking for a way to sacrifice themselves on behalf of their families. It seems to me that this is what Jesus did and therefore what they could have done.
***
On one hand I understand that God is giving the Jews practical instuction on how to avoid mixing with a bad crowd. On the other hand, it seems uncharacteristic of Him to condone the abandonment of the foreign wives and children once they have been grafted into the family. I struggle with this passage both in implication and application. Should I read it symbolically for my own life, looking for parallels for pure living, or would the equivelant be marrying a non-Christian? On one hand, the laws of the Old Testament were much more lenient on divorce than Jesus. At the same time, the New Testament teachings seem to be much for graceful to those outside the family DNA, so to speak. Wouldn't God want these foreign wives and children to be loved? Perhaps it would have been better, rather than putting their wives and children out, to lay themselves before the Lord and repent, asking for a way to sacrifice themselves on behalf of their families. It seems to me that this is what Jesus did and therefore what they could have done.
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