Psalm 49:8 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit. ... 15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.
Matthew 20:28 ...the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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I know it baffles reason, but it shouldn't, that there is something called cause and effect in all things. If the Enlightenment claimed to teach anything, it was that there was cause and effect and that by observing effects we might "know" certain things about their causes. And yet post-Enlightenment thinking has somehow separated this fact from its spiritual antecedent [because, supposedly, spiritual things are not within the realm of science and therefore are obsolete] But spiritual things have cause and effect as well. The cause of death, in the macro and microcosmic sense, is sin. It should be obvious to any observer that there is sin in the world and that something needs to be set right. How to do it? Can we identify a cause? Can we deduce from the cause a workable solution? Various ideologies have sought to draw conclusions about the human condition and its panaceas, but the Bible teaches that there is a high price be paid to make things right in the world. It cannot be paid by us. What has been done is too big for any of us to undo. Only Christ is sufficient to undo this cosmic conundrum. He can set the scales right again. This doesn't seem fair to post-modern sensibilities, and perhaps it never seemed fair to any one who thought themselves capable of omniscience. But grace seldom seems fair to the forgiven, so we will just have to deal with it in humility.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Spiritual Leprosy / Two Kinds of Doubt
Luke 5:12 While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. [11] And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus [12] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
***
Two points here:
1. Leprosy is such a powerful analogy of sin. Essentially, it causes the skin to lose sensation, to become numb to pain and pleasure, to die, as it were. This is the effect of our spiritual disease called sin. In our sinful flesh, we lose sensation for the "real" things of God's Kingdom. We are unable to sense when our hand is on the stove. We are unable to feel the loving touch of another. Eventually there is a complete breakdown of the body (read: spirit). Leprosy is incurable. The pragmatic solution is banishment, so the death of the sensations leads to the death of relationships. Sin divides us and is the antithesis of the Greatest Commandment which is true, whole, Kingdom community.
2. The second thing I get from this passage is two kinds of doubt - doubting God's goodness and doubting His power. In this case, the leper believes that Jesus is able to heal him, but isn't sure if he is willing. In other passages of the Bible we see individuals who believe Jesus is willing but not able. All of us fall into one of these two categories when we struggle with faith in God. We either doubt he is willing or doubt he is able to do what we ask. Maturity leads us to consider the possibility, with humility, that our requests may not be good requests. If this is the case, then it is certainly possible that he isn't willing to answer the request. But in the case of the leper, it is obvious that something which was created to be a certain way - the man's body - was in a state of disarray. God, as Creator and Maintainer of His creation, is in the business of setting things right - so he is certainly willing to heal the leper (both spiritually and physically). Doubting that he is able, on the other hand, comes down to a simple misunderstanding of God. We've all done that and will continue to do it because he is beyond the limits of our understanding. Job struggled with this (not seeing resolution to his agony) and was awakened to God's power when confronted by God himself. God makes it clear that he is able to do whatever he wants, which brings us back to the first doubt again. Why would God allow Job to suffer so much, to lose his family so tragically and go through so long a trial without any clear reassurance of love? Tough questions - and I am so grateful the writers of the Bible didn't shy away from them or pretend the answers were easy. It is something to bookmark and come back to again and again.
***
Two points here:
1. Leprosy is such a powerful analogy of sin. Essentially, it causes the skin to lose sensation, to become numb to pain and pleasure, to die, as it were. This is the effect of our spiritual disease called sin. In our sinful flesh, we lose sensation for the "real" things of God's Kingdom. We are unable to sense when our hand is on the stove. We are unable to feel the loving touch of another. Eventually there is a complete breakdown of the body (read: spirit). Leprosy is incurable. The pragmatic solution is banishment, so the death of the sensations leads to the death of relationships. Sin divides us and is the antithesis of the Greatest Commandment which is true, whole, Kingdom community.
2. The second thing I get from this passage is two kinds of doubt - doubting God's goodness and doubting His power. In this case, the leper believes that Jesus is able to heal him, but isn't sure if he is willing. In other passages of the Bible we see individuals who believe Jesus is willing but not able. All of us fall into one of these two categories when we struggle with faith in God. We either doubt he is willing or doubt he is able to do what we ask. Maturity leads us to consider the possibility, with humility, that our requests may not be good requests. If this is the case, then it is certainly possible that he isn't willing to answer the request. But in the case of the leper, it is obvious that something which was created to be a certain way - the man's body - was in a state of disarray. God, as Creator and Maintainer of His creation, is in the business of setting things right - so he is certainly willing to heal the leper (both spiritually and physically). Doubting that he is able, on the other hand, comes down to a simple misunderstanding of God. We've all done that and will continue to do it because he is beyond the limits of our understanding. Job struggled with this (not seeing resolution to his agony) and was awakened to God's power when confronted by God himself. God makes it clear that he is able to do whatever he wants, which brings us back to the first doubt again. Why would God allow Job to suffer so much, to lose his family so tragically and go through so long a trial without any clear reassurance of love? Tough questions - and I am so grateful the writers of the Bible didn't shy away from them or pretend the answers were easy. It is something to bookmark and come back to again and again.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Strong in Spirit = Poor in Spirit
Luke 1:80 And the child [John the Baptist] grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
***
Father, today my prayer is that you would make me strong in spirit like John the Baptist, which I suspect comes through being poor in spirit since the Kingdom of God is upside down. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Is it what some call piety? As I understand it, piety is the understanding of our position in the created order, both high and low in relation to everything else. We were created to be tenants of creation and in a sense to rule over it. In time we will even judge the angels. At our pinnacle, we will be called friends of God. And yet, our way forward is a humble, narrow path. In John's case, that meant living life in the wilderness and dying a death that, in the eyes of the world, was certainly humiliating and pointless. I am sure that Jesus felt the emotional pain of seeing his cousin go through the tribulation of a poor-in-spirit/strong-in-spirit life. And then Jesus went on to model it himself, pouring out his blood and spirit so that the Holy Spirit could then be poured out on us. What is a spirit? What is a soul? I am more aware, as of late, of the error of viewing myself in terms of my physical attributes alone. More and more, when I look at myself in the mirror, I am aware of myself within myself. I realize, like Adam and Eve did, that my physical body is insufficient in certain ways. But the road of introspection and meditation teaches me that my spirit is also insufficient, and recognition this lack becomes recognition of grace through faith.
***
Father, today my prayer is that you would make me strong in spirit like John the Baptist, which I suspect comes through being poor in spirit since the Kingdom of God is upside down. What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Is it what some call piety? As I understand it, piety is the understanding of our position in the created order, both high and low in relation to everything else. We were created to be tenants of creation and in a sense to rule over it. In time we will even judge the angels. At our pinnacle, we will be called friends of God. And yet, our way forward is a humble, narrow path. In John's case, that meant living life in the wilderness and dying a death that, in the eyes of the world, was certainly humiliating and pointless. I am sure that Jesus felt the emotional pain of seeing his cousin go through the tribulation of a poor-in-spirit/strong-in-spirit life. And then Jesus went on to model it himself, pouring out his blood and spirit so that the Holy Spirit could then be poured out on us. What is a spirit? What is a soul? I am more aware, as of late, of the error of viewing myself in terms of my physical attributes alone. More and more, when I look at myself in the mirror, I am aware of myself within myself. I realize, like Adam and Eve did, that my physical body is insufficient in certain ways. But the road of introspection and meditation teaches me that my spirit is also insufficient, and recognition this lack becomes recognition of grace through faith.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Justice
Exodus 22:22 You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. 23 If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, 24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword
***
When I look at the injustice of the world, these kinds of verses give me peace. Justice will prevail.
***
When I look at the injustice of the world, these kinds of verses give me peace. Justice will prevail.
Friday, February 5, 2010
The Currency of the Kingdom
Mark 12:10 Bring me a denarius [11] and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him....
Mark 12:41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. [13] 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
******
On first glance one might see a contradiction between these two passages. On one hand Jesus says, "render to Caesar what is Caesar's" and on the other, he praises a woman for giving all of her money to the church. The context, as always, is the key. In between these two teachings there is the famous Greatest Commandment in which Jesus explains the motive and priority which should inform our actions: LOVE. We see that Jesus is ambivelent about money when it comes to taxes and politics - he would just as soon give all the money back to Caesar rather than deal with the shackles that money offers society. There is nothing of love in the exchange of taxes (patriotism isn't the love we're talking about). The kind of love that God exudes and wants from us does in fact demand everything from us, and money is a small part of the package, but the currency of the Kingdom of God "is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices" or even a widow's two bits. God wanted her heart and he knew that he had it - which pleased him. Today I am trying to have the same heart with every aspect of my life - my own two bits.
Mark 12:41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. [13] 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
******
On first glance one might see a contradiction between these two passages. On one hand Jesus says, "render to Caesar what is Caesar's" and on the other, he praises a woman for giving all of her money to the church. The context, as always, is the key. In between these two teachings there is the famous Greatest Commandment in which Jesus explains the motive and priority which should inform our actions: LOVE. We see that Jesus is ambivelent about money when it comes to taxes and politics - he would just as soon give all the money back to Caesar rather than deal with the shackles that money offers society. There is nothing of love in the exchange of taxes (patriotism isn't the love we're talking about). The kind of love that God exudes and wants from us does in fact demand everything from us, and money is a small part of the package, but the currency of the Kingdom of God "is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices" or even a widow's two bits. God wanted her heart and he knew that he had it - which pleased him. Today I am trying to have the same heart with every aspect of my life - my own two bits.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Feeling God's Closeness
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.10 But he knows the way that I take;when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.11 My foot has held fast to his steps;I have kept his way and have not turned aside.12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
Psalm 139:1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;you discern my thoughts from afar.3 You search out my path and my lying downand are acquainted with all my ways.4 Even before a word is on my tongue,behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.5 You hem me in, behind and before,and lay your hand upon me.6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;it is high; I cannot attain it. 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?Or where shall I flee from your presence?8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!9 If I take the wings of the morningand dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,10 even there your hand shall lead me,and your right hand shall hold me.
***
I wrote an essay a while back which has been a bit of a theme for me as a father, about how all of us, at our core, crave God's attention, and how He craves ours. There are many dynamics to these complimentary desires. Properly fulfilled, they become worship and blessing. In their fractured forms, they lead to fear and judgement.
There is no easy answer to explain why Job is estranged from God. He is a godly man who has suffered greatly. His process of suffering is a drama that reveals his character and challenges our paradigms about God. He feels that God is not near. We can relate to that. It is an interesting thing to have in the Bible, when you think about it - a lament about how God feels far away. But it is a lament that is reiterated over and over again, contrasting with the times when God comes near.
Psalm 139 is the other extreme of this feeling - an utter awareness of the closeness of God. It is the understanding that his eyes are always on us.
Despite what we may feel, here is the promise from Jesus himself: "I am with you always, to the end of the age.” He is, after all, the Prince of Peace.
Psalm 139:1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;you discern my thoughts from afar.3 You search out my path and my lying downand are acquainted with all my ways.4 Even before a word is on my tongue,behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.5 You hem me in, behind and before,and lay your hand upon me.6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;it is high; I cannot attain it. 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?Or where shall I flee from your presence?8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!9 If I take the wings of the morningand dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,10 even there your hand shall lead me,and your right hand shall hold me.
***
I wrote an essay a while back which has been a bit of a theme for me as a father, about how all of us, at our core, crave God's attention, and how He craves ours. There are many dynamics to these complimentary desires. Properly fulfilled, they become worship and blessing. In their fractured forms, they lead to fear and judgement.
There is no easy answer to explain why Job is estranged from God. He is a godly man who has suffered greatly. His process of suffering is a drama that reveals his character and challenges our paradigms about God. He feels that God is not near. We can relate to that. It is an interesting thing to have in the Bible, when you think about it - a lament about how God feels far away. But it is a lament that is reiterated over and over again, contrasting with the times when God comes near.
Psalm 139 is the other extreme of this feeling - an utter awareness of the closeness of God. It is the understanding that his eyes are always on us.
Despite what we may feel, here is the promise from Jesus himself: "I am with you always, to the end of the age.” He is, after all, the Prince of Peace.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Hard Words
Luke 14:25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
***
Jesus uses what sounds to us like absolutist language. He presses us into a world of right and wrong when we are accustomed to negotiation and compromise. But then he also softens his tone and retains the human touch. The with-God life is thus filled with exhortation, conviction and then reconciliation.
***
Jesus uses what sounds to us like absolutist language. He presses us into a world of right and wrong when we are accustomed to negotiation and compromise. But then he also softens his tone and retains the human touch. The with-God life is thus filled with exhortation, conviction and then reconciliation.
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