Being close to the ocean always fills me with a sense of awe and of the Majesty of God. The waters, teeming with life, seem to breathe in and breathe out His greatness, the sheer vastness overwhelming me with wonder for the creation and the Creator. I was thinking about how everything on the earth, by its very being, brings Him praise.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).
Human beings, however, are the only created ones made in the image of God, Imago Dei. We are the only ones who have a choice as to whether we WILL praise him, the only ones with free will in the matter. After his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where his disciples and the crowd were shouting praises to Jesus, the Pharisees asked him to rebuke his disciples, but Jesus said, “If these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Nature will praise him if we won’t.
In his humanity, he came to serve us, but his divinity invites our worship.
In the information age, we want answers. The demand for information is insatiable, and we seem to want, and in many cases can get, almost instant access to news and other details about a situation, even if the news is just beginning to break. If facts are not forthcoming in a timely manner on a breaking news event, we begin to be suspicious that something is being hidden from the general public. We want answers, and we want them now (or yesterday)!
In the aftermath of the attempted assassination on a former President, many demanded answers about how such a thing could have occurred. Everyone was talking about it, and it led many to classify what happened (or didn’t happen) to Trump as a miracle. “God spared him,” or something similar, was said by many people. Trump himself immediately thanked God, seeming to recognize and acknowledge divine protection. Others, usually from the opposite party, questioned this line of thinking. The comments I saw were something like, “Beware of your theology if you believe God saved Trump but not school children in a mass shooting.”
But these kinds of statements really only lead us to the age old question – why does God intervene in some cases, and not others? Why do some people die, while others are healed? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why did God seemingly spare President Trump, but not spare the man who died at the rally?
I’m reminded of the story where Jesus healed a man blind from birth (John 9). His disciples asked Jesus who had sinned – the man or his parents – that he was born blind. Jesus said neither the man nor his parents had sinned, but it happened “so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Another time Jesus talked about recent tragic events involving a tower that fell and 18 people were killed. In another case there was a massacre by Pilate of people going to worship. He told them that the people involved in these tragedies had not committed sins that were greater than anyone else’s. He then used it for an opportunity to admonish the ones listening to repent of their sins. We are reminded by these accounts that sometimes suffering is meant to achieve a greater purpose, for God to be glorified in someone’s life, and perhaps to even lead someone to repentance.
When Jesus performed a miracle, it was a sign, a way for him to confirm he was who he said he was. It benefited the recipient of the miracle, to be sure, but we have to remember that all earthly miracles will have a shelf life, because we will all eventually die. Trump was spared, but one day he will die, too. When Corey Comperatore lost his life, as he shielded his family from those bullets, he demonstrated the greatest love that one can give, in that he laid his life down for others. Corey’s family seems to think that sacrifice was honorable and in death he pointed others to the goodness of God. They demonstrated, through the words they spoke following the tragedy, their understanding of the greater plan for Cory’s life and for theirs.
My question would be to the folks warning others of misguided theology – for those who believe in God– do they believe God ever intervenes in the affairs of men? Is he involved in our lives? Can we accept that he does something in one life and not another? Did Jesus heal every person he came into contact with, or was an earthly healing his plan for some, and not others? If we believe the accounts of miracles in the Bible or have ever witnessed miracles in our lives or in the lives of others, we know that miracles do occur, and a miracle or divine intervention in someone’s life really has nothing to do with any other situation – that is God’s plan for that person, for that time. It is not logical to think that because God does not intervene in all situations involving evil, he does not intervene in any situation.
Psalm 139:16 says that “…all of the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Friends, we won’t live one day longer or one day less than He planned for us before he formed us in our mother’s womb. I believe it really boils down to God’s sovereignty, and our trust in it. For some of us, we can only go so far in this belief. Because if we believe in His sovereignty, we must give up ours.
We must be satisfied with not having all the answers in the here and now, and simply say, “We trust You, in life and in death, in the now and the not yet.”
“The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all” (Psalm 103:19).
I had an object lesson at Home Depot the other day. At the entrance, I pulled out a cart (or buggy, as we say in the South), from a string of carts, and immediately a whooshing sound startled me. A small bird flew out from behind the carts toward the huge electric entrance doors and perched on the window above. Wanting him to be free, I moved back over to activate the doors to open. I immediately noticed how loud the songs of other birds were outside. I thought the little bird would sense the open space and hear the other birds, so I stood there for a few moments, activating the door to give him a chance to fly out.
He just looked, however, and did not make a move. He wasn’t really trapped, but he didn’t know it. “Oh well, I tried,” I thought. Sometimes people are like that little bird. We have a chance to be really, totally free, but we stay at the window looking out, instead of going through the open door that is God’s grace and mercy. In fact, Jesus says that he IS “the door” and that we can go in and out and find pasture, or rest, in him (John 10:9). He is the door that leads to abundant life, to freedom, to peace that passes understanding, if we will but walk through it.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
“I will show you a still more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31).
If you have trusted in Christ, then you are a part of his Body. Like our physical bodies, this Body has many parts, but all function together, each doing its job. If one member suffers, all suffer together. This is easy to understand when we think of times we have experienced pain. If there is pain anywhere in your body, then it affects your whole body. Whether it’s a sore throat, a tooth ache, or a twisted ankle, pain in one part affects the whole. Conversely, when the body is healthy and all parts are working together, amazing things can be done and accomplished. Think of athletic prowess, or tests of endurance, or scientific discoveries which are made, all using body and mind to achieve something great.
As the Body of Christ, this is the way we were designed to function – interconnected with others for a greater purpose as we walk through this life – rejoicing when others rejoice and weeping when others weep. Within this Body, certain roles/functions/gifts have been given, according to 1 Corinthians 12:28: apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healing, helping, tongues.
After listing all these roles/gifts within the body, the Apostle Paul says that he would tell us about an even more excellent way of being than all these things represented. He then goes on in 1Corinthians 13 to give arguably the best and most beautiful definition of love that has ever been penned. He places love at the center, in the seat of honor. He says, in fact, that if we have any of these other gifts or abilities, or faith to remove mountains, but do not have love, the gifts, abilities, and faith are worthless.
The gifts and roles are given to build up and encourage the Body, and, it would seem, to reveal more of the mysteries of God to us. But as important as these are, it’s when we demonstrate love that we are the most like God, since love is his very nature. When we “live out love,” the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13, we are operating in that essence.
Love is the more excellent way.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Forms are a part of life, beginning in childhood. I remember all the school and medical forms of various kinds which had to be signed “by parent or guardian.” I think being adopted must have made me more sensitive to the distinction between parent and guardian, and I remember the feeling of discomfort that some children did not have parents but lived with other adults who were involved in their lives in some way. In my young mind, I thought it was a sad situation for someone to have a guardian, not yet realizing that it might be saving the child from a worse fate. However, from an early age, I recognized how blessed I was to have the parents who chose me to be theirs.
Galatians 3:24-25 talks about the Law being a “guardian” until Christ came. And with his coming, we were justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of a guardian, but through Christ we are SONS of God.
A guardian has some authority, but only a parent has full legal rights in the life of a child. A guardian has the best interest of the child at heart but is not connected to a child in the same way as a parent.
The same principle is true of the Law. It provided guidelines and instruction for well being and flourishing, but then something better came. And once it had come, in the fullness of time, we became sons and daughters, heirs, with all the rights children have when they fully belong to parents.
“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba, Father.”So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Galatians 4:6-7).
Always seek to speak the truth, especially to yourself. I once knew a girl who sang on a praise team – she said when she first started singing, she wasn’t even sure if she believed the words. But the more she sang the truth, the words with the power to transform, the more she started to believe them.
Whatever you say to yourself, or proclaim out loud, begins to take root in your heart, so make sure you are speaking truth grounded in the Word of God. But how do we know what truth is, in this world or moral relativism? Jesus said, “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Not just, “Thy word is true,” but his word is truth itself. Conversely, Jesus says Satan is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). He is the author of the counterfeit and the distorted.
So confess the truth as you abide in him. Speak who you are and what you have according to Scripture:
I am the righteous of God in Christ Jesus – 2 Corinthians 5:21
I am redeemed – Romans 3:24
I am more than a conqueror – Romans 8:37
Nothing can separate me from his love – Romans 8:39
I am made in God’s image – Genesis 1:27
I am loved – John 3:16
I am chosen – John 15:16
I am forgiven – 1 John 1:9
I am adopted – Ephesians 1:5
I am his workmanship – Ephesians 2:10
Speak who God is and what he does:
He is Creator – Genesis 1:1
He is Savior – Romans 1:16
He is Awesome – Psalm 95:3-5
He is Majestic – Psalm 8:1
He is Love – 1 John 4:16
He is Kindness – Titus 3:4-7
He is the God who sees – Genesis 16:13
He is Healer – Exodus 15:26
He is Provider – Genesis 22:14
He is the Beginning and the End – Revelation 22:13
He is Lord – Deuteronomy 7:9
He is a Shield – Psalm 3:3
He is our Rock – Psalm 18:31
He is a present Help in time of trouble – Psalm 46:1
I was recently a “helper” at my church for a preschool graduation. As the small students processed in and out of the worship center, they passed by me at the door. I was standing beside a large, beautiful wooden cross that gets moved around our building as needed.
As one little boy passed by, he asked in an awed voice, pointing at the cross, “What’s that?” I said, “It’s a cross,” even then, thinking about what I would say to him if he asked any more questions. “We learned about that at my church,” he said. “Oh, that’s good,” I returned. Then I thought, what else should I say to him? What words can you say to a 4 year old to convey the meaning of the cross in a sentence or two? I thought I could say, “The cross is life.” Something simple, but something he might remember. But maybe, I thought, he knew that Jesus died on the cross, and it might be confusing for him. In the split second it took me to contemplate, the moment was gone as he followed the line back to the classroom.
I thought about that later, and how the cross does represent death, a horrible death, but it ultimately brought us life, and how so many paradoxes are central to Christianity:
Death leads to life
Be a servant to be great
Lose your life to find it
His strength is made perfect in our weakness
Give to receive
Become like a child to have great faith
Pray for your enemies; bless those that curse you
Faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain
In this Kingdom, the last will be first and the first last.
What was death to Christ meant life for us; his sacrifice, our gift.
Another seeming paradox is that the truth of the gospel is so profound that it compels the brightest minds of this age and ages past to contemplate it at the deepest levels, yet it is so simple that a child can understand and embrace it.
I hope that little boy learns more about the cross, and that one day he’ll find, like millions before him, the Cross Is Life.
There’s a danger in watching too much HGTV. The problem is, no matter how satisfied you might be at the time, after you see all the “new” things and improvements to houses, you may feel that your home needs an upgrade too. Seeing the latest and greatest can make you crave what you don’t have. Scrolling social media can also have this effect as you look at other areas of life. It can cause us to covet others’ possessions, or their situations, or their vacations, or whatever the case may be. The comparison game is not healthy and can lead to feelings of discontentment, and even discouragement. Instead of being thankful and content, we become fixated on the next “thing” that we think will bring us some measure of happiness.
But, have you ever noticed, when you get something new – maybe even something as significant as a new car, soon the “new” wears off? The charm does not last forever. I read a recent article that stated most people are dreaming of their next vacation while on vacation! Some of this craving for the next thing may be rooted in a desire for forward motion and progress, but I believe some of it is rooted in poverty of the soul and spirit. Poverty because of neglect and indifference to the inner life.
Over and over in Scripture we are reminded to “be thankful,” and to “rejoice,” even in the midst of difficult circumstances. We’re told by the experts of our day that “gratitude” is one of the attributes most associated with personal happiness. So how do we cultivate this “attitude of gratitude,” this inner garden of peace and tranquility, that will grow and thrive despite seasons of need or abundance?
Colossians 3:1&2 tells us to “…seek the things that are above,” and “…set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” In verse 5, the apostle Paul even goes so far as to say, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you,” naming “covetousness” as one of those earthly things which leads to idolatry. Romans 12:2 admonishes us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Transformation occurs when we focus our minds on what matters.
I am reminded of the story of Mary and Martha, from Luke 10, where Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus, taking in his teaching. We’re told Martha was busy with food preparation, and we can picture her bustling around in the kitchen, trying to make sure everything is done properly. She expresses to Jesus that she is not happy about being left to do all the serving by herself, and she wants him to tell Mary to help her. But Jesus, in a gentle rebuke, evidenced by the use of him saying her name twice, says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken from her.” I can only imagine what the “many things” were that Martha was anxious and troubled about, probably many more than just the meal she was preparing at the moment.
Jesus tells her what she should prioritize -time with Him, sitting at his feet. This is the good portion, the thing that is eternal, the thing that lasts. Instead of “good portion,” some versions say, “the better thing.” Sitting at his feet is more important than the striving, than the meal prep, than the house being clean, than the car, the vacation, the home makeover, etc, etc.
Years ago, as a much younger woman just discovering these truths, I wrote the lyrics to a song called “The Better Thing,” as I was learning this way of sitting at his feet, of being still, of being thankful.
I’m still learning this life, but one thing I know
Lent and Advent are seasons of contemplation, perhaps more than any others. While during Lent, we focus on Holy Week, and all things leading to the cross, I have found myself musing on the life of Jesus before his years of formal ministry. He did not choose to come as an earthly king or military leader, as some supposed he would, but as we know, he came in the very humblest of conditions, to the very humblest of families. In this family he would learn a trade – a trade that would reflect who he was. He chose to be a carpenter – to build, to create, because that is his nature – to take something raw and primitive and make something beautiful, useful, out of it. He demonstrated this when he made everything in the beginning, and he does the same when he shapes a human heart into a new creation. His earthly occupation could be nothing less than one who fashioned things from his hand.
He chose to be a carpenter A shaper of the wood No doubt he made some useful things And they were very good
He chose to be a carpenter To fashion with his hands The wood that he created It was the Master Plan
He chose to be a carpenter To wear our human skin To work and toil and to fulfill Redemption’s perfect plan
He chose to be a carpenter A maker of beautiful things His earthly occupation Could be no less than this
For he takes the human heart Raw and rough and cold And fashions it to please his heart His work makes us his own
He chose to be a carpenter He chose to condescend He chose to give his life away To shape our hearts for Him
Life By The Way 