The story of the prodigal son is famous. We know about the son who came to his father and demanded his share of the inheritance. How he received that inheritance from the father, even though it was not the right time for him to get that inheritance. And, of course, he squandered it. Sometimes pastors will say that really this story is about the kind and compassionate father, the merciful father who welcomed back the prodigal son with open arms and great rejoicing. Then the story becomes one in which the father is a type of God, i.e. even when we literally spit in the face of God, He will forgive us when we return. As we listen to the sermon, we are very thankful that we have such a kind and loving father in heaven. I believe this is true; it a good and right interpretation of the parable.
The story referred to as “The Prodigal Son” is, indeed, a beautiful picture of a very godly and loving man. The picture we see of him is he is waiting, yearning for his son, looking down the road. Then he sees him from a from a distance and runs down the long dirt road to throw his arms around his son’s neck and hug the breath out of him. The father is so happy and so thankful to see his son, he sacrifices his self respect and actually runs down the road, not caring what the neighbors think, not caring what the servants might think, or whether it looked respectable for a man his age to run down the road, holding his robes up so nothing would hinder his race to hug his son. This is surely one of my favorite pictures in the New Testament.
However, we also know that parables are not the same as allegories. In allegories, each character represents a specific type or quality; thus in The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser, Una represents truth, the knight represents the Christian wayfarer, etc. But in parables, the symbolism isn’t quite as tight. So, journey with me for a moment. Let’s assume that the father in the story is not a type of God. What if he really is a human being, a father who demonstrates incredible love and mercy, yes, but nonetheless, a human father. Well, if we see the father in Luke 15 as a human father, then we know he is not perfect. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:26) This father was not perfect. And therein lies the gist of today’s little blog.
I have been thinking a lot about this passage from a slightly different vantage point. I wonder whether the father and son fought for months and years before the father relented and said, “yes, here is your share of the inheritance.” Did he argue with his son? Did he try to convince him to pursue another course of action? Did they have weeks of tension in the house? Did people walk around on eggshells for fear that the wrong Hebrew word might be spoken? Was it just a miserable existence for the family in the home? Did the son sulk around the house, slamming doors?
Sometimes I wonder how many years that father waited. Was it a matter of months? Was it years? Was it a matter of days? Did he go through a period of thinking “he’ll be back soon enough! Then he’ll see.” Or did he start there and then move to the level of “what if never comes back?” to “surely he’s got to come back.” [I doubt he got to that point, because he would not have been waiting for him, looking down the road had he thought his son would never come back.]
Here is my biggest wonder: did he ever sit there on the doorstep thinking “what did I do wrong?” or did he ever think “how did I get to this place with my beloved son?” Maybe he even played the litany in his head. You know, the litany of “things I did wrong.” “Was I too strict?” “Was I too easy?” “Was I stubborn?” “Was I too controlling?” “What could I have done differently?” “How could I let him go?” “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…what if he never comes back?”
You see, any parent, any person, goes through that period, the waiting for redemption of a pain. For some it is not a big pain. For some the pain is excruciating. As parents, the pain we sometimes feel related to raising our children can be so deep, so gaping, so chronic we wonder if, as Jeremiah said, “our wound is incurable.” Isn’t that an awful thought?
Then we have not only the depth of the pain, the wound, but we have the issue of how long. How long will I wait for my wound to heal? Will I ever be whole again? Can I ever be whole again? Will I ever be able to not hurt? Will this nagging ache ever go away? It isn’t necessarily a long wait for some. For others it is a dreadfully long wait. For some we go through that “ha! They’ll see what life is like out there in the cold harsh world. A little reality check is all he or she needs for them to come running back.”
I guess what I came to after thinking about this father as a human parent, an imperfect parent, a parent like me, or like my husband, for some time, is that the father of the prodigal son could have thought all those things. He could have thought every single one of them. He could have done the litany in his head a thousand times if he did it once. But what I love is that even if he did the litany of the “shoulda, coulda, wouldas” he did not stop going out to the porch, he didn’t stop looking, he didn’t give up hope, he did not accept the present as the forever. He stationed himself daily at the door post, watching, hoping, looking, scanning, the horizon, waiting for redemption.
And one day… there he was. A tiny dot in the far distance…but how could he not recognize that lanky gait, the tousled hair, the strong jawline…surely it was his son. And off he ran.
I am waiting for redemption. Are you? Are you waiting for the redemption of a pain? A wound? Do you feel your wound is incurable? Do you feel that it is too deep? Too wide? Your fault? The litany? You could go through it…but to what end? Ultimately we wait not even for understanding, for figuring out the why and why-not. Ultimately we wait for redemption from the hand of the King. So, I am waiting and I look and I scan and I do so in this confidence: “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.” (Isaiah 64:4) Beloved friends, I am not waiting for the situation to change, although I do believe it may, I am not waiting for anyone to change, self included, although, this too shall surely happen. I am not waiting for anything or anyone other than the Lord Himself. I am waiting for Him, for He Himself is my redemption in any situation, any circumstance any pain any wound.
The bottom line is this…God is a God of redemption. He redeemed the cross, and therefore, will He withhold any other good thing from us? (Romans 8 ) If you, too, are waiting for redemption, then remember that our God is in the business of redeeming and therefore, keep hoping, keep looking, keep scanning the horizon, keep waiting for Him, who is our redemption. Surely, God is good to Israel, those who put their trust in Him will never be disappointed. (c.f Isaiah 45:17)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Accidental Explorer
The children still talk about it, and I can even laugh about it now after five years. When we first moved to Columbus, we went on a hunt for the local library. My husband had given me “sort of” directions but had accidentally forgotten the second half of a two name street. Not ever seeing the two name street, I never turned and ended up looking for the library in an industrial park, probably about ten miles away, two hours, many wrong turns, and much frustration later. How many times can you listen to “Hey Mom, I think we already passed this but it was on the other side of the street before.” As it turns out, the library is six minutes and four turns from our house. I had spent a lot of time driving in circles, and every conceivable geometric design, getting to someplace very far to a place which was very close.
However, after months, years, of driving in circles, getting lost and generally gorging myself on map quest and google maps, I am getting to know my way around. In fact, after a while, I find that I’ll be driving down a street, find that it intersects another, and think “This looks vaguely familiar. Oh, I didn’t know this street connected with this.” Or “Wow, I had no idea that these two roads ever met.” “Hey, I didn’t know I could get here from there.” It comes from years of driving in the same neighborhoods and, frankly, being willing to get lost on the road and driving until I get to where I need to be. The getting lost is never fun for anyone but the accidental exploration of the familiar territory is exciting…for me, anyway.
Sometimes when I am reading a verse in Scripture, I think “hey this sounds familiar, but it was on the other side of the page the last time.” Or, “hmm, does this Scripture connect with this other one over here?”
Pretend you are in the car with me. Driving straight
Psalms 12:5 & 6: “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise, says the Lord. I will protect them from those who malign them. And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.”
Furnace of clay…purified seven times…
Take a soft left turn
Daniel 3. This is the account of three young men who feared God in a foreign land even more than they honored the king. King Nebuchadnezzar, the head of the Persian empire around 600 B.C., had built a rather ostentatious statue to himself and had set up a handy schedule by which all in the empire would know the proper time to turn, face the statue, fall down and worship the statue. “But there [were] some Jews whom [he] had set over the affairs of the province of Babylon-Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego-who pay no attention to [Nebuchadnezzar]. They neither serve [his] gods nor the image of gold [he had] set up.” [Daniel 3:11, 12] The other wise men had ratted out these three young captive leaders and they were brought before King Nebuchadnezzar to account for their failings. They refused to bow and were willing to suffer the consequences of their faith in God. “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." [Daniel 3:16-19]
Stay with me, I’m still driving…but no longer in circles. I am seeing familiar signs. My turns are a little less random
Nebuchadnezzar was furious (vs 19) He ordered the furnace (getting closer) heated SEVEN TIMES HOTTER than usual. Hey, this Scripture intersects with Psalms12:6! The very high, very hot, seven times hotter than usual heat, which Nebuchadnezzar intended to incinerate the young men to ashes, was the same heat which God intended to purify these young men, as silver is refined seven times.
Take a hard right here…because I think I am on to something.
Why does Nebuchadnezzar feel like the furnace has to be heated up seven times hotter than normal? Uhm, wouldn’t the fire have burned up these young men in their “robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes” anyway? Nebuchadnezzar heated up the furnace so hot “that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.” The fire, seven times hotter than normal, was intended by Nebuchadnezzar to decimate the men. God intended it to purify them, like silver in a furnace of clay, intended that they would come forth as a testimony of His grace, power and protection, without even the smell of fire on them. [Daniel 3:27] And when they got out of the furnace Nebuchadnezzar said: "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." [Daniel 3:28, 29]
Does it feel like you’re in a furnace right now? Getting hot? Consider this possibility: you are a letter, a testimony if you will, written on His heart, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. [2 Cor 3:2 & 3] You are His word, His letter, refined in a furnace of clay, stoked seven times hotter than normal. But so also will you be purified seven times, for the display of His splendor.
Was that too many left turns?
However, after months, years, of driving in circles, getting lost and generally gorging myself on map quest and google maps, I am getting to know my way around. In fact, after a while, I find that I’ll be driving down a street, find that it intersects another, and think “This looks vaguely familiar. Oh, I didn’t know this street connected with this.” Or “Wow, I had no idea that these two roads ever met.” “Hey, I didn’t know I could get here from there.” It comes from years of driving in the same neighborhoods and, frankly, being willing to get lost on the road and driving until I get to where I need to be. The getting lost is never fun for anyone but the accidental exploration of the familiar territory is exciting…for me, anyway.
Sometimes when I am reading a verse in Scripture, I think “hey this sounds familiar, but it was on the other side of the page the last time.” Or, “hmm, does this Scripture connect with this other one over here?”
Pretend you are in the car with me. Driving straight
Psalms 12:5 & 6: “Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise, says the Lord. I will protect them from those who malign them. And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.”
Furnace of clay…purified seven times…
Take a soft left turn
Daniel 3. This is the account of three young men who feared God in a foreign land even more than they honored the king. King Nebuchadnezzar, the head of the Persian empire around 600 B.C., had built a rather ostentatious statue to himself and had set up a handy schedule by which all in the empire would know the proper time to turn, face the statue, fall down and worship the statue. “But there [were] some Jews whom [he] had set over the affairs of the province of Babylon-Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego-who pay no attention to [Nebuchadnezzar]. They neither serve [his] gods nor the image of gold [he had] set up.” [Daniel 3:11, 12] The other wise men had ratted out these three young captive leaders and they were brought before King Nebuchadnezzar to account for their failings. They refused to bow and were willing to suffer the consequences of their faith in God. “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." [Daniel 3:16-19]
Stay with me, I’m still driving…but no longer in circles. I am seeing familiar signs. My turns are a little less random
Nebuchadnezzar was furious (vs 19) He ordered the furnace (getting closer) heated SEVEN TIMES HOTTER than usual. Hey, this Scripture intersects with Psalms12:6! The very high, very hot, seven times hotter than usual heat, which Nebuchadnezzar intended to incinerate the young men to ashes, was the same heat which God intended to purify these young men, as silver is refined seven times.
Take a hard right here…because I think I am on to something.
Why does Nebuchadnezzar feel like the furnace has to be heated up seven times hotter than normal? Uhm, wouldn’t the fire have burned up these young men in their “robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes” anyway? Nebuchadnezzar heated up the furnace so hot “that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.” The fire, seven times hotter than normal, was intended by Nebuchadnezzar to decimate the men. God intended it to purify them, like silver in a furnace of clay, intended that they would come forth as a testimony of His grace, power and protection, without even the smell of fire on them. [Daniel 3:27] And when they got out of the furnace Nebuchadnezzar said: "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." [Daniel 3:28, 29]
Does it feel like you’re in a furnace right now? Getting hot? Consider this possibility: you are a letter, a testimony if you will, written on His heart, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. [2 Cor 3:2 & 3] You are His word, His letter, refined in a furnace of clay, stoked seven times hotter than normal. But so also will you be purified seven times, for the display of His splendor.
Was that too many left turns?
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Gawking at the Sky
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? (Acts 1:8-11)
Well, why do you think? Jesus had just given them the most significant, challenging, important and life altering job assignment they would ever receive. He was talking about power, Holy Spirit, Samaria, witnessing, Judea and suddenly, He was gone. Whoosh. Like a David Copperfield magic act, Jesus was gone. Was He coming back? When would He appear again? What were the disciples supposed to do next? Wait? Leave? What?
For the disciples, Jesus’ sudden disappearance was just one more strange event in the series of strange events of the past two months.
1. Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Disciples think: woohoo…we are in good with this extremely popular guy who is going to rule Israel and conquer the Romans!)
2. Jesus’ death on the cross and burial in a borrowed tomb (Disciples think: oh no…we don’t really want to be seen with this guy.)
3. Jesus rises from the dead (Disciples think: Having a hard time with this.)
4. Jesus appears now here, then there, sometimes to one, sometimes to all, for forty days. (Disciples wonder: Are you staying?)
The context of the particular incident is a conversation between Jesus and the disciples. The disciples were thinking about power and ruling over the Romans, the restoration of a kingdom. They wanted to know times and dates. They wanted everything to happen now. Jesus just patiently answers, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (One can almost feel the spirits of the disciples sag as Jesus said this.)
Imagine what was going through the minds of the disciples as He was saying this. Jesus was talking about power from the Holy Spirit, being His witnesses. He told them they were going to go into Samaria. Samaria. What was that about? No one even walked through Samaria. They had always been taught to walk around Samaria. Besides, Samaria was a good five days of hard walking. Then, to make matters more complicated and confusing, Jesus told them they would go to the ends of the earth, wherever THAT was. And how long would it take for them to walk there? They needed to know, because, as far as they understood, once they had gone to the ends of the earth, He would restore the kingdom of Israel. And now, before He could tell them just how far the ends of the earth was, suddenly, He was just somewhere else.
Why wouldn’t they be staring intently at the sky? I picture the disciples with their heads up, gawking up at the sky where they had just seen Jesus ascend, with their mouths hanging open, in a rather undignified fashion.
Recently, my husband and I felt called by God to start a new ministry necessitating our leaving a very safe and comfortable job. We have four children one of whom is about to be launched to university. A home with a mortgage. And we like to eat. We have had jobs as a project manager, lawyer, pastor. Now He was calling us to something totally different. This was the biggest assignment of our lives. There was the rush of the excitement of the new calling, the fears of leaving the familiar, the pain of change and transition, the joy of confirmation in the call and then, suddenly, he was hidden from our sight. A cloud hid Him from what we could see. Confusion immediately swept in like a flood. What? Jesus, where are you? Was that you? Did you really say these things to us? If so, then where are you now?
Beloved, have you ever felt like Jesus was hidden from your sight by a cloud? Maybe when you have gone through a painful situation. Perhaps the job for which you moved across three states and yanked your children out of school just laid you off. Perhaps you have been betrayed by your spouse. There could be any myriad of circumstances that would have you confused, bewildered, angry, disappointed, or just plain lonely, abandoned even.
I can remember when we were about two months into the new thing and I was staring intently at the sky, as if staring at the sky would force Jesus to appear, hold my hand and assure me all was well. As if looking at the sky with intensity and anticipation would force His hand. I wasn’t waiting for His instruction, it was His presence that I wanted. Then the Lord, in that wonderful still, voice of His reminded me of one truth: I am with you. I'm in the cloud.
“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” (Exodus 13:21-22)
Regardless of our feeling of abandonment, of desperate aloneness, of confusion, bewilderment, the truth is God is present. He has promised us: "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8 He’ll never leave us, but sometimes He may hide within the cloud. The very cloud which hides Him from our feeble fleshly eyes, is the cloud wherein He dwells. Don’t despise the cloud. Don’t curse the cloud which hides Him from your view. The cloud is actually the sign of His presence with you. Follow the last instruction He gave, remember His promise to never leave you, and don’t just stand there, gawking at the sky.
Well, why do you think? Jesus had just given them the most significant, challenging, important and life altering job assignment they would ever receive. He was talking about power, Holy Spirit, Samaria, witnessing, Judea and suddenly, He was gone. Whoosh. Like a David Copperfield magic act, Jesus was gone. Was He coming back? When would He appear again? What were the disciples supposed to do next? Wait? Leave? What?
For the disciples, Jesus’ sudden disappearance was just one more strange event in the series of strange events of the past two months.
1. Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Disciples think: woohoo…we are in good with this extremely popular guy who is going to rule Israel and conquer the Romans!)
2. Jesus’ death on the cross and burial in a borrowed tomb (Disciples think: oh no…we don’t really want to be seen with this guy.)
3. Jesus rises from the dead (Disciples think: Having a hard time with this.)
4. Jesus appears now here, then there, sometimes to one, sometimes to all, for forty days. (Disciples wonder: Are you staying?)
The context of the particular incident is a conversation between Jesus and the disciples. The disciples were thinking about power and ruling over the Romans, the restoration of a kingdom. They wanted to know times and dates. They wanted everything to happen now. Jesus just patiently answers, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (One can almost feel the spirits of the disciples sag as Jesus said this.)
Imagine what was going through the minds of the disciples as He was saying this. Jesus was talking about power from the Holy Spirit, being His witnesses. He told them they were going to go into Samaria. Samaria. What was that about? No one even walked through Samaria. They had always been taught to walk around Samaria. Besides, Samaria was a good five days of hard walking. Then, to make matters more complicated and confusing, Jesus told them they would go to the ends of the earth, wherever THAT was. And how long would it take for them to walk there? They needed to know, because, as far as they understood, once they had gone to the ends of the earth, He would restore the kingdom of Israel. And now, before He could tell them just how far the ends of the earth was, suddenly, He was just somewhere else.
Why wouldn’t they be staring intently at the sky? I picture the disciples with their heads up, gawking up at the sky where they had just seen Jesus ascend, with their mouths hanging open, in a rather undignified fashion.
Recently, my husband and I felt called by God to start a new ministry necessitating our leaving a very safe and comfortable job. We have four children one of whom is about to be launched to university. A home with a mortgage. And we like to eat. We have had jobs as a project manager, lawyer, pastor. Now He was calling us to something totally different. This was the biggest assignment of our lives. There was the rush of the excitement of the new calling, the fears of leaving the familiar, the pain of change and transition, the joy of confirmation in the call and then, suddenly, he was hidden from our sight. A cloud hid Him from what we could see. Confusion immediately swept in like a flood. What? Jesus, where are you? Was that you? Did you really say these things to us? If so, then where are you now?
Beloved, have you ever felt like Jesus was hidden from your sight by a cloud? Maybe when you have gone through a painful situation. Perhaps the job for which you moved across three states and yanked your children out of school just laid you off. Perhaps you have been betrayed by your spouse. There could be any myriad of circumstances that would have you confused, bewildered, angry, disappointed, or just plain lonely, abandoned even.
I can remember when we were about two months into the new thing and I was staring intently at the sky, as if staring at the sky would force Jesus to appear, hold my hand and assure me all was well. As if looking at the sky with intensity and anticipation would force His hand. I wasn’t waiting for His instruction, it was His presence that I wanted. Then the Lord, in that wonderful still, voice of His reminded me of one truth: I am with you. I'm in the cloud.
“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” (Exodus 13:21-22)
Regardless of our feeling of abandonment, of desperate aloneness, of confusion, bewilderment, the truth is God is present. He has promised us: "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8 He’ll never leave us, but sometimes He may hide within the cloud. The very cloud which hides Him from our feeble fleshly eyes, is the cloud wherein He dwells. Don’t despise the cloud. Don’t curse the cloud which hides Him from your view. The cloud is actually the sign of His presence with you. Follow the last instruction He gave, remember His promise to never leave you, and don’t just stand there, gawking at the sky.
Monday, January 18, 2010
The Path of Least Restistance
I had one of those verbal tugs of war with one of my children the other day. If you are a parent, you may know to what I refer :
You say: Please do the dish washer.
He/she says: It’s not my turn
You say: It doesn’t matter. Please do it.
He/she says: But it isn’t my tu-hurn. (Said a little more adamantly, as if turning up the volume will help you understand that it really isn’t his/her tu-hurn.)
You say with feigned patience: I don’t recall asking you if it was your turn. Please empty the dishwasher.
He/she says (please insert a whiney tone here): Why do I always have to do it?
You say (insert growing exasperation): You don’t always have to do the dishwasher. Please just empty the dishwasher. It will take fifteen minutes.
He/she says: No it won’t. It will take an hour. It always takes me an hour.
Of course, by now, you don’t care if he/she has emptied every dishwasher in the western hemisphere every day since birth, you will not budge from your request. Sorry I shouldn’t say “you.” Replace the “you” with “I.”
You say (no longer hiding your impatience): It will take as long as you want it to take dear. Now, please get moving.
At this point, if you have a really stubborn one, or a literalist, they might say something like…"I am moving” (flailing arms up and down).
You say (open frustration and rising anger): You know what I mean. Do the dishwasher and do it now.
He/she says (with surprise and exaggerated hurt): You don’t have to get mean and mad. I’m doing it. (starts to empty dishwasher on super slow speed and lots of clattering)
By now, perhaps thirty minutes have gone by and the dishwasher is still not done. Or, he/she slams dishwasher door closed and says “I’m done” but has left three or four plates and cups in the trays. I am quite sure, upon my inspection, that leaving the last few plates and cups was just passive aggressive behavior. Passive on the part of my child, and inciting aggression on my part.
Sigh. When this event took place in my house the other day, my child sniveled as he/she emptied the dishwasher “why does it always take so long?” I replied, admittedly, a little smugly, “disobedience always takes longer than obedience.”
It was at this moment that I heard it. “Did you hear what you just said?” Have you ever had that experience where you say something that you know is truth to your child and it comes resounding back at you, nearly slapping you in the face, as though the words came off of a great big bouncing wall? Of course I heard it…I said it, and, unfortunately, I live it. My (whiney) question is: if I know disobedience always takes longer, and I know that I am impatient and want to get about the business of the fun part, then why do I complain and disobey. I know better. So, why, I wonder, do I not do better?
Ah yes…disobedience always takes longer than obedience. The classic and most prominent example of this very basic and painfully necessary tenet of life is found in the story of the Israelites. Forty years! Forty years! Forty years of complaining, whining, arguing, disbelief and disobedience on what we know should have been an eleven day journey. If it wasn’t the water, it was the food. If it wasn’t the heat, it was the rain. If it wasn’t the place they were, it was the place they left behind or the place they were going. And, when they couldn’t think of anything new to complain about, they complained about the woman Moses married. There was always something.
I am of the opinion that the natural state of the flesh is to complain. That’s why we all squirm when we read the verse, “do everything without complaining.” (Phil. 2:14) You must be kidding, Lord! EVERYTHING? Everything. But, but but…no, there are no buts. See, we’ll always find something to complain about. If it isn’t the fact that we’ve done the dishwasher three days in a row, then the dishwasher wasn’t loaded properly, or the dishes are still too hot, or it is too late to start this chore or it is too early to do this chore or there is too much homework. And to bring it to my level, maybe the complaint is about not having the newest or best dishwasher. We complain, because if we complain, we can stave off the call to obey for a little longer. And obedience is what we are trying to delay, if not completely avoid, after all.
No one complains about doing things they enjoy. My kids never complain if I make them eat a freshly cooked meal…it’s the leftovers they complain about. They do not complain if I invite my girls to go clothes shopping without any financial limits. It is when we have to go to the Good Will store on half price Wednesday that the grousing begins. It isn’t when I get to be kind to my dearest friend that I complain; it is when I have to be kind and gracious to the someone I really do not care for that it brings out the whiner in me. It is not when I am living in plenty that I make snippy remarks to my husband, it is when I cannot figure out how to work a vacation into the budget. Obedience, not complaining, not grumbling, by its very nature is hard. That is why the linguists have given us separate words for “obedience” and “fun.”
And for all of the above reasons, God made complaining a sin. Because complaining is just a way to get around God’s perfect will for us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to obey God more than we want to bow down to our idols of comfort, convenience, fear and self. Unfortunately, complaining just takes us around the desert for forty years or so. Obedience really is the path of least resistance.
Well, I would love to go and tell more stories on my beloved children but, I think I have to go and empty a dishwasher…without whining and complaining.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Turning the Page
Happy New Year, friends. It is a new year, a new decade. The standard talk at this time is ring out the old, bring in the new, the new start, the fresh page, the looking ahead, forgetting the things of last year. But, what if the newest start you have is the new calendar page? What if the freshest page you have is the new calendar page? What if even the new page is scribbled with the messy markings of last year’s pain, disappointment, and struggle? Perhaps we are still dealing with the same set of sins, pains, difficulties and failures of last year. Sounds like a bit of a downer, doesn’t it? It isn’t actually. It could be a cause for consternation, but it isn’t.
This is the good news: We have the same God of last year, the year before that and the year before that. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) That is a wonderful confidence to hide in our hearts as we possibly face the same set of difficulties and circumstances of 2009, and yet turn the page into 2010. Beloved, God is the God of yesterday’s page and the God of today’s page and the God of tomorrow’s page. All of our pages are written by Him.
Several years ago, I stood in the church where my husband had recently been installed as an associate pastor. He was performing his first baptism as a part of this church and it was with a mixture of pride and humility that I watched from the second row. Standing directly in front of me was a man from the congregation videotaping the entire baptism. Next to him was someone with a digital camera, also commemorating the event, which was a mere shadow of the party the angels in heaven were simultaneously enjoying. At the moment the new convert came out of the water the church erupted into applause and praise, the Lord quietly whispered something into my ear: “Ellen, you take pictures of things that are happening so you can one day look back and remember them.” (I’m a scrapbooker, so God was totally speaking my language.) “But, I have a scrapbook filled with pictures of things that will be. There is nothing that happens today, yesterday or even tomorrow for which I need a camera to record the event. This day is just a picture on the page in my scrapbook, flipped open to today.”
The word of God says in psalm 139:16 “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Beloved, every one of your days, present, past and future, yesterday, today and tomorrow already are a page in God’s scrapbook. That speaks to us of God’s sovereignty, His plan for us, His care and love for us. We are familiar with the verses from Jeremiah 29:11 which say that “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” These words were written to a people in captivity and in exile. God told them as oppression and exile started, “in seventy years, I am going to free you. I’m going to turn 70 x 365 days worth of pages and on that page will be written the day of freedom and return to Jerusalem.” Every one of the days of captivity, exile, and oppression were already written in His book. Beloved, every day of your days of unemployment, sickness, relational problems, estrangement from loved ones, uncertainty in economic trouble, name it, that paragraph on the page, that picture on the page is already in God’s scrapbook. He knows, He cares; we are in His hands. He already knows the day of freedom, the day of breakthrough, the day of reunion, the day the new job comes, the day of release from financial bondage. His plans for us are for good, for a hope, for a future, plans to prosper us, not to harm us. He knows. Our Saviour knows! He is in loving control.
So what then? As a famous Christian apologist of this century wrote, “how shall we then live?” Knowing that our lives are not random happenings, that our lives are not strung together by happenstance and entropic circumstances, that, in fact, we live in the care of a sovereign, able, wise, and loving God who is daily turning the pages of our scrapbooks into the new pages of each day, beloved, we rejoice, and proclaim: praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Go ahead; turn the page into tomorrow, knowing that every day ordained for you has already been written in His book, by His sovereign hand.
This is the good news: We have the same God of last year, the year before that and the year before that. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) That is a wonderful confidence to hide in our hearts as we possibly face the same set of difficulties and circumstances of 2009, and yet turn the page into 2010. Beloved, God is the God of yesterday’s page and the God of today’s page and the God of tomorrow’s page. All of our pages are written by Him.
Several years ago, I stood in the church where my husband had recently been installed as an associate pastor. He was performing his first baptism as a part of this church and it was with a mixture of pride and humility that I watched from the second row. Standing directly in front of me was a man from the congregation videotaping the entire baptism. Next to him was someone with a digital camera, also commemorating the event, which was a mere shadow of the party the angels in heaven were simultaneously enjoying. At the moment the new convert came out of the water the church erupted into applause and praise, the Lord quietly whispered something into my ear: “Ellen, you take pictures of things that are happening so you can one day look back and remember them.” (I’m a scrapbooker, so God was totally speaking my language.) “But, I have a scrapbook filled with pictures of things that will be. There is nothing that happens today, yesterday or even tomorrow for which I need a camera to record the event. This day is just a picture on the page in my scrapbook, flipped open to today.”
The word of God says in psalm 139:16 “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Beloved, every one of your days, present, past and future, yesterday, today and tomorrow already are a page in God’s scrapbook. That speaks to us of God’s sovereignty, His plan for us, His care and love for us. We are familiar with the verses from Jeremiah 29:11 which say that “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” These words were written to a people in captivity and in exile. God told them as oppression and exile started, “in seventy years, I am going to free you. I’m going to turn 70 x 365 days worth of pages and on that page will be written the day of freedom and return to Jerusalem.” Every one of the days of captivity, exile, and oppression were already written in His book. Beloved, every day of your days of unemployment, sickness, relational problems, estrangement from loved ones, uncertainty in economic trouble, name it, that paragraph on the page, that picture on the page is already in God’s scrapbook. He knows, He cares; we are in His hands. He already knows the day of freedom, the day of breakthrough, the day of reunion, the day the new job comes, the day of release from financial bondage. His plans for us are for good, for a hope, for a future, plans to prosper us, not to harm us. He knows. Our Saviour knows! He is in loving control.
So what then? As a famous Christian apologist of this century wrote, “how shall we then live?” Knowing that our lives are not random happenings, that our lives are not strung together by happenstance and entropic circumstances, that, in fact, we live in the care of a sovereign, able, wise, and loving God who is daily turning the pages of our scrapbooks into the new pages of each day, beloved, we rejoice, and proclaim: praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Go ahead; turn the page into tomorrow, knowing that every day ordained for you has already been written in His book, by His sovereign hand.
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