What didn't Jesus have in Heaven?

What caused him to forsake all the comfort, power and privilege of his heavenly reign to enter our world and to come as one of us?

He didn't come with sweeping power and might as some would expect him to.  Instead, he came humbly--as a baby, born in a barn, growing up under a cloud of suspicion concerning his legitimacy.  As an adult, he was mocked, scorned and spat upon because of his claims. He endured betrayal, injustice and abandonment.  Finally, on the cross, he suffered physical cruelty and spiritual darkness of the worst kind.  

For what did Jesus come into our world?

Some say that religion is a power trip. That may be the case with other religions or even true of Christianity because of the ways people have lived it out. But it is not true about Jesus, who demonstrated His love toward us in the most unambiguous way possible at a very great cost to himself.  Jesus came for us.

What so amazing about grace?

Grace, a distinct element of the Christian faith, is amazing because it requires no performance on the part of the believer. As a result, Christianity becomes the most non-discriminatory religion in the world. The only requirement is to rely upon Jesus for our relationship with God. People can believe in Jesus just moments before they die and gain God's friendship for eternity. 

• Buddhism requires that we denounce all worldly aspirations and detach from human emotions
• Hinduism requires that we do good in order to earn karma for the benefit of the next life
• Judaism and Islam have us keeping religious laws to get in God's good book
• The smaller/local gods in many cultures require us to make sacrificial offerings of many kinds

Graceless religions demand our performance. In essence, followers of these religions become their own saviours; everything depends on their effort.  Some (most? all?) of us haven't got the talent or ability to do good work. Others of us have been so abused or damaged by life circumstances that our good will is depleted.  A little closer to home, most of us can't even abide by the simplest moral code of honesty--almost all of us tell lies here and there.    

Give me Christianity.  I am much safer with the God who sees my infirmities and yet--amazingly--still loves me, than with another deity who demands my performance.

The chill of Hadamar

On the grounds of Hadamar

a call beckons from below

captives roamed from room to room

unjust horror muted cries

the dumb, the lame, the young and old

pain and sorrow and fear untold

thick scent of death once filled the air

passage for fifteen thousand souls

Hadamar Clinic

A cleverly designed dissecting table, slanted for blood to drain down one end.

Ant killer

Unwrapped

Right brain tickling

Death is...

A punch in the gut

memories like a flood

Swollen eyes

a final goodbye

yet...

In Christ we trust

there is no goodbye
See you later

on the other side!

Who got the blessing? Jacob or Esau?

As far as we can tell, Esau had a pretty good life. He acquired much livestock and goods. He had wives, children and servants. His descendants were so numerous they became a kingdom (known as Edom).  He even showed grace toward his brother Jacob -- who had stolen the blessing due the eldest son.  

Jacob, on the other hand, fled for his life after cheating Esau. He went to his uncle Laban -- who turned out to be similarly deceptive, cheating Jacob out of 7 years of labor for a bride that he didn't want. While working for Laban, he devised a questionable way to develop his own herds, thereby arousing jealousy amongst his cousins and prompting Jacob to flee once again. Years later, he bore much grief when he learned that his favourite son had been killed -- a deception carried out by his other children who had actually sold the son into slavery! Jacob's life was a nightmare of deceiving and being deceived -- not quite the classic definition we associate with the word "blessed".

Looking closer we see a life transformed.  As a child Jacob was groomed by his mother to use deceptive means to get what he wanted. He wanted the right thing - God's blessing - but he went about getting it in all the wrong ways. After years of living in distrust and fear for his life, he came to a low point at Bethel.  There he met God and their struggle came to its climax. We read that Jacob would not let God go until his blessing was assured. And God did bless him in response to this new humility.  From this point forward we hear of no more deception on Jacob's part.  His encounter with God changed him, so much so that He also changed his name...to Israel.  He is literally the (grand)father of all Hebrew/Jewish people. 

While God's blessing toward Jacob wasn't obvious for most of his life, we easily see the richness of God's blessing on him today. We see, as did Jacob, that God transformed him into the new man - Israel. We also see how he became a tenacious nation that has endured against all odds.  And finally, from Jacob's flesh came our saviour -- Jesus, the light and life of the world.  

What is the biggest miracle with Israel?

When we read the Bible, the accounts of Israel's exploits make it seem like a big power.  They must have been one of the world's superpowers back then.  But in actual fact, Israel has always been a small nation with limited reach -- even at her height (under Kings David and Solomon) she was still relatively small.  

In contrast, the Hebrew nation was surrounded by nations that at one time or another become ancient superpower: Egypt (they were a superpower a few times), Babylon, Assyria, Persia and of course Rome.  These comprise most of the world history's greatest empires!  And four of them at one time or another had a major issue with little Israel.  

The fact that this small nation survived the antagonism of four super powers is astounding -- something we moderns forget.  Many people struggle with the veracity of the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea as God's miraculous acts.  But they forget the obvious miracle (one that historians don't doubt) and that was the fact that Israel managed to escape from the Egyptian Empire at the very pinnacle of its rule, taking away from it a massive labour force and livestock!  

In the modern era a relatively small number of Jewish people have been able to maintain their identity even while spread throughout the world, having been separated for many centuries.  Then only three years after the largest and most sophisticated effort to extinguish them, Israel became a recognized state! 

Many larger people groups have come and gone from the face of Earth over the last 4000 years, yet Israel stands today as a strong power in the Middle East.  This is mind boggling history for such a tiny group.  The existence of Israel today is nothing short of miraculous.  We can credit Israel for its tenacity and strength...and marvel at God's unfailing commitment to His people even when many of them no longer believe He exists.

Everybody asks this...

Is the Bible still relevant today? 

Most of it is about one small nation a long, long time ago. Their lives were drastically different than ours are today. What can they tell us that we don't already know? Besides, look at the trouble this nation has with their neighbours today, if their own history hasn't benefitted them, how will it benefit us?

Then there are those who say the Bible is God's love letter to us...really? You don't have to be a romantic to know that love letters shouldn't be full of bloodshed and threats of cosmic wrath. 

But I've found reading the Bible does bring light and insight to me. While the people, culture and life circumstances completely differ from our 21st century living, I find that people's nature hasn't changed that much in thousands of years. For example, people fought with knives and sticks back then and we fight with smart bombs today; the point is, we still fight. We don't need the Bible to tell us that human nature is hard to change. Anyone remotely familiar with world history knows this. 

But the Bible does tell us some things that history doesn't tell us. The Bible is God's self-revelation. God doesn't change, but he changes difficult people and transforms the world. Getting to know Him--in the sense of what He is like, what pleases Him and what doesn't--should be our goal when we listen to His word. And in this encounter we too become transformed--we become new.

The surprises that Jesus brings

No one with the wildest imagination could have conceived the idea of God entering into our world as one of us, starting from a woman's womb.  The Jews had been anticipating the Messiah, but they were expecting someone with sweeping power that would overcome the Romans for their race.  They didn't expect the Messiah that came.  We all have ideas of what God should be like and what He should do in our world.

Then came Jesus, with meekness and humility and determination to sacrificially die.  His teaching turned our heads up-side-down again and again.  For example, he says that in his kingdom, the last will be the first (Matthew 20:16), the least will be the greatest (Luke 9:48), love your enemy (Matthew 5:44), embrace servanthood (John 13:14), sacrifice for others (John 15:13).  All of these things go against our natural inclinations and oppose conventional values.  Then Jesus lived out all that He preached.

We can accept these confounding principles from Jesus and ask for his help to conform our lives to these.  Or we can insist on our own idea of what God should be.  Though Jesus rose again from death suggests He knew what He was doing.

Will heaven be merely spiritual?

When we think of Heaven, winged cherubs, white clouds and blue sky are the images that first flood my mind--an ethereal place with spiritual beings. I suspect that we rarely think of physical bodies or geographical places being part of that world.  Renaissance painters have unwittingly influenced our idea of heaven for many generations. 

The interesting thing is that Heaven is described as concretely earthy both in the Old and New Testaments. Specifically, Isaiah 11 describes the peaceful nature of the future animal kingdom and Revelation 21 & 22 describes Heaven as a city with streets made of precious stones, trees that bear fruit and a river running through it.  Physical stuff.  

Does this mean, then, that not only our souls get saved but our bodies also?  We're getting more used to the idea of bodies coming from a little string of information called DNA that contains all the source code to recompose our bodies.  Jesus already modelled a heavenly body.  After his death he appeared to many people, walking, talking and eating with them in an undoubtedly physical, yet fantastic, body (Luke 24:36-45).  

So what if Heaven has a physical dimension we ask?  Well, maybe Christians should pause before dismissing the material concerns of this world--the world to come appears to be no less tangible.  In fact, it may be even more physical than what we already know.  

What is the chief end of man? (2)

Precisely how does one glorify and enjoy God? 

One example that came to mind is the Scottish athlete, Eric Liddell (1902-1945), subject of the movie "Chariots of Fire".  Eric was born to Scottish missionary parents in China in 1902. At the age of five, he was sent to England for his education--which was customary for missionary children in those days. At school, Eric exhibited exemplary character and was known for his strong Christian faith. He excelled in sports, becoming an Olympic Champion in the 400 metre race during the 1924 Paris Olympics. The 400 wasn't his best event; it was well known that the 100 metre race was his strongest.  He refused to run the 100 because it fell on a Sunday.  His view was that there were greater glories at stake than winning Olympic medals. 

In 1925, Eric returned to China as a missionary, following his parents' footsteps. He first taught in an elite college for wealthy Chinese students, with the intention of promoting Christian values in the influential circles of that society. At age 30, he was ordained and became a minister. In 1941, as the Japanese invasion made life increasingly dangerous in China, Eric sent his wife and three daughters back to the West. He himself stayed behind and joined his brother, who was a doctor at a rural mission station, to serve the poor. Eventually, the Japanese took over the mission station and in 1943, Eric was imprisoned at an internment camp. In the camp Eric became a leader, facilitating an orderly distribution of food, medicines and other supplies that often ran short. He also kept busy by helping the elderly and teaching the young Bible lessons. 

For Eric Liddell, the hardship during internment could have been avoided. As a well known athlete, Eric had an opportunity to leave the camp as part of a prisoner exchange between the British and the Japanese, but he gave up his place for another.

In all his life, whether in the comfort of the West or while in hardship serving others, Liddell glorified God by loving and serving sacrificially like Christ. 

But did he also enjoy God? It would seems so. Hear his famous words: "I believe that God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. When I run, I feel His pleasure".

What is the chief end of man? (1)

To me this question begs another: "Why did God even make mankind?"

It is good to look for hints regarding God's intention for His creation, in Bible passages about the Garden of Eden. Before sin made a mess of things, God walked with Adam and Eve, face to face, without any barrier. They were like friends spending time in each other's company. Their separation only happened after people believed Satan's lies about God and began doubting God's words (Genesis 3:4). Distrust crept into the relationship, creating a wedge between God and man. 

That wedge grew. Even after God had banned Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23), He still occasionally walked with Adam and his descendants. It wasn't until after he killed his brother Abel, that Cain was banished from God's presence (Genesis 4:14). Six generations after Adam, we read that God walked with Enoch. Theirs was such a close relationship that God took Enoch directly to Heaven, sparing him the experience of death (Genesis 5:24). 

In the beginning of biblical history, we notice that God made people, amongst other things, to spend time with them. To spend time with us. 

It is no wonder the Westminster Shorter Catechism answers the question "What is the chief end of man?" with this answer: "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever".

The personification of evil

I had a dream last night.  In the dream I saw evil personified as a group of tiny people from a certain ethnic group -- and they were entering into our home.  We were threatened and decided that they should be destroyed.  So, using a lot of water, I flushed these evil people down the sink (they were very tiny!).  I had to squash them down with my fingers, one by one, into the drain. (Yes, quite comical but apparently this is how I would kill if given the task.)  After I'd done my deed I realized these were human beings that I squashed down and killed!  My heart became horrified and filled with guilt - why hadn't I consulted with God first on what to do?!  

The Bible tells us that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in the unseen spiritual world (Ephesians 6:12).  Because we do not see spirits and only see the people that they influence, we mistake people for the devil.  Just as God chooses to use us as agents of His goodness, so also we sometimes yield to the devil's lead and do what he would want.  Christians are admonished to distinguish between people and their deeds.  We see an example of this from Jesus when he prayed for those who were crucifying him -- praying even as he hung on the cross (Luke 23:34).  We see the same thing when God withheld his wrath from the repentant Ninevites (they had done much evil [Jonah 3:10]).  In a surprising example, we see Jesus rebuke Peter, his own disciple, saying "Get behind me, Satan!" (Mark 8:33).  Jesus knew who the real adversary was.

We are conditioned to react to people according to the way we are treated.  The dream reminds me that in all situations seeking God's perspective should be my first inclination.  

Jonah - the reluctant witness to the Gentiles (3)

The best part of the book of Jonah is found in Chapter 4 which is entirely about the relationship between God and Jonah. 

The prophet was not afraid to share his honest feelings and dismay in God's compassion towards a people that he hated.  Jonah argued and pouted and told God he would rather die than see the Ninevites get saved.  His audacity is shocking.  Then again, it also shows how intimate and trusting the relationship must have been between them.  What freedom Jonah had with God!

On the other hand, the story also reveals the patience God has for his beloved.  Was there no other prophet He could call on?  Why did God insist on using the stubborn prophet?  In order to engage Jonah, God employed the raging sea, a huge fish, then later on He grew a vine and a worm to eat it up.  All that trouble to bring Jonah closer to God's heart.  God wanted him to know and perhaps share the compassion He has for the lost.

The book does not end with Jonah's change of heart.  The story is here to change our hearts in at least two ways.  First, to know that God's love toward us is patient and enduring.  He is big enough to contain all our negative emotions, so we have freedom to be honest with Him.  Second, to know God's heart toward others: it is important to Him that we share his grace for the lost.  He will go to great trouble to transform our hearts toward that end.  

Jonah - the reluctant witness to the Gentiles (2)

After Jonah spent three days in the fish, he repented -- who wouldn't under those conditions? So when God called him to preach in Nineveh a second time, Jonah knew better than to run away again.  But his heart wasn't in it...

The reluctant prophet showed up in the city and basically preached half the message. "Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned" (Jonah 3:4). That was it. He didn't say "God loves you"; didn't say "repent before you die"; nothing of that sort was encouraged. One gets the impression that he enjoyed preaching doom to Nineveh as he didn't offer any solution to this catastrophic message for the people.  He neglected to tell them that God responds to repentance.

But here is the amazing part: the whole city responded to his cold-hearted message and believed God! All 120,000 in the city from the least to the greatest repented, the most successful conversion event in all of Scripture. The king of Nineveh took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and proclaimed a fast that even animals had to abide by.  They became contrite hoping that God would relent and change His mind about destroying them. 

And God did change his mind.  He is gracious and compassionate, not willing that anyone be destroyed, even in the Old Testament--that's why he sent Jonah to Nineveh in the first place.

And we see again that even though the messenger God sent had a seriously flawed heart, God's purpose to save nations was still accomplished.  God does not depend on the eloquence or hard work or even good intention of His servants to get this job done.  Knowing this brings great relief to those of us that fear our flaws or failures will mess up God's plan.  

Jonah - the reluctant witness to the Gentiles (1)

I love the book of Jonah; it reveals the incredible patience God has with his stubborn servants and the great compassion He has for the wicked.  This book also affirms in many different ways the theme that God loved the nations even in the Old Testament.

Jonah was definitely one prophet with a mind of his own.  When the LORD sent him to Nineveh (known today as Mosul in Iraq) to warn them of God's coming wrath, Jonah ran the other way.  His disobedience caused havoc in the sea while he was sailing away from Nineveh towards Tarshish, dragging the foreign sailors into trouble with him.  When the sailors found out Jonah was a Hebrew and that he worshipped the one true God of heaven, they were terrified.  (Jonah 1:9-10)

The sailors' reaction affirms that the Hebrew people had become light: that God had been made known to the neighbouring people through His relationship with the Israelites (the theme of yesterday's blog).  And when the raging sea grew calm after they threw Jonah overboard as instructed, these men became God fearing followers; Jonah 1:16 indicates that they made sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to Him, entering into a covenant relationship with God.

So, even in his disobedience, Jonah helped made converts.  If we are ever concerned that our conduct may turn away would-be God seekers, this story should assure us that God can use anyone in anyway to save the people He wants to save.  Our performance is not the limiting factor with God's salvation of other people.  We may suffer for our own disobedience, but He is wonderfully creative in bringing the lost ones to Himself.