Buds

Trees and shrubs are budding out. New life is bursting out all over. Must be spring!

I think God chose the spring of the year for the centerpiece of his plan - the death and resurrection of the Son of God to bring us new life - so the visual metaphor of new life everywhere would remind us of the new life we have in Jesus Christ.

The book of Colossians has a lot to say about this new life. In chapter 2, Paul tells us that God has given us life in Christ: "You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins." He starts chapter 3 by saying "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ..." and then gives some suggestions for living in a way that is focused on what Jesus Christ has done and where he is now (in heaven). In verse 10 he gives it a sort of summary: "Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him."

Plants and trees can only grow as they have good roots, getting nutrients from the soil that they can combine with the sunshine to produce branches and eventually fruit. Paul uses this metaphor too: "Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. " (2:7) Our source for nutrition and strength for a Christian life is -- no surprise! -- Jesus Christ. Being based on Christ is the only way we can follow what Paul says in 3:17: "And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father."

In its own mysterious way, new life is budding out in the trees and plants we see outside. In "God's mysterious plan, which is Christ himself" (Col. 2:2) we also get to have new life, new growth, and the fruit of the Spirit. As you enjoy the spring season, I hope that seeing the new life in plants will inspire you to thank God for the new life he has given us in the Son!

Jeans

I get my jeans dirty every time I wear them, because of the kind of work I do when I've got them on. So I wash them. And get them dirty again. I could keep them folded up in a drawer. But jeans are made for wearing, not hiding.

Once we accept the salvation God has for us (Romans 6:23 says "the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord") -- which is includes being washed clean -- can we just 'fold up and stay in the drawer'? Avoiding everything outside of our own house, or our own little circle, could help avoid sin, I suppose -- although sin will creep in as long as we're human.

Jesus gave us a job in Matthew 28:19-20: "go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." So we can't just sit around being holy. There's life to be lived, and work to be done. Jesus also wants us growing, "measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). And Paul was as serious as a mother in labor, to make sure the church was a group with "Christ...fully developed in your lives" (Gal. 4:19).

Being disciples of Jesus means getting 'out of the drawer and into the world', which can be messy sometimes. But we grow as we go, and go as we grow.

We 'measure up to Christ' in several ways. As we learn to love other people (who have sinned just like us) and help them find the same forgiveness we've found in Christ. As we learn to help one another grow, encouraging each other by Christian company, studying God's word together and being corrected by it. As we struggle through prayer, and learn to surrender our cares and our wrong desires to God. As we recognize our ongoing sins and go back to God, asking his forgiveness and accepting it. As we learn to ask forgiveness of each other, and give it freely too. As we teach others the ways of Christ (that's 'making disciples', like he said).

That's what the church (all of us, together) is to be doing. But unlike jeans, which get torn, dirty and trashed, we get to improve: 'And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.' (2 Cor 3:18) So let's be doing both -- growing, and going.

Mortgage Life Insurance

Well, it's the first of the month again, and time to pay the mortgage. The loan is a lot of money -- there's a comma in the middle, and the rest of the numbers are a little frightening sometimes. And it's hanging over my head for the next 30 years! Sometimes people buy 'mortgage life insurance' so that if they die, the loan is paid off and their surviving family have a place to stay without paying for it.

In 30 years, I'll be (well, never mind how old) but I hope I'm still enjoying living here. In 30 years, some of us will finally be grown up, and some of us won't be here any more. But did you know that Jesus promises us a place to live, forever, with no mortgage payment?

In John 14, Jesus was telling his disciples that he was going to leave them, but 'prepare a place' for them -- and for us, of course, as the disciples of this day. What kind of place was it he planned to prepare? We don't know exactly, but look at what he says next: 'When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.' Wherever and whatever that is, it sounds like a lot of security to me.

One more thing: there's no mortgage. No monthly payments.

See, Jesus had what we might call, in this context, "mortgage life insurance" with you and me as the beneficiaries. In John 19:30, as he was ready to die on the Cross, he said "It is finished." That was a sound of triumph as well as relief; the job was done. But you may also know that the Greek word translated "it is finished" is 'tetelestai' which also has a technical meaning: it was often written at the bottom of loan documents to show the loan had been paid. Your sins, and every other thing against you and God have been taken care of, completely.

Yup, that's the deal. He paid off the loan with his death. He made sure that we don't have to make even the first payment on the new place. It's all done! He invites us to move, rent-free, now and forever, into his Father's house, where there's lots of room, endless love and more enjoyment than we can imagine.

If you haven't yet decided that this is the life for you, now's the time. (Shoot, when will there be a better time?) All you have to do is stop running away, face God through his Son, and start walking forward again. He'll show you the Way (John 14:6) and help you move, step by step. Ready? On three: One, two, ...

Security

It looks like the economy and about everything else we can measure lately is in trouble. The news outlets are all reporting bad news, so of course everyone says we should get more conservative, which reduces spending and sales and store traffic, and the spiral continues. Makes us think that there's no bottom but of course, there is one somewhere. In the meantime, we all have to be careful and hope that we make it through financially.

Then there's physical safety. Air travel safety is a huge concern, terrorism seems to be everywhere, and it sometimes our personal safety is in question.

What can we do in the middle of all this? God's word is very clear, that although we may go through trials and difficulties, he does not give up on us or ignore our needs.

Psalm 23 says "even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me." You may remember the famous "Footprints" poem, that reminds us that even in the hardest times, God walks alongside us.

Jesus, the Son of God who came to show us the Father's love for us (John 14, for instance), said many times that we shouldn't be afraid. He reminds us in Matthew 6:25-34 that we shouldn't worry, because the Father cares for even the birds, and we are more important to the Father than the birds are. Earlier in that chapter, the model "Lord's Prayer" has a section asking God for our daily needs, so it's okay to bring all those needs and worries to him too.

So we need to spend time in prayer, giving our worries to God and letting him fill us with reassurance and hope. He may even give us some encouragement that we can pass on to someone else! Let's not lose hope in uncertain times, but grow in hope and faith as we rely on God for our daily and eternal needs.

We Are All One (5): Building Bridges

We've been talking a lot about how, under the skin, we're all pretty much the same. But the exterior differences, combined with our human way of mis-trusting each other and being suspicious of differences, have made our relationships less than open, to put it mildly. (Sometimes it's important to be wary, but that's different.)

On the higher plane, the spiritual one, we've all been made 'one people' in Jesus Christ. The Son of God, the immortal Word, took on human flesh with all its weaknesses, and by doing that as our 'representative', he completely brought us back to the Father. Not just the people at the time, and in fact, not just those who already believe it today (but that's a story for another time.) So every single human has been re-united with God, and that means we are all together in one family.

Paul gave this message, in terms of his culture of Jews and Gentiles, saying this in Ephesians 2:
"He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us."

In today's culture, that would say, perhaps: "He made peace between the races, and all the language groups, by creating one new people in himself from all peoples. So no matter where our parents came from, we are all one family of God through the same Holy Spirit, because of what Christ did for us." Maybe we also have to say, "Whether they believe this or not, we're going to believe it, and we'll treat them like it's true."

That's the truth, on the spiritual plane. Which means that's also the truth in our physical lives. So when I meet people of some other race or nationality or language, in the post office or grocery store or out for a walk, what's my response? I have to admit, it isn't always the welcoming smile or handshake that I know I should offer another person in the image of God.

And I have to stop and remember, kind of like this: I know God loves me, because of what his Son, Jesus did for me; hold on, Jesus also did that for the other guy too. Even if that other guy believes in Vishnu and karma and all that stuff. So what he really needs is for me to treat him like I really believe that Jesus united us all. That might change his opinion about people unlike him, and he might become willing to give Christianity a fair hearing, too.

I think it's worth a shot. How about you?

We Are All One (4)

We're All Different. So What?

In England, many years ago, everyone lived and died within five miles or so of their birthplace, separated by hills and rivers that, for most, were too much trouble to cross. That separation produced unique dialects (dozens still exist) and separate ways of thinking and doing. In a way, that's a microcosm of the whole world: there are many different kinds of us humans, in an array of colors and shapes and sounds, dressing in different ways and living our lives in different manners.

God loves variety, I'm convinced of that. He made us humans and told us to go out and fill up the earth, and we sure did. Now we come in so many varieties it's hard to list them all. But, too bad for us, 'apart' is what we are, so often. We separate from one another over shape of nose, shade of skin, nuance of speech, and belief. We think we don't have much in common because of our differences. And when we draw away from one another, we allow suspicion and fear to come in between, and that pretty much ruins everything.

We all have our reasons, of course: those guys look like they're gang members, I don't like that music, why can't they dress better, I don't understand their slang, and so on. So we stick with those we understand and agree with, to be comfortable and safe.

In the end, though, none of those differences are going to matter. Here's what the Bible says is the ultimate reality -- speaking of the holy city that comes to us from heaven, John writes in Revelation 21 verses 24 and 26: "The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory...And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city." This doesn't speak of homogenization of the human race, but of the vast variety of all people, reunited in worshipping God.

And in truth, that's already the case. You'll find followers of Jesus Christ all over the world, worshipping him in just about every language and dialect and 'in spirit and in truth,' not in any one temple or mountain, as Jesus said in John 4:21, 23: "Jesus replied, 'Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem... But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.' "

You can see that happening in a lot of places already, as worshippers of Jesus bypass their differences and rejoice in their unity in Christ. I pray that the number of places, and the number of people, will increase. Will you join me?

We Are All One (3)

A Man with a Big Nose

We all tend to accept people who look, sound and dress like us more readily than someone who is of a different skin color or uses language differently. We may have learned in school about other cultures, or we may have been taught that it's best to keep an open mind and learn about the other person before making judgments; but typical human behavior is to hold back until we're sure.

Renaissance artists knew this. There are a lot of paintings, sculptures and stained-glass windows of Bible characters, including Jesus, created by artists during that period. They tended to dress the characters in the same kind of attire worn by people of their culture. Now, perhaps they didn't have access to all the archaeological data showing the dress and manner of people of that time; or maybe, as artists, they were exercising their privilege to interpret the subject matter in the way they wanted! Or perhaps they were trying to steer their audiences toward acceptance of their work by making it look more familiar.

Some film-makers in the last century have tried to portray Jesus as understandable, 'like us but more so'. "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977) for instance, has a blue-eyed, British-accented actor in the lead role. Others tried to be more realistic, showing someone as Jesus who looked, maybe, a little Middle Eastern, in a robe we might recognize as looking something like maybe what they wore back then. There have been several movies with a black Jesus too. But they were all good-looking actors, the kind you might invite over for a barbeque this summer.

What did Jesus really look like? We don't know, except that the prophet Isaiah said in chapter 53 "There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him." And in the Gospels, the authorities had to have Judas point out Jesus for his arrest (see for example Matthew 26:47-49). And he was, undeniably, Jewish; so he looked Jewish, including perhaps a larger nose than Caucasians like me. And he dressed like the average Jewish man of his day, with a tunic (like an oversized t-shirt) and probably a robe over that most of the time. And he probably had longer hair than I wear, and it was probably wrapped up in a turban that had the ends of it hanging loose. So he might not make it through airport security today without a pat-down and some extra questions!

Would you invite someone like that to your barbeque? Maybe not. But the Gospel writers and the authors of the rest of the Bible say this is the one who came to die for us; to make us all into one family (Eph. 2) and bring us into God's presence forever, with no separation (Colossians 1). And if he has accepted all of us, with all our differences and all our weaknesses, and made us one, then can we accept one another in the same way?

I praise God that in many ways we have. And I pray that we can grow in it.