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I hate being misunderstood. Every now and then someone comes to a wrong conclusion about something I did, and it really bothers me. For some reason I feel the need to explain.
God seems to not have that problem. The things He does or doesn’t do, and the motives behind those actions, are constantly questioned. For example, although the Bible states that God is love, He is often accused of not caring. God never really clarifies, despite being misinterpreted.
So why the huge disparity between my reactions and God’s? Why do I get so riled up when people think I’ve fallen short, (though the details obviously show otherwise, if only they’d listen to me), yet the same scenario doesn’t appear to rattle God at all? Maybe it’s because He’s God. He’s pretty sure of Himself and doesn’t have a lot to prove.
It’s good that God doesn’t lack confidence like I do. I’m kind of glad that He doesn’t cower, wring His hands, and try to win me over to His point of view when I disagree. That would be less than comforting, given that He has some pretty complex stuff to handle.
Sure, it would be nice if God would tell me His rationale sometimes. But given the choice between a secure ruler of the universe who has everything under control and chooses to remain silent, and a divine Someone who worries about justifying Himself to His creation, I’ll take the former.
Jesus offered some guidelines for how He likes to be treated. He said that I should give Him something to eat or drink when He’s hungry or thirsty, take Him in when He’s a stranger, clothe Him when He’s naked, take care of Him when He’s sick, and visit Him when He’s in prison. But how can I actually do these things for the Son of God? According to Him, it’s by serving the least of the people He created.
Bible teachers often look for deep, hidden meaning in scripture. I personally made some amazing discoveries when I studied the words of Jesus mentioned above:
– I found that there were no profound revelations tucked away in the nuances of the original language or historical culture. When Jesus said “hungry”, He literally meant the feeling a person gets when he or she wants food.
– What Jesus describes as meaningful to God are the literal acts of meeting basic needs. “Giving something to eat” means just that. No need for fanfare or complexity.
– Degrees of service are not implied. To Jesus, one pair of used shoes presented to a barefoot person is as significant as an international clothing ministry.
What a privilege to hand a cup of cold water to thirsty Jesus. And in His grace, He’s even made it incredibly easy – by appearing all around me, having more needs than I can ever address, and letting my small part of the solution be so simple.
I recently ran across a scripture verse that might change my life. It’s in Proverbs, and it says “A person’s virtue is to overlook an offense.”
I need to hear that. Too often I want to bring the offense to light. I do it with the guise of trying to understand, or to find resolution… but are those my true motives? I wonder.
Another trick I use is convincing myself that I’m just doing what another Bible passage says, “speaking the truth in love.” But Proverbs tells me that, in some situations at least, the truly loving thing is to just give the other person a bye, as though it never happened.
Will this be a defining moment in my journey? I guess only time – and a few offenses – will tell.
(P.S. — Please read the comment, below, by “Deeply Flawed.” Very insightful.)
Speaking about a political adversary, Winston Churchill is quoted as saying “He has all of the virtues I dislike, and none of the vices I admire.” While Churchill’s wit is legendary, so is his leaning toward various guilty pleasures, so it’s possible he spoke this with some truth.
For the past few weeks I’ve been asking myself, “Do I admire human vices?” In a way I think I do. It’s not that I esteem the acts themselves. What I respect are individuals who aren’t afraid to admit their shortcomings and genuinely ask for help.
Frankly, too many religious people pretend to have no vices. (I know better.) Oh sure, there’s the occasional reference to a generic flaw, usually said with a chuckle. But when it comes to getting down to the nitty gritty, they just don’t go there.
Like Sir Winston, I admire those who are out front with their vices. The good news is that once those struggles meet the Light, there’s hope for them to be overcome. At least that’s my experience… and I’ve got a lot of it.
It’s impossible to get away from God, no matter how hard or how far we run. David knew that from experience. After a lifetime of sometimes seeking and often avoiding the Lord, David, finally gave up the struggle. His conclusion? “You have encircled me.”
I’ve often been led to believe that God’s presence is a destination somewhere, and it’s up to me to travel to it. “It’s over there,” they said. “And you have to do this, this, and this in order to find it.”
Not so, according to David, and I heartily agree. God is all around me, like a circle.
The Bible character Esau had good reason to be sorely angry with his brother Jacob. After all, Jacob tricked Esau out of his birthright, and then Jacob stole their father’s blessing which should have gone to Esau as the eldest son. Fearing for his life, Jacob took off and went into hiding.
Years later, the two met. Rather than retaliate, however, Esau told Jacob that he was forgiven. Overwhelmed with joy, Jacob uttered these words to his brother: “I have seen your face, and it is like seeing God’s face, since you have accepted me.”
When God casts an eye toward His children, His expression is one of acceptance. Likewise, those who love me, despite my faults and shortcomings, are the appearance of God in my life.
Scripture says that no one has ever seen God’s actual face, but from the story of Jacob and Esau, I certainly know what it looks like. I, just like Jacob, am accepted.
A famous verse of scripture, says: “But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”
I see a progression of spiritual growth in this verse that is rarely discussed. It’s fly, run, walk, wait. Interestingly, this is just the opposite of what most people would consider a progression, because it starts at the most active and ends at the most mundane… or so it seems.
New Believers fly high. They discover new heights and see from a different perspective than before. They soar over difficulties.
Later, the journey enters a period of running. Often, this takes place in the physical realm, as in running to meetings and opportunities to serve. Spirits are also running. It seems that there is so much to learn and miles of spiritual ground to cover.
Next comes the discovery that the life of faith is a daily walk. The realization is made that God works through the little things that are part of normal routines. Loving others – spouses, neighbors, co-workers and strangers – takes on as much significance, and as great a challenge perhaps, as evangelizing whole continents.
A great privilege of the spiritual life, however, is when God entrusts His child with the need to wait. At those times it can feel that nothing is going on, that heaven is silent, that the situation is dire, and that all that can be done is to sit and wait for God to intervene. This is a very high calling in the life of a Believer.
Those who have faced (or are facing) a period of waiting are to be congratulated. It means that they have made great progress as followers of God.
The first generation of Christians were a mish mosh of different nationalities, educational backgrounds, social upbringing, economic status and the like. Humanly speaking, they had no reason to be together. And yet Peter writes in scripture that this group was a nation as legitimate as any, even though they were dispersed across the entire empire. Sound odd? No doubt. In fact, in one Bible translation, God’s followers are told, “you are a peculiar people.”
The situation is not much different today. Once in awhile I find myself in a room with a handful of believers. Our stories are diverse. They encompass living on the streets, straight A school years, battling addictions, acquiring wealth, demonstrating against the establishment, fighting for conservative politics, embracing social activism, and on and on. The one who has been squeaky clean all his life sits beside the ex thug.
But a remarkable thing has happened. The Spirit of God has given us love for one another and made us one nation. We’ve learned (or we’re learning) to make allowances, to challenge ourselves instead of judging, and to see the expression of God in the many facets of His creation.
The members of God’s family have only one thing in common… the divine Life that beats within each of them. And that is quite enough.
The phrase “one another” shows up in the Bible many times. We are told to bear with one another, encourage one another, forgive one another, and – of course – to love one another. This all sounds simple until we admit that we hardly even know one another.
The ability to go it alone has become idolized. This, however, is not what God intended for mankind. In contrast, all of creation shows that each part relies on those around it. By ignoring this, humans have produced all types of problems for themselves.
Our loneliness is obvious. But how many destructive bad decisions, how much loss and heartache, how many broken lives could have been avoided simply by a person being in an authentic relationship? Take away mere religion and give me a friend or two with whom I can find God as we find one another. I think I’ll be better for it.
How does this happen? Certainly the first step is opening my eyes to the reality that the spiritual journey is an ecosystem, where we each of us must rely on one another. I need you, and that’s my declaration of interdependence.
(And a personal P.S. – “Thank you” to those with whom I share life. You are my heaven on Earth.)
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