already & not yet

Do you have a favorite commercial? History proves it; every year at our Super Bowl party, more people are interested in the latest advertisements than the game on the field. As I’m writing, I’ve got the TV on and it’s amazing how many different advertisers vie for even a fraction of our time. Thirty second ads at this year’s Super Bowl ran for upwards of 3 million dollars. Why? Because more people watch the Super Bowl than any other event. With that many people watching, how could you blame these companies for wanting to capitalize? Time is truly our most precious commodity.

The Biblical principle of giving is concerned with firstfruits. In Exodus 23, Israel is commanded to offer the firstfruits of the soil — their crops — to God. This reflects an attitude that the entire crop belongs to God. As provider, God is worthy of the first, the best, the choice. Often, the discussion on giving centers around our financial responsibility to give cheerfully & support the work of the local church. While such dialogue is instructive and godly, the conversation must not end there. If our time is truly more valuable than even our earnings, then surely our responsibility to give extends to our day-timer, too. Am I giving God the firstfruits of my time? Do I consistently spend time in the Word? Do I “take captive every thought” by reflecting on the things of God? We understand about tithing our income; where is the sermon on tithing our time? I understand we keep a frenetic schedule these days, and my life is no different. But the principle of Sabbath, while not necessarily “binding” today, is still an important one. Pause. Be still…and know God. Remember Him. Reflect on His Word. Share the story with family & loved ones. Give him the firstfruits He deserves.

To the author of time…
Until time is no more…
May our gifts — insufficient & inadequate — bring you praise nonetheless, O Ancient of Days

Jesus had a unique way of turning life on it’s head. He spoke of turning the other cheek when someone strikes you. When you’re forced to go one mile, willfully walk another. He spoke of a kingdom where the greatest are the least, the first are last and the last are first. Perhaps Jesus’ provocative teaching style is seen most clearly through the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” To common ears, these words would have surely resonated. The crowd we often find Jesus with contrasts starkly with the religious leaders of the day. The Pharisees & teachers of the law are usually portrayed in the Gospels as a proud bunch, known for their piety and adherence to the Law. There are notable exceptions, but generally speaking, Jesus opposes this group for their attitude of spiritual superiority. Thus, we find Jesus hanging around all kinds of undesirable characters: tax collectors, prostitutes, children, fishermen…common people. Such a crowd could never aspire to attain the “spirituality” of the Pharisees. This crowd could indeed be labeled “poor in spirit”. To be poor in spirit reflects an acknowledgement of our own spiritual bankruptcy. It is understanding that we lack the resources to restore ourselves. It is standing before God empty-handed. Our works, our right doctrine, our outward piety…all are insufficient compared to the supreme holiness of Yahweh.

To be poor in spirit is to be ready to receive the Kingdom. The unmerited, undeserving gift of God showered upon sinful people — this is the Gospel message Christ came to proclaim. The Pharisees, so caught up in what their good works had earned them, were blind to such a Kingdom. Those who were spiritually impoverished were ripe to experience the full bounty of God’s gracious hand. Blessed are we indeed.

Winterfest 2005 was an awesome experience for our youth group. 5 of our students were baptized into Christ upon our return to Huntsville and several more experienced spiritual renewal as a result of our weekend in Gatlinburg. The weekend centered around the theme of “Master & Commander”. Central to this idea was the passage from Luke 5:10-11 that relates the call of Peter, Andrew, James & John. “Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”

I’ve often wondered if Peter & the boys had any prior knowledge of Jesus. Had they heard him preach & teach before this experience? The Gospel of John seems to give some enlightenment here, but Luke’s point is clear: Upon receiving their call, these lowly fishermen responded faithfully. They left EVERYTHING for the sake of the call. Family. Friends. Occupation. Matthew 4 paints the picture of Zebedee left standing alone in the boat, holding the nets, watching his sons as they chase after Jesus. I think it’s easy for us to sometimes lose sight of the radical nature of this act. These men were not acting prudently by following this new rabbi from Nazareth. They didn’t do the smart thing, the responsible thing. What loving son leaves his father & the family business to follow a stranger? Is that honoring your father, James? Is that honoring your family, John? And what of Peter’s wife? How was she to support herself if her husband becomes an out-of-work bum, content to hang around drunkards & tax collectors? Surely such thoughts entered into the minds of these would-be disciples and their families.

Yet, the text blows you away with it’s simplicity. I don’t know if Peter knew what he was signing up for when he got out of that boat and followed Jesus. I don’t know if there was some kind of allure about Jesus that made him irresistable to them. Isaiah 53 seems to make that rather unlikely. All I do know is what Scripture tells me: Peter left his nets, symbolic of his old life, and began an eternity-altering journey with the Savior. Aren’t we called to do the same? Doesn’t the call of Jesus on our lives demand that we leave behind our “old” selves and put on the character & Spirit of Jesus? Isn’t that what being a new creation is all about? Are you clinging to your nets? Are you content to remain safely in the boat? I’ll admit, the boat is familiar. It’s what we’ve known. And getting out of our comfort zones makes us vulnerable, even scared. But the call to discipleship is no less radical today than it was 2,000 years ago when four sweaty, smelly fishermen made themselves available to the working of God in their lives and in so doing, helped usher in the Kingdom of God.

2 Samuel 7:16, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”

This passage, originally part of God’s covenant promise to David, carried a great deal of Messianic expectation for the Jews of Jesus’ day. It was believed that Messiah would come to re-establish the nation of Israel, that He would physically reign on the throne of David forever. Naturally, the concept of a suffering Messiah (as prophesied in Isaiah 53) would have been particularly foreign to a 1st century Jew. Jesus’ prophetic utterances regarding his impending crucifixion in Jerusalem would no doubt have been even more baffling. Thus we find Peter rebuking Jesus for speaking such things (Matthew 16:22). A Messiah doesn’t talk about suffering & death; a Messiah speaks of victory & conquest! How difficult it must have been for those disciples to see Jesus taken away by Roman guards. How agonizing it surely was for Peter to be in the courtyard, hearing the accusations the Sanhedrin were hurling at his Lord. What misery it must have been as John, the beloved follower, watched the bruised & bloodied Christ die on the cross. Imagine the confusion, the doubt, the fear those men lived with prior to the Sunday that changed the world.

Yet, though Friday & Saturday were dark indeed, Sunday did come. And even though it didn’t happen the way anyone expected, the Messiah was victorious. He conquered sin & death; the grave had no hold on Him! As the stone was rolled away, a new era began: the reign of Messiah, God’s Anointed over all creation. The Messianic expectation has now been fulfilled through Jesus. He has liberated us, establishing a new Israel of God’s chosen people – not a physical kingdom but a spiritual one. Through His death, He made a public display of the forces of evil, victoriously triumphing over them (Col. 2:15). Just as He promised, even the gates of Hell cannot stand up to His Kingdom (Matthew 16:18). He now sits on the throne of David for all eternity, reigning in the hearts of His followers, those who crown Him the Lord of their lives.

May Christ reign in you this day. May He bring you out of the bondage of sin and into the promised land of redemption. May you grant Him lordship that He might reign in you for all eternity.

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15).”

“You only love God as much as you love the person you love least.”

I read that comment recently, and it’s taken my mind captive. The principle here is Biblical: my relationship with God manifests itself in my earthly relationships. My interaction with others — how I view them, how I treat them — is dictated by the presence of God in my life. Jesus used a parable about an unmerciful servant to illustrate this principle in the context of forgiveness (Matthew 18). Love for God cannot be isolated from one’s social & ethical behavior; the two must overlap. The Apostle John would later write, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment because in this world we are like him. (1 John 4:16-17)” When Christ resides within us, transformation occurs. When I begin to regard those whom I love least with the same love I express toward God, love has truly been made complete in me. Once again, Jesus transforms me inwardly, redeeming my hatred & animosity toward my enemy and allowing me the grace of loving as He loves. To repeat John, “…in this world we are like him.”

Who are those whom we love least? I find it most difficult to love those who are least like me. But to love as Christ loves requires that I view these as He would. It requires that I surrender any stereotypes or prejudices I may have and adopt a more godly perspective. When that occurs, I begin to view others as the uniquely gifted image-bearers God created them to be. I love them because God loves them. And in so doing, love is made complete.

May the love of God be made complete in us, to the glory of God in heaven!