storiesofvalue

The Feast

My father used to tell me we don’t know where we are going until we know where we’ve been.  In the same way, when we figure out where we are going, it is easier to decide how we should live now.  The Bride’s final destination is described in the book of Revelation: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 19:7).  This is our future as beloved of the Lord, and this is an image that keeps us faithful.

Many a groom’s heart has missed a beat when his bride entered the sanctuary.  Mine did.  My wife appeared with her father, wearing white, holding a bouquet of white daisies matched with a crown atop her veil.  As she marched up the aisle my knees shook, I broke out in a sweat, and I wondered at that moment how I could possibly have been the recipient of such good fortune.

How do you suppose Jesus will feel when we walk toward Him in eternity?  It is different, of course.  When it comes to our relationship with the Lamb of God, we are the fortunate ones.  His love for us is complete and uncorrupted.  Our love for Him is imperfect and indecisive.  We have done our best to remain unstained by sin, but in reality He is the One who has made us holy.

Yet, we want Him to be pleased with us on that day.  John writes, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2).  The church victorious will be the cause of great rejoicing in heaven, for “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).

On that day we will take part in a magnificent feast the book of Revelation calls the “wedding supper of the Lamb”.  In Jewish culture, weddings were followed by several days of feasting when family and friends showered the newlywed couple with congratulations and blessings.

The celebration on our wedding day in heaven will be greater than anything witnessed or imagined on earth.  Christ’s Bride will be cherished and affirmed.  Those whose blood has been poured out for the sake of the gospel will be comforted.  Everyone will join with the angels in praise to the Lamb, with the exception of Satan and his followers who will be dispatched to their eternal doom.

This is the future.  While death stands in our way now, on that day everything else will fade in light of Christ’s glory.  In the meantime, we want to be faithful in everything.  But how?

There are those who wonder why God has chosen to make us wait so long for His Son’s return.  The apostle Peter tells us, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).  But as we strive to share this hope, God is also obviously using our time of betrothal as a means of deepening our spiritual affection, and revealing the wonders of grace that come when we persevere.

I suspect there were some people who wondered if my wife Jane and I were ever going to get married.  We met our freshman year of college and dated for four years before announcing our engagement.  Then we wanted another year until we completed college to marry.  Even my proposal was a process.  Several months before I officially asked my wife to marry me we picked out a ring at a local jewelry store and put down a deposit.  Every month we visited the ring and made a payment.  Jane would put the ring on her finger and we would stand at the counter and admire it for several minutes before giving it back to the salesman to place in the safe until our next visit.  When I was ready to propose I secretly paid the balance and the ring and took possession.

During the five years we dated we became familiar with each other’s personal likes and dislikes, idiosyncrasies, strengths and weaknesses.  We grew close to each other’s family members and met extended family and friends.  There were ups and down, frustrations, disappointments, doubts and fears.

I don’t think there is a biblical design for engagements (except for the purity part), but I can vouch for the value of taking time to prepare for life together.  While I believe wedding ceremonies should be well planned to give them the significance they deserve, the time we spend preparing for an event should never take precedence over the time we commit to the marriage.  I have met couples who think nothing of spending thousands of dollars on a ceremony, but recoil when they discover they are asked to pay a few bucks for marriage counseling.  When it comes to marriage, are the things we do to meet the expectations of friends and family members really more important than the one to whom we are pledging our lives?

Perhaps this is why God planned a long betrothal for Jesus and His Bride.  Obviously, the generation that is alive when Jesus returns will be the exception.  But for the other, a lifelong walk with the Lord, complete with trials and temptations, can reap spiritual riches.  As the wedding ring is tested by fire to make it pure, our faith is brought to maturity.

This is how it is for the Bride of Christ.  He washes us clean, loves us intimately, and prepares us for the day we will see Him face to face.  We can relate, but not entirely, for the mystery of Christ’s love for His Bride surpasses our human understanding.  Therefore, we learn what we can and live as we should.  But there is one more important picture we must examine before we move on to other things.

The Time of Preparation

Planning a wedding is an exciting process filled with expectations and anxieties.  Most couples use this season of preparation to work out the details of their wedding ceremony and the realities of life together.  It is a part of the journey, as two people grow together through wise counsel and daily reflection.

My grandfather served as County Clerk of Fayette County, Kentucky for several years.  In the summers I hung out in the main office where couples came to apply for marriage licenses, and I eavesdropped on their conversations with the deputy clerks.  Most had been engaged for several months and were making final preparations for their weddings.  A few had only known each other for a short time, but were “looking to get married” as soon as possible.  And on occasion, an application would be questioned, such as the one between a young woman and an elderly man in a wheelchair, and those who stumbled into the courthouse intoxicated.  My grandfather had the right and responsibility to refuse a marriage license to anyone he felt was incapable of entering into a local contract.  His judgments were rarely popular.

A period of engagement or betrothal is more than a formality.  It is a time to ready our hearts and minds for one of the most important decisions two people can make.  If we view the church age as the betrothal of Jesus and His Bride, then the New Testament becomes our planning guide as we prepare for our heavenly celebration.

Preparations began on the banks of the Jordan River where Jesus’ cousin John was calling people to repentance and baptizing them.  When John saw Jesus walking by he said, “Look the Lamb of God” (John 1:26).  Later, some of John’s followers reported Jesus was baptizing disciples of His own and “everyone” was going after Him.  John responded, “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete” (John 3:29 NIV).  John was pleased to step aside and let Jesus take the stage.

John’s followers struggled with this transition and kept a watchful eye on Jesus.  One day they approached him on the subject of fasting.  They asked, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (Matthew 9:14).  Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?  The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” (Matthew 9:15).  In Jewish culture it would have been an insult for the guests of the bridegroom to fast while the bridegroom was present, though they might do so in sorrow when he left.  It is unclear here whether Jesus is referring to His death on the cross, or His ascension, but either way He clearly assumes the role of the Bridegroom and points to future events that will impact His followers.

Near the end of Jesus’ ministry He shared a parable involving ten virgins and a bridegroom.  The virgins waited into the night for the bridegroom to appear so they could accompany him to the wedding feast.  Five of the virgins came with enough oil for their lamps should the bridegroom be delayed.  Five did not.  When the bridegroom was spotted and the virgins were alerted, the five who were unprepared realized they were running out of oil.  They begged the other five to share but were refused.  While the five who were unprepared were out buying more oil, the bridegroom arrived, the five other virgins entered the feast with him and the doors were shut.  The five unprepared virgins returned but were not allowed to enter the feast.

Most people connect this parable with the second coming of Christ since it will precede His final wedding feast.  While the virgins were not brides, they still reflect the circumstances of the collective Bride of Christ as she waits for the Bridegroom’s return.

Thus, we see the wedding preparations have been going on for quite some time, and we have arrived in their final, though lengthy stage.  What has already occurred helps us understand Jesus’ priorities as He prepared His disciples for the church age and their mission to a lost and dying world.  Then and now, those who choose a relationship with the Bridegroom must be faithful and humble, as they put His wishes first and wait for His return.

The apostle Paul continued this theme of spiritual readiness in his second letter to the church at Corinth.  His first letter had involved a scathing reprimand for shameful acts and attitudes within the church.  In his second letter Paul comforted the Corinthians, and tried to explain why he had been so harsh.  He wrote, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” (2 Cor. 11:2).

I fear we are often so worried about preserving the purity of Christ’s Bride we lose sight of her joy.  We want to be faithful.  But if we don’t take time to lounge in the presence of the One who called us with His grace, our commitment turns into a cold contract void of passion.  If you met a bride who wasn’t madly in love with the man she was about to marry, wouldn’t you be concerned?  Would it be enough for her to say, “I promised I would marry him?”  Absolutely not!  Marriage is a promise, but it is so much more.

Marriage is a joyous occasion, and the blessing of being in love, together with the knowledge another person has pledged his or her life to you, is found nowhere else.  We live for Christ because He died for us.  Our acts of personal sacrifice aren’t always easy, but they are fulfilling.  Pouring out one’s life for another is natural for two people in love.  Christ’s love for us is perfect.  Our love for Him is limited by our imperfections, but made perfect by the Holy Spirit within us.

During my Bible college years, a school administrator liked to refer to Jesus as our “Lover.”  In much the same way I have a hard time viewing myself as the Bride of Christ, thinking of Jesus as my Lover seemed a bit creepy.  Lovers buy one another expensive meals and flowers.  They long to be in each other’s arms, and they discover a depth of intimacy that involves every aspect of their being.

Could this be said of Jesus?  Does He hold us?  He did say we are His sheep and no one can snatch us out of His hand (John 10:28).  Is He extravagant?  Perhaps He doesn’t send flowers, but what could be more extravagant than His live poured out at Calvary?  Can we define our relationship as intimate?  We must.  Who knows us better than Christ?  In order to heal our sin with His wounds, He must know the darkest, most private place in our hearts.  In turn, we pursue intimacy with Him.  This was Paul’s desire when wrote, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10 NIV).

It looks as though my college administrator was right after all.  Jesus really is our Lover.   No wonder Charles Wesley called Him, “Jesus, Lover of my soul.”  He came for us, loved us, gave His live for us, called us to Himself, and came to live in us.  We are blessed to be in love with One who gave Himself so completely, even before we chose Him.

This perspective moves beyond the much maligned idea of a spiritual blessing in our culture.  We become obsessed with signs of worldly success and claim they are signs of Christ’s love for us and our faithfulness to Him.  But is this really the case?  As a human marriage passes through the seasons of life, is the size of the diamond in our wedding band enough to remind us how much we care for one another?  Does the home we live in or the car we drive guarantee we are loved?  Or do we know we have a blessed marriage when we cling to each other, even as the things we possess are taken away, including our health?

We are blessed to have a Lover like Jesus.  I am still not completely comfortable with the term, but I believe it to be biblical.  Maybe if I was a bit less inhibited to have Jesus as a Lover, I would be a lot more likely to live in His blessings.

The Lover of Our Soul

Marriage was created by God as a place for intimacy.  When we hear the word intimacy we immediately think of physical love expressed in the sexual union of a man and a woman.  Sex is a part of intimacy, but if we equate it with intimacy we miss the point.

The reason God reserved sexual intimacy for marriage is because it was designed to be experienced within the context of commitment and faithfulness.  Those who engage in sex outside of marriage allow their physical relationship to rob them of love’s fullness.  This is why those who live together before marriage often have difficulty after they promise themselves to one another in a wedding ceremony.  It isn’t that marriage has changed the dynamic of their relationship and made things worse, but rather that something from marriage was taken from them while they lived in disobedience to God’s Word.  The damage can be repaired, but only when a couple acknowledges their confusion and strives to reset their relationship on a biblical foundation.

The relationship of Jesus to His Bride cannot be understood outside of this principle.  As well, it is impossible for us to fully comprehend how God felt when Israel turned to idols if we fail to grasp the importance of marital fidelity.  God’s words to Ephraim through the prophet Hosea make no sense apart from this: “They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises” (Hos 7:4 NIV).

If we ignored the sanctity of marriage, how could we treasure Paul’s words in relation to Christ’s love for His church?  Indeed, He died “to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:26-27).

As believers we have been called out of sin, washed clean by the blood of Christ, and betrothed for a holy purpose.  Our Savior has returned to His Father’s house where He is busy preparing a room for us, just as husbands in the first century returned to their father’s houses and annexed living spaces for their brides.  First century betrothals lasted for a year or two.  The betrothal of Christ to His holy Bride has lasted for centuries.

To be honest, it has been difficult for me to fully engage in the bride metaphor.  I helped my wife make some decisions for our wedding day, but she did most of the real work, with her mother’s assistance.  I was much too wrapped up with my own anxieties to think about what might be going on in the bridal room where my wife was preparing.  I didn’t see her until she emerged from the back of the sanctuary, the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on.

What are men supposed to do with the Bride metaphor?  After all, you don’t see a lot of men’s sports teams sponsored by bridal shops.  The bride’s experience will always have a certain mystique to grooms, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  Of course, I totally get Paul’s reference to Christ, the Groom, who gave His life to secure His Bride’s purity.  But this truth involves a male perspective.

I also struggle to understand my relationship to a collective metaphor.  Am I the Bride of Christ when I am alone, or only when I am with other brothers and sisters in Christ?  Is He my groom, our groom, or both?  Perhaps I am complicating things too much, but I find it much easier to see myself as a part of the Body of Christ than a part of the Bride of Christ, even though I know they are the same thing.

There are some cultural differences between our age and that of the first century.  We have engagements.  When Jesus walked the earth there were betrothals.  A betrothal was a legally binding commitment, and while a man and woman were to remain sexually pure until their wedding night, by that time the course of their lives together was largely defined.

It is sensible to assume Jesus’ betrothal to His Bride was made official on the Day of Pentecost, when the church was born.  This makes the spiritual betrothal between Christ and His people equivalent to the church age, which is scheduled to culminate in Christ’s return and the marriage feast of the Lamb.

While this timeline seems logical in the parallel between human marriage and the relationship of Christ and His Bride, not everyone agrees.  Some, with whom I disagree, have eschatological views that do not equate the Bride with the Christ’s church.

I move forward, fully confident that I am indeed a part of the beautiful Bride for whom Christ died.  My reservations fade in light of the more profound aspects of the mystery.  The practical working out of this picture has proven so relevant I cannot help but embrace it, even as I struggle to understand.

Dear Morning Devotion Group: Thank you for journeying along with me during my #2 Pencil Faith.  I would like to bind Pencil Faith in some way and make it available to people I counsel.  I am giving you a link to a complete copy here (https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7GqLrK4V0HbNzBhUWE3bzY4Rms/edit?usp=sharing), and ask that anyone with the gift of editing make me aware of glaring typos and other errors.  Also, please don’t distribute the copy widely as I might try to sell it someday to take care of Jane and me in our old age.  Today we begin a new study on the Bride of Christ, the Church.  I hope you enjoy it!  Blessings,  Larry Jones.

Chapter 1 – Welcome Home

Marriage unites a man and a woman in the holiest of human relationships, but it almost always involves more than two people.  When I married my wife, I was adopted into her family.  Of course, her family members were “in-laws” by definition, and my wife and I were clear on the biblical concept of “leaving and cleaving”.  Yet, in practical terms, I functioned like a naturalized citizen, and my wife’s parents treated me like a son.

Now my wife and I have a daughter-in-law of our own.  It’s strange in a way.  She wasn’t born into our family.  We didn’t care for her as an infant, clothe her, feed her or take her to the doctor when she was sick.  Someone else attended her school events, soccer games and award ceremonies.  But when our son pledged his life to her, we welcomed her into our family and loved her as our own.

In the Bible, we find a similar dynamic.  When we give our lives to Christ, we become a part of His church family.  Regardless of who we are, where we come from, or what we have done, we are welcomed home by others who have received the same grace.

In his first letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul encourages believers to treat one another as brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers (1 Timothy 5:1-2).  When the Corinthian church struggled with moral purity, Paul reminded they had been called out of idolatry by a Father who chose them as His sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18).

These new relationships are easy to understand, because they mirror our experiences in our biological families.  While it is true the spiritual family of the church is joined together in Christ, and grounded in grace, we are still in familiar territory as we worship, serve and grow together.

However one family word picture, the Bride of Christ, feels more mysterious in nature.  This Bride represents the collective church, made up of those who have been washed clean and given the gift of eternal life.  Her mystery is more than a feeling.  In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul used the metaphor of a husband’s love for his wife to describe Christ’s love for His church.  He concludes, “This is a profound mystery–but I am talking about Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32 NIV).

If you are in Christ, you are a part of His family, complete with fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters.  And you are His Bride, in community with others.  Is this awkward for you?

Dear Morning Devotion Group: This concludes our Pencil Faith Series.  Thank you for sticking with  me while I make this transition to form that allows me to compile my entries into book form.  Monday we start a series on the church called “The Father and the Bride” (Temporary Title).  I hope you enjoy it!  Blessings,  Larry Jones

Chapter 17 – What Makes Us Stronger?

Once a friend of mine said, “Doesn’t the Bible say, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger?” I’ll confess I had to look, and the answer is “no.”  Not only is it not in the Bible, but the statement is attributed to philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.  Nietzsche died at the age of 56 after a debilitating mental breakdown, followed by a host of medical issues.  In the end, his illness rendered his famous motto void, at least as it played out in his own life.

The truth that we are made stronger by our trials is, however, scriptural.  In his letter to the Romans Paul wrote, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance” (Romans 5:3).  Yet there is a difference between the rationale for Nietzsche’s philosophy and Paul’s convictions.  Nietzsche felt if we could find a way to endure human suffering, it would equip us to win future personal battles.  Paul, on the other hand, believed God was working through his trials to proclaim the glory of Christ through his testimony.  Nietzsche’s path put its hope in humanity.  Paul’s put its hope in God.

This means the answer to the question “what makes us stronger?” is answered in the context of a relationship.  It is true Paul says our suffering “produces” perseverance, but perseverance is merely a fruit of something more basic.  We find this “something more” in another statement from Paul: “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Rom 5:5 NIV).

If faith grows as our trust in God deepens, then one purpose for our suffering is made clear.  Our trials teach us to depend less on our own strength and more on God.  While it is true victory over our circumstances can and should make us more confident, our confidence is never in ourselves.  Victory has its origin in God, and if the full truth were known we would probably be astonished to know the extent of His intervention.

We are made stronger when we admit our weaknesses and assume the role of clay jars, allowing God’s glory to be seen in us.  This presents another ironic twist in Satan’s strategy.  Not only do his attempts to defeat us drive us deeper into the arms of God, but they also amplify our witness.  Our frustrations and limitations make us better vessels for God’s purposes.

No wonder we find joy in our trials.  They draw us closer to the Father, bring Him glory and give our lives greater meaning.  We will still have questions.  Why does a loving and good God permit us to be afraid?  Why does He allow Satan to sift us with doubt?  While we may never know all of the answers, there is comfort in knowing these are the things that teach us the One who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world.

During the season when our church family was recovering from the loss of its facility, we sojourned for three years without a permanent home.  This created immeasurable stress on our church staff since we often had to scramble at the last-minute when our temporary arrangements fell through.  As well, our architectural plans for our new facility placed function over form, leading to a manageable level of controversy over its non-traditional design.  These were just two pressure points on a journey that pushed me to the edge of sanity.  In time, my anxiety turned to discouragement and eventually to depression.

One afternoon I was traveling home after a long day of planning, and I decided to drive down to a marina near our home to settle my spirit.  I parked my car by an old oyster boat and stared at the water for several minutes.  A torrent of worries rushed through my head and I tried to make a mental note of the issues that really mattered while pushing the ones that seemed unimportant away.  Then, for reasons I still cannot explain, I felt an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and abandonment.  Looking back, I can see I was in depression.  My stress level had simply been too high for too long and I was reaching the limits of my capacity to cope.  I wept.  My tears were mingled with fear, grief and confusion, but mostly confusion.  And since I was a leader the mere thought I was at my wit’s end terrified me.  I was afraid to face the questions before me, let alone answer them.

When my tears subsided I started my engine, turned on the radio and put my car in gear.  At that very moment the DJ on our local classic rock station made a most unusual song choice.  It began, “Oh happy day, oh happy day”.  Perhaps you remember this popularized 1960s version of an old hymn.  “When Jesus washed, He washed my sins away.”  I put my car back in park, leaned my head back, closed my eyes and listened.   I thought about the grace of God poured into my life through His Son.  I was facing a lot of earthly challenges, but my greatest victory had already been won on the cross of Calvary.  Indeed I had all I needed!  Buildings are useful.  Other people’s perspectives are important.  But in the final analysis, since I had the promises of forgiveness and eternal life, and was in a new and lasting covenant with my Creator, nothing else mattered.

“Oh happy day, oh happy day”!

The song ended and I began my slow, but very relaxed drive home.  I still had fears and doubts, but at that moment I began the process of restoring balance to my faith.  I had been holding fiercely to the things I knew for certain.  But the time had come to let God show me a greater certainty.  My faith leaped for joy as I placed everything I thought I knew at the foot of the cross.

The foundational truths that comprised my certainties hadn’t changed, but my willingness to be open to the ways God might work within them had.  To the casual observer the pencils of my #2 Pencil Faith had been restored to their standard 80/20 position, but I was anything but normal.  In the years that have passed I have grown increasingly abnormal and aware of the peace of which Paul wrote, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

This is the peace I think we all desire, but cannot find on our own.  Nor can we discover it in the comfort of a life without pain.  We must be tested and tried.  Such is the nature of growing in Christ, and the way of the #2 Pencil Faith.

Chapter 16 – The New Abnormal

Suffering drives us deeper.  We consider it joy to suffer, not because it is pleasant, but because it is one of the best ways to grow in our walk with God.  When balance is restored in our lives, we are amazed at the lessons we have learned about a Creator who dares to live in and among His people in a fallen world.  Our faith never looks quite the same after a trial, which means we cannot correctly say we are “back to normal.”  Instead, we are stronger because we have become less rigid in our expectations and more open to the ways of a limitless God.

In our home we have an old calendar lithograph with two wild horses in a lightning storm, one white and one black.  The black horse appears to be sheltering the white one, so I tell people the picture represents the courageous way I protect my wife from danger.  She just smiles.

I love the picture because it used to hang in an upstairs hallway in my grandparent’s home, and I remember seeing it as they carried me to bed.  The history of the original artwork is a mystery.  Several variations were produced for business calendars and currency, but I have yet to discover the artist.  Still, there is an artist, and speculating on his mind and motivation is nearly as exciting as the picture itself.

Journeying to the greater depths of God’s love and grace is not always easy, but it is incredibly fulfilling.  The wisdom we encounter takes us beyond human intuition.  A growing faith, forged in the foundry of our darkest valleys is almost always abnormal.

Consider the prophet Daniel.  He established a kinship with King Darius and could have lived out his Babylonian captivity in relative ease.  But some jealous royal thugs devised a plot in which they cleverly convinced Darius to outlaw prayer to the Living God.  Daniel prayed anyway, and quickly found himself on the wrong side of the law.  Though Darius regretted his shortsightedness, he was bound by his word and forced to have Daniel thrown into a den of lions.  We now know God shut the mouths of the lions and protected Daniel.  But Daniel didn’t know this at the time.  He prayed even though praying might cost him his life.  Is that normal?

The Apostle Paul left the prestige of a Pharisee’s life to follow Jesus.  Instead of moving along the streets of Jerusalem in a holy robe, he was hounded by his own countrymen, beaten, stoned, imprisoned and, according to tradition eventually beheaded.  Paul could have been less zealous or led a quiet life of devotion to Jesus.  Yet, he risked his life to proclaim salvation to the Gentiles.  Is that normal?

I have decided the longer we walk with the Lord the more abnormal our faith becomes.  I am beginning to understand what Paul meant when he said, “We are fools for Christ!” (1 Corinthians 4:10).  How could it be the more we empty ourselves out for the Lord, the stronger we become?  Paul told the Corinthians he and his companions were like “the scum of the earth” and “the refuse of the world” (1 Corinthians 4:13).  Why would anyone voluntarily assume these personas?  The only explanation is that a deeper walk with God is more satisfying than the emptiness of human sophistication.

How frustrated Satan must be when we defy normalcy.  He pushes against our certainties with fear and doubt, but the very forces he uses to break us are employed by God to make us stronger.  Without fear we would not cling tighter.  Without doubt we would not dig deeper. Satan must think, “It isn’t normal, I’ll tell you! These people are nuts!”  Are we fools to remain faithful?  No!  We would be fools to deny the One who is faithful in everything and able to keep us close by His side to the very end.

A few years ago our daughter told us she was going to be moving out of her college dorm to live with some friends in an apartment.  The apartment wasn’t in the best part of town.  In fact, it was in a refurbished drug house in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods around.  The house had a downstairs living room where our daughter and her friends began to nurture godly relationships with neighborhood children.  They played games, baked cookies and cried together when life was hard.  There were murders, shootings, dog attacks and other frightening events I was thankful I didn’t know about at the time they occurred.  But there was also grace and love.  God showed our daughter and her friends how His power is seen best in our foolish acts of service.

A few people told my wife and me we were crazy for letting our daughter live in a crime zone.  We answered, “She’s over eighteen.  She can do what she wants.”  But inside we were proud and envious.  We were proud because she was doing something important for Jesus and envious because we knew there was no better place to know God than on the front lines of spiritual warfare.

If Satan thinks we are abnormal, he is right.  This is the nature of people with a growing faith.  They grow less normal with time.  We might even call it the “new normal”, or perhaps it is just our foolish side showing.

The abnormal life is much less anxious.  Once we admit our comprehension of God’s providence isn’t as finely tuned as we thought, we can begin to look behind and beyond our trials for new glimpses of His glory.  When we discover it is alright to contend with God over perceived miscarriages of justice, we don’t have to run or hide.  And when we can discuss our fears and doubts openly, trusting in God even when we have no idea how our circumstances are going to turn out, Satan and his demonic forces are neutralized.  This is why, sometimes, we have to be at the end of our resources before we are willing to give God the place in our lives He deserves.  The illusion of a normal faith doesn’t stand up well against the delusions of the evil one.  But truth, bathed with grace, leads us home.

None of us like turmoil, or the unsettled feelings in our hearts that seem to accompany our trials.  We would rather find a patch to cover our pain, and a powerful scripture or two to chase Satan away.  This might work in the small things, but if we use the same method for more complex events in our lives, we are going to either collapse within or succumb to the delusion.

The Lord challenges us to take on our circumstances with courage and truth.  He proposes crazy axioms such as “the last will be first and the first will be last” and “love your enemies.”  To be honest, when we are discouraged and feeling somewhat abandoned, it is hard to believe Jesus knows what He is talking about.  But in the valley He teaches us.  In the pit He transforms us.  When we emerge we realize we will never be normal again.

Chapter 15 – Oh, the Possibilities!

The “Law of Possibilities” reminds us the scope of God’s providential means and methods are beyond human understanding.  I am convinced the process of growing in our faith involves the passionate, teeth-clinching, crying in our pillow at night trust that keeps us around long enough to see God work in unexpected ways.  When I think of God’s providence in terms of probabilities, I am awestruck by the infinite nature of the equation.

When possibilities increase, so do opportunities.  I am a terrible golfer, but I play in tournaments for worthwhile causes.  At one time my golf equipment was sorely outdated, and a bit embarrassing.  It consisted of my father’s old wooden driver, an incomplete set of rusted irons with disintegrating hand grips, and a two-toned bag from the 50s.  To help complete this picture you must also know the bag was made of white and turquoise vinyl with leather trim.

One day, after a church tournament, my golfing partner knocked on my office door.  He entered carrying a lightly used bag of golf clubs.  It seems he has just received a new set of clubs for his birthday and he wanted to give me his old stuff.  What he really said was, “I don’t want to be embarrassed when we play in the next tournament.”  As far as I was concerned his motives were irrelevant.

The next time I played golf I proudly displayed my new used bag and clubs.  Did they help me play better golf?  Well, yes they did!  The driver head was twice as big, and I didn’t have to use a nine iron as a pitching wedge.  The clubs were also better suited to my 6.2 frame, as opposed to the short clubs my father had passed down.  I didn’t instantly become an experienced golfer, but I had better options, thereby increasing the probability I would have greater success.

At the risk of reducing God’s realm to a golf bag, I am convinced this principle speaks to us when our certainties are tested.  The difference is, God calls the shots, and the “Law of Possibilities” reminds us He has limitless resources and an infinite number of ways to use them.  “All things are possible with God.”  How does He demonstrate this self-revealed truth?

First, God has dominion over nature in form and function.  He put all matter in motion and has the authority and ability to alter our earthly reality.  Miracles are difficult to replicate in a laboratory because they operate outside the scientific norm.  We pray for the physical healing of loved ones who have been declared “terminal” because we believe God transcends our human glossary.  This doesn’t mean He will always give us what we want, but we know He can, and possibly might.  The One who created nature’s laws are not bound by them.

Secondly, God uses ordinary circumstances in extraordinary ways.  He works within the natural processes He has already established to providentially influence our circumstances.  This doesn’t mean He circumvents our freedom to choose, but rather that He finds ways to be faithful to us while remaining firm in His purposes.  If we consider how the ordinary people, places and events in our lives intersect on a daily basis, then multiply these by the infinite divine option of God, the possible solutions to our personal trials are mind-blowing.  This is why people of great faith are so good at waiting.  It isn’t because they know the outcome, but rather that they have been surprised by God too many times not to trust Him implicitly.

Third, God accomplishes eternal purposes through our temporary circumstances.  I have wondered if the apostles ever questioned the value of their sacrifice when they endured persecution for the sake of Christ.  I feel certain there were days when they felt underappreciated.  Yet, they persevered, not because they thought the kingdom rose or fell on their shoulders, but because they were convinced they were a part of something bigger than life.  The Apostle Paul must have had this truth in mind when he wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

This same attitude is found throughout history and today in the testimony of those martyred for the gospel.  It was even present in unseemly seasons of the past when Christians hunted down their own brothers and sisters to torture and kill them in the name of doctrinal purity.  Cam God work in these situations?  Absolutely!  Our view of God’s plan is limited to the things we can see, hear and touch.  His is eternal.

With experience, our conversation of faith is less about judgment and more about waiting and meditating.  Every day we hear people in statistically rich environments such as professional sports or politics, predict the future.  But how can we accurately predict what God might do when we don’t even understand everything He is capable of doing?  Instead, we learn to stand in the presence of the One for whom “all things are possible” and be ready for anything.

The 80% of certainty I stand in as I journey with God is being constantly transformed. The foundational truths remain the same, but my awareness of how God might exercise His absolute sway in the universe deepens.  The more I learn, the more I find I need to learn.  The existence of so many possibilities and my trust in God gives me the courage to stand, even as fear and doubt crouch at my door.

Gabriel’s precept of “all things possible” came in response to Mary’s simple question: “How will this be?” (Luke 1:34).  She was sexually pure out of obedience to God, so we can appreciate her confusion.  When God’s hand moves out of the realm of human possibility, how can we go forward?

The “Law of Possibilities” opens our spiritual eyes.  It teaches us to prognosticate less and trust more.  It also gives us the courage to walk with God through the process of pain, whether or not we can see the future with clarity.