Awake, Sleeper

Ezekiel 37:3

“He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’”

A coffin lies at the altar for a funeral that has been ongoing for the last 35 years. Each day, the living come and pay their respects to the rotten corpse, dressed in black and weeping tears that flow in uninterrupted streams. They pray ceaselessly with murmuring lips, then return to their homes to eat, drink, laugh and converse.

On a beautiful spring afternoon a thought formed in the mind of the moldering corpse. This was, of course, impossible, but he did not recognize the impossibility of the situation until much later.

So… thirsty, he thought, longing for a drink of pure, cold water. 

He had no cause to drink, no capacity to benefit from it, but the thought entered his mind from seemingly nowhere before his conscious mind faded to blackness and emptiness.

Weeks passed.

The congregation came and went each day, their shoes wet with the dew of the morning. 

The thought formed again. 

I need… water.

The bones ached, feeling their own dryness and deadness and longing to press against the dark, suffocating space of the coffin. 

But there was no power in those bones. No strength came from longing. 

Death held tight with an iron grip. 

The days went by as before, the congregation praying with tearful eyes and singing songs of deliverance. 

The corpse longed to sing with them, but soon remembered he had no tongue, no ability to move the jaw and no breath in his lungs. 

Dead! Dead! He thought. There is no hope, no rest for me here. And now that I understand my own predicament, I am worse off than I was before!

The song finished and the congregation filed out of the room, leaving only stillness and the echoes of their voices.

If I could only have a little water… I am in agony in this casket.

The moment passed with a torturous slowness. The walls seemed to press in as if the coffin was shrinking. He was desperate to scream out, to throw his fist against the locked lid until it splintered.

But no movement and no sound came from the casket. The corpse lay still, thinking loud, desperate thoughts.

Am I to be here forever? I cannot spend another 35 years in this box! Lord, save me from this body of death! I have nothing to bring but rottenness and sin… I cast my wretchedness on the blood of the Lamb!

Pain, and then relief coursed through his tortured mind. 

He felt his heart beating wildly, an alien sensation that was frightening at first. 

Warm blood flowed through lifeless, dried-out limbs. 

As someone coming up from the depths of the water, he gasped an enormous breath, pulling air into his lungs for the first time. 

Click.

The lock! He thought, finding that his lips were mouthing the words.

His fingers twitched as muscle and sinew wrapped and stretched themselves across his arms, then his legs. New skin covered his new body like a garment, flowing over him from head to foot. 

With a shout he brought both hands up and pushed. The lid of the coffin clattered onto the floor as blinding light shone into his newly formed, blinking eyes. 

He soon found himself standing at the altar, looking around at the shapes and colors of the world like a newborn infant. His suit pants, which were fitted for a man lying down, were a bit long now that he was standing. 

He staggered down the aisle to the door awkwardly, singing the songs he had heard in the depths of the coffin. 

“Thank you! But thank you is not enough! What words can describe this!” he exclaimed as he looked back toward the altar. 

Opening the door, he saw a well lying by the path that led to the church. 

He drew up a bucket and drank deeply of the water there for the first time, not realizing in this moment that he would be able to return to this very spot the next day, and every day afterward for the rest of his life.

After drinking long and deep, he looked down the path and saw the congregants walking in the distance some miles away. He began running after them, singing again as his legs grew in strength and speed.

“Once I was dead in sin,

  And hope within me died;

But now I’m dead to sin,

  With Christ I’m crucified.

O height I cannot reach!

  O depth I cannot sound!

O love, O boundless love,

  In my Redeemer found!

I live—and yet not I,

  But Christ that lives in me,

Who from the law of sin

  And death has made me free.”

Ruth and the Unlikely Workings of God

       

      While diving into my readings of the Old Testament I have found myself in the story of Ruth. I am finding so many parallels in this story that bring out the wonderful love that God has for us through His Sovereign work in our lives. 

         At the beginning of the book Ruth is a pagan Moabite, a person who was unlikely to know the one true God. But God brings her into His family by first placing her in the home of an Israelite by marriage, a union which she probably had little say in, and then by bringing her to Israel through a tragic set of circumstances and by her firm determination and loyalty to Naomi. Then the Lord sovereignly works by sending her to the field which Boaz owned and also giving her favor in his eyes. She eventually finds her kinsman redeemer in Boaz, who is kind to her and accepts her despite her foreign race and poverty.

These things are so unusual and unlikely, but God used this particular set of circumstances which were often tragic to bring Ruth to Himself and to accomplish His purpose through her life. This leads to the question, how do you and I view the circumstances that God has placed in our own lives? 

        I can find myself wishing that I did not have a particular problem in front of me, or wishing that I had started something sooner, or that I had more wisdom with a particular decision. Surely Ruth could have done all of these things when looking back on her late husband, when looking at her despondent mother-in-law, or when moving into a strange land where she was not only unknown to them but also of a race which was despised. But... God uses this unlikely situation to accomplish His purpose and form a marriage which would be a critical link in the chain of the bloodline of Jesus Christ. What a meaningful outcome!

        Are we willing to believe that God is able to work through the unlikely circumstances of our own lives? That through struggle and heartache He can accomplish something that is meaningful and powerful?

        Surely this story of Ruth illustrates God's ability to do this. But we must have faith that God is working, we must continue in prayer, calling out to Him to deliver us, to sanctify us and to draw us closer to Him during the times of trial and hard circumstances which we encounter.

  Psalm 31:24 says "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord." Why do we hope? Because God is able. He is able to accomplish good and meaningful things through unlikely circumstances. He is able to redeem sinners to Himself though we were as far from Him as Ruth was in Moab. He is able to use us to further His Kingdom, weak as we are, and no matter our past or the place which we come from.

        We hope because God is able. We hope because we have the promises of Scripture. We believe in a mighty and powerful God who can bring dry bones to life, who accomplishes all by the word of His power. Surely the small circumstances and challenges of our life are not too much for Him.

        Let us trust in the God who uses the unexpected circumstances of our lives to accomplish His own purpose. The story of Ruth is not an outlier or a strange coincidence. Instead, it is a peek behind the curtain to see the power of God as He orchestrates every situation that we face. May we grow in our trust in Him.

Living in the Moment as a Christian

  I recently went an entire day without being completely in the present. I was anxious about something that would happen a few days later. Every spare second my thoughts would begin to move toward that upcoming problem which robbed me of the joy and thankfulness which I could have been experiencing that day. 

   I don’t think I am alone in struggling with this. I have heard many people say to me that they spend more time looking to the next phase of life instead of being thankful for life as it is now. This can happen at any age. Recently an 80 year old patient told me that he was disappointed in reaching his eighties because he thought they would be his “golden years,” and somehow different or better than when he was in his seventies.

   To “live in the moment” is a theme that makes its way through advertising, movies and pop psychology. Nick Saban, recently retired Alabama head coach, constantly lived by the mantra “be where your feet are,”  and he attributes this to his success. Though the idea of living in the moment has been overused and become cliche, it is a thought that is attractive in a distracted culture. Looking back at old photos we see people gathered around each other watching a football game or at a birthday party where there are no cell phones in sight. It is a glimpse into a time where people found it easier to live in the present moment, without being interested in what their friends are doing on social media or worried about what is going on in countries on the other side of the world. 

   This concept of living in the moment has also appealed to cultures in the past. Leo Tolstoy wrote a powerful short story called “The Three Questions.” In the story, a King goes on a quest for truth, his mission being to find the most important time, people, and things to do. In the end, (spoiler alert) he finds that the most important time is now, because now is the only time in which he has the power to act. This realization along with the discovery of other truths completely changes the King’s outlook on his life and duty as a leader. 

   Living in the present is certainly a popular message in the cultures of today and yesterday, but how should we interpret this philosophy from a Christian perspective? Is this mindset something which is opposed to the message of the bible? Or is it instead a truth that can be reconciled with Scripture and a Christian worldview?

   Surprisingly, there is evidence for “living in the moment” within Scripture, with a condition. This condition is dependent on the particular reason why you live in the present moment. The world generally stresses the importance of living in the moment for one reason, which is, to live for yourself. According to this worldview, living in the present moment is the only way to enjoy the pleasures of this life. You only live once, after all, and therefore you must get the maximum amount of pleasure and happiness from each moment by gratifying yourself. The fatal flaw in this mindset is that it assumes that we should be living for ourselves, which is opposed to what the bible teaches. 

   The biblical reason for living in the present is very different. It is an acknowledgement of our creaturely limits. As limited, dependent creatures, we cannot (currently) serve God in the future because we do not know whether we will live to see tomorrow. We also cannot do anything to change the past, though we can learn from it. The Christian life is lived on the razor-thin edge between the unchangeable past and the unknowable future. Understanding this is simple enough, living it out is very difficult. It is hard to accept our human limitations, but we find that in embracing them we become truly free. 

   We can only obey God in the time which we have been given, which is now. Therefore spending large amounts of mental energy on the unchangeable past or the unknowable future is fruitless. Of course we should praise God for His works of grace in the past as well as trust Him for His promises in the future, but part of acceptance of being a created human being is understanding our limits. This results in a life spent living in the present. A life spent trusting God in each moment and obeying Him in each moment. 

   This is a theme seen in the Old Testament when God supplied the Israelites with manna from heaven. When provisions are given in the desert, the natural response is to gather it up. To place it in storage or stockpile it for times when there would be no food. But God expressly commands them not to do this (except on the 6th day). Why? Because they were to depend on God every day to provide for them. He is the Sustainer, we are the creatures which need daily sustenance. We also see the warning in the parable of the rich fool who gathered up for Himself barns of plenty, telling himself that he could rest and relax for many years to come. He trusted in his wealth on earth, failing to recognize that he may not live to enjoy it. God supplies what we need daily, whether that be by material provision or keeping our hearts and organs working. 

   This translates to our lives as we follow Jesus’ instruction in prayer. “Give us this day our daily bread.” No matter how secure our provisions seem to be, they can be taken from us in an instant as they were from Job. This is why Jesus commands us to live a life of continual, moment by moment dependance on Him. It is a calling to live each minute by faith, believing that He is the ultimate Provider of the physical and spiritual sustenance that we need to live and carry on.

   Failure to understand this often leads to stress and anxiety. In the sermon on the mount Jesus says, “Do not worry about tomorrow.” Truly this is a different way to live as compared to our normal way of viewing things. Jesus used the example of birds and flowers to illustrate that we are to depend on our Heavenly Father as they do. Not worrying about tomorrow or stressing about the future and letting these thoughts affect the way we live today. But instead seeking God’s kingdom in the present tense, knowing that God will provide for us today and in the future. 

    In speaking, we see this exemplified in Scripture as well. We are to trust God to give us the words to speak in the moment which we are to speak them. Before going to Egypt, Moses was given some limited instruction on what to say to Pharaoh and to the Israelites. But when he complains to God about his lack of eloquence, God answers him by saying that He would help Moses and Aaron to speak when the moment arose.

   Similarly in the New Testament, Jesus tells the disciples that when they are brought before the men in the synagogue, not to worry about what they would say, because the Holy Spirit would teach them “in that very hour” what they should speak. Through examples like these we learn that although we should meditate and store up knowledge through memorization, ultimately we trust in God to supply the words we need in the season that we need them. He can give us “the tongue of the learned,” (Isa 50) to sustain the weary that we encounter in our lives. We trust him to do this day by day, moment by moment. 

   In growth, the Christian life progresses in the present. We have no ability to change the past or understand the future, therefore the only thing left is to trust God and obey Him today, in the finite time which we have been given. Growth is a slow and often inconsistent process in the life of a Christian, similar to a tree which slowly goes through seasons of growth and then seasons of winter which create rings as it expands gradually over time. Even the fastest seasons of growth are only a collection and summation of individual moments in which we trust God and obey Him by the power of the Holy Spirit, facing each challenge and temptation by faith. The way forward in growth is in trusting and obeying God today. 

   There is biblical evidence for “living in the moment” as a Christian, but not for the purpose of serving yourself. It is simply all that is to be done as a created being. It is an acceptance of our human limitations. Living with this acceptance leads to thankfulness and joy in our present situation instead of wishing for something tomorrow. May we each learn more about what it means to live in the moment as a Christian.

A Blurry Picture of God's Love

   In 2018, Brad Lewis and his 8 year old son Oscar were playing with a Nerf gun on the balcony of their friend’s home in Sydney, Australia. Oscar fired the nerf gun at his dad and watched as some of the darts went bouncing over the edge of the balcony, dropping around 15 feet onto the concrete below. The young boy ran to the balcony railing and began leaning over the edge to see where the darts had landed. As his weight shifted forward, his feet began to leave the ground and he began to tumble over the edge. Brad saw his son begin to lose his balance and instantly ran over to him, trying to grab his waist or legs, but it was too late. His son’s momentum was pulling them both over the railing. 

  Brad was no stranger to risky situations. He had been in the military and had advanced in the ranks to become an officer. His training had prepared him to act quickly and decisively without considering the possible consequences to his own body. After leaving the army, Brad didn’t settle for an easy or comfortable job but instead began working with a deep sea construction company as a diver, placing his life on the line each time went down into the cold ocean waters. 

  All of his life and training prepared him for this moment where his son was teetering on the edge of a fall which would have resulted in serious injury or worse. He realized that the forces of momentum were too strong to keep them both on the balcony. Brad wrapped his arms around his son’s body as they both fell over the edge. In the split second before impact, he maneuvered himself to a position where he was underneath his son and closer to the ground, arms wrapped around him tightly to shield his head from the impact of the concrete. 

  They both hit the concrete hard and Brad felt a snap in his neck. Blood began to pool under his head as his friends came running around the corner of the house to see what happened. In this moment of uncertainty Brad was only concerned for his youngest son, asking if he was okay and warning his friend to keep his other child away so that he wouldn’t be traumatized by the sight of his father. “Don’t let them see me like this,” he said. 

  An ambulance arrived shortly after this and both father and son were taken away to the hospital. Oscar maintained only minor injuries as Brad’s mid-air maneuver likely saved his life and shielded him from most of the impact.  Brad had fractured his neck and skull among other serious injuries but thankfully his spinal cord was still intact. In the months following the accident his wife took leave from her job and helped him to make a full recovery. 

 —

  Brad’s story is one of tremendous sacrifice and love for his son. His physical skill in acting quickly and decisively is amazing, but the intention to sacrifice himself for the well-being of his son is not uncommon. Any good father being placed in the same scenario would put himself in harm’s way to save their child. In smaller ways, all parents make sacrifices for their children every day. Whether it be by waking up in the middle of the night to comfort a newborn or driving miles to help when their son or daughter has a child of their own. 

  The heart of a parent is one of great love for their children. We see this in countless examples of people all around us. Jesus addressed this in Luke 11:11-13 when he says, “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent, or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” 

  Jesus takes this picture of an earthly father’s interaction with his son, and uses it to describe God’s relationship with His children. If a son approached his earthly father and asked for a missing ingredient for dinner, wouldn’t the earthly father comply? And if so, how much more does God desire to give us when we ask Him? The principle He applies is directly related to prayer, but it also can be understood to be broader than this. The greater principle is that God’s relationship with us is deeper and his love is greater than what can be exemplified in any earthly relationship. This means that the best possible example of an earthly father’s love is truly small and insignificant when compared to our heavenly Father’s love and care for us. 

  Do we really understand the magnitude of this? Think of the comfort you may receive from someone who you are in a trusting relationship with. The people in our lives who we may run to when times are difficult. We share our troubles with them knowing that they will hear us and understand us because of their love for us. But compared with the love of God these are only dim pictures. They point to the great and unfathomable depths of the love that God has for His children. 

  Brad’s love for his child was shown clearly in his story and he proved it in his moment of sacrificing himself. As amazing as this story is, God’s love for us is infinitely greater than any earthly father’s love. God loves his children in a way that we can not even imagine with our dim understanding here on earth. His love is so great that no words can even describe how amazing it is or the level that God our Father would go to sacrifice for us. And God has tangibly demonstrated His love for us in sending his Son to save us from the greatest danger we could ever face. It is not only a proclaimed love but it is also a love which has been proven.  A love which defines all others, as 1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” 

  Every time we see a mother or father caring for their child we should be reminded of the greater picture that it points to. The greater love, which we have received and will receive from God. The greater sacrifice, which was the Savior’s life being given to save us from judgment and condemnation. A love like this is not conditional, it is pure and untouched by our failures and sin because it's root is in Christ’s righteousness. 

  So believers, rejoice in this love. Revel in it. Be glad in the fullness and depth of God’s love for you. Most Christians only scratch the surface in their understanding of God’s love for them. They live in poverty when they have immeasurable riches at their disposal. If they would only take the time to look in God’s word and see, they could have so much more joy and peace that comes from the happy knowledge of their standing before God. 

  Those Christians who do study to know and understand God’s love for them will find it to be a joyful journey, but never one that they will come close to finishing. God’s love is too vast to be discovered in one lifetime. Like overlooking a beautiful view of a mountain range, the immensity of God’s love should both awe us and drive our passion to explore and learn more of what we see. Be relentless in discovering God’s love for you in Christ and glorify Him with praise for what He has done!

—

 Psalm 63:1-4 “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.”

Leaky Faith: God's Work through Uncertainty

    “An old Chinese farmer saved up small amounts of money over a year to buy a new horse. Just a day after the farmer bought the horse, it ran away. His neighbour expressed grief, but the farmer himself was calm. “I hope you can get over this bad news” said the neighbor. “Good news or bad news, can’t say” replied the farmer.

   The next day, the horse returned to the farmer’s house by itself, and brought another stray horse with it. “Cheer up, we’re going to multiply our farm income. That’s great news” said the farmer’s son. “Good news or bad news, can’t say” replied the farmer and carried on with his work.

   A week later, the farmer took the first horse to his farm and his son took the second horse to follow his father to work. On the way, the second horse pushed the boy down and ran away. The boy’s leg was fractured badly. That evening back home, the farmer’s wife groaned “We will have to spend all our extra savings on our son’s broken leg. What terrible news”. Once again, the farmer replied: “Good news or bad news, can’t say.”

   A month later, the farmer’s King announced a war on the neighboring nation. Citing a lack of foot soldiers, the King ordered all able-bodied men in the nation to get drafted into the military without excuses. The farmer’s son was spared because of his broken leg. Later, the inexperienced soldiers got slaughtered in the war. “You are lucky that your son did not get drafted. Mine returned with severe injuries. Many have been handicapped or killed” complained the farmer’s best friend. Unabashed, the farmer responded: “Good news or bad news, can’t say”. (1)

   I’m sure that many of us have heard this fable about the wise farmer. This story illustrates a truth common to human experience which is that we know very little about how circumstances affect our lives. So often we think of circumstances as either being “good” or “bad,” but this is over-simplistic thinking. What we think of as being “bad” may in the end really be good. And sometimes what we think of as “good,” can hold dangers which may cause us to fall. 

   But underlying every situation, the Christian can be confident that God is sovereignly working through everything to accomplish His plan and His good purposes. Even through we often sin, fail and make poor decisions, His wisdom supersedes our feeble understanding of the world which He created. 

   Recently we ran into a plumbing problem at our house. The toilet shut-off valve started leaking and would not stop even after being turned to the “shut” position. I crawled under the house following the rusty pipes looking for another valve to stop the leak to the bathroom, but there was nothing to do besides turning the water off to the entire house. Under the dripping toilet valve was a crumbling metal pipe that probably should have been replaced years ago but somehow was still intact. I knew that this simple leak would probably turn into a huge headache and since I know very little about plumbing repair a professional needed to be called. 

   Because we rent the home we are in, we were not responsible for the financial cost of this repair, however, it was an inconvenience to be without water for a day or two. Also I felt bad for my dad who, being the landlord, had to add this problem onto his already large slate of difficulties he deals with every day. Kristin and I were feeling the pressure and stress of the situation and were struggling to see anything “good” in what God was doing in this situation, even though it was only a small inconvenience.

   A couple of days later when the workers arrived, they did an excellent job and worked tirelessly to get the job done. The crawlspace under our house is very narrow which requires anyone trying to access the bathroom to slide on their belly for at least 15-20 feet in some places, pressing themselves into the ground and hoping that they clear the floor joists. 

   When the workers finished, they told us that something felt off about the whole thing. The pressure in the house still wasn’t what it should be with the replaced line. So they went and checked the wellhouse. There they found that the main pipe coming out of the well was broken, resulting in a contained flood which kept the pump running 24/7 with the switch melted into the “on” position. 

 

    Since the well pump is submerged and quiet we had no idea this was happening. Every day for an unknown amount of time the pump had been running constantly which would have resulted in an eventual overheating and “burn up”. If it wasn’t for the leaky bathroom valve, within a short period of time this unknown problem at the well-house would have turned into a much more expensive repair. 

   Now looking back at this situation it was clear that God was working even through this minor inconvenience. Often it may be years before we see what God is working to accomplish but in this case it was only a matter of a little more than 24 hours. I am ashamed of my lack of faith in what God was doing, allowing myself to become stressed and anxious so quickly. 

   As we recognize how little we really understand about the circumstances of our lives our response can go one of two ways (or be a mixture of both). First, we can be fearful and afraid of everything that happens to us, because each change may represent a threat that is unseen. Or instead we can trust, being confident that the Maker of the universe can absolutely produce good from our knee injury or car accident. The sovereign Lord who has found a way to save fallen mankind can absolutely take a plumbing problem and turn it into a cause for rejoicing. 

   Scripture reminds us of this truth of God’s ability to turn each situation into good. Romans 8:28 states that “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” 

   Because of our naturally unbelieving hearts this truth can not be simply absorbed when we read it for the first time. Instead it is learned from our day to day challenges as we practice our faith by responding to each situation God sovereignly places in our lives.  Over time, our faith grows as we are challenged over and over again to trust God in every circumstance. 

   This growth is illustrated in Scripture as Abraham demonstrates his lack of faith time and time again early in the account of his life. He claims that his wife is his sister to avoid being killed and also doubts Sarah’s ability to have a child by impregnating Hagar. But as he sees God’s sovereign intervention over and over he grows in his faith, even to the point of being willing to sacrifice his only son to be obedient to God’s will. Later in Abraham’s life he blindly sends his servant to a faraway land to find Isaac a wife, trusting that God would provide yet again. Through all of this growth God shows incredible patience to Abraham as He does to us who are in Christ as we feebly seek to trust Him.

   The Christian can take comfort in knowing that the darkest situation anyone has ever been in has already happened on the cross. If God can take Christ’s death and produce glory, He can take our comparably small inconveniences of life and produce greater faith, patience and further reasons to worship Him. His hidden hand works in the dark while we cry out because of our pain and weakness. We live in hope for the day these things will be revealed and we can worship Him to an even fuller extent.

References

1. https://medium.com/@dineshsairam/the-chinese-farmer-and-his-horse-what-is-the-meaning-of-life-9fba73f689eb