Categories
Uncategorized

“Where Are You From?”

Hannah1 was an atheist when we first met her, a bright young woman with a highly scientific mindset, but her convictions eventually began to change. “I believe there is a God,” she confessed to Peggy and me one evening before adding, “But I don’t believe in Jesus being God.” We’ve all heard this before, and perhaps said it ourselves. In fact, we’d probably agree that one of the primary reasons people struggle with Jesus is the very notion of a man being God or a man becoming God. When Jewish leaders surrounded Jesus one winter’s day in the temple, they, with stone in hand, accused Him of blasphemy, “because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”2 Indeed, if “a mere man” were to proclaim himself or be esteemed by others as deity, we would rightfully object.

In Jesus’ case, however, the flaw lies in the premise. Jesus is not a man who became God; He is the eternal Son of God who, for a specific time and purpose, became a man. This distinction changes everything. Jesus “was God,” wrote John, and “He was in the beginning with God.”3 Some 700-plus years before the birth of Jesus, Micah foretold His coming this way: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah . . . from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”4 The phrase, “from ancient days” here refers to Jesus’ timeless origin. The Messiah of eternal existence would be borne to us in Bethlehem, claimed the prophet, and indeed He has. Jesus himself proclaimed, “Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am.”5 Paul echoed the same of Christ Jesus, who “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”6

As Jesus stood before Pilate, the increasingly frightened governor asked of Him the question that confronts us all: “Where are you from?”7 From a human perspective, we could say Jesus was from Bethlehem, Egypt, Galilee, or Nazareth — all would be true. But His origin is elsewhere: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”8 Can a mere mortal rise up and save us? No, only the Son of God can do that.

Epilogue. Hannah has since become a believer in Jesus Christ, embracing relationship with Him through His Word and refreshingly open and trusting prayer. Her inner joy outward shines.

Father, thank You for sending Jesus from Your presence and into our world. Truly He is the Son of God. In Him we trust, in Him we live, and in Him we pray. Amen.

1 This name is changed for privacy purposes.
2 John 10:33 NASB
3 John 1:1-2 ESV
4 Micah 5:2 ESV
5 John 8:58 ESV
6 Philippians 2:6-7 NIV
7 John 19:9 ESV
8 John 6:38 ESV

Categories
Uncategorized

“Are You the One?”

John was in lockup. His crime? Exercising free speech, or perhaps surpassing its subjective limits. And now the death penalty loomed. Seven hundred years prior, Isaiah had foretold John as the herald of the Messiah — “A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”1 It was John who proclaimed Jesus’ identity to the crowd: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”2 It was John who, though first demurring, baptized the Son of God in the flowing waters of the Jordan.3 He was there to see the Spirit descend upon Jesus like a dove and to hear the celestial voice: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”4

Now from his correctional confines, John heard reports of Jesus’ miracles and the people’s boundless joy. But there he sat, once a trumpeter and now a prisoner. How could this be? Was I wrong? I hear the reports, but here I sit. So John sent two of his followers to Jesus with this question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”5 I suspect most of us can relate; I certainly can. In troubled times we may ask, “Where are you, God? Are you real? Do you care? Do my prayers matter?” Contemplating our demise we may ask, “Did you really take away my sins? Will you really take me into your rest? Is my hope indeed secure?” In other words, we all are tempted — literally tempted by the evil one — to doubt.

Then what must we do amid the hissing enticement to grow weak? Appeal to what we have already seen Jesus do in, through, and around us. To John’s messengers Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”6 I’d venture to say God has done far more in and around each one of us than we can recall — healings, inexplicable coincidences, divine surprises, fulness in the Spirit, the peace in forgiveness. We could go on. In fact, do just that — start a list of God’s faithfulness in your life; you’ll be amazed.

Jesus had one more word for the messengers to take back to John: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”7 When tempted by the tempter to question this Son of God, choose faith — choose to believe. Yes, He is the one. Rest in Him.

Father, You show Your love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us.8 In Him we trust; in Him we rest. And in Him we pray. Amen.

1 Isaiah 40:3 NIV
2 John 1:29 ESV
3 Matthew 3:13-14
4 Matthew 3:17 NIV
5 Luke 7:19 NIV
6 Luke 7:22 NIV
7 Luke 7:23 NIV
8 Romans 5:8 NIV

Categories
Uncategorized

True Belief: Reliance on God

Upon retiring a decade ago, I chose to take half my pension in a lump sum and the remainder in a series of monthly installments. The initial check was to come via courier on a certain day, so I waited for the doorbell — surely they would hand over my treasure face-to-face. As the day went on, I became progressively edgier until, stepping out the front door at one point, I glanced down and noticed an envelope half sticking out from beneath our welcome mat. There it lay, half of a pension built up over 35 years of hard work, now exposed with all the “protection” of a doormat. At that moment and all the way to the bank, I couldn’t wait to get this life savings transfer instrument out of my clutches and safely into the hands of those on whose security I could rely.

In John’s first letter to the early church, and specifically in 1 John 4:7 – 5:5, the apostle mentioned “love” or its variations — “loves,” “loved,” and “loving” — 32 times in 20 short verses. The passage is as much refreshing as amazing. Yet buried in all this love-speak was another four-letter word worth exploring: rely. John writes: “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.”1 Most versions accurately translate the word as “believe,” yet the NIV’s use of “rely” here urges us toward a level of belief far beyond mental assent, to a relinquishment of self-will and complete entrustment of our entire lives to God, whose ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours.2

Paul exemplifies belief to the point of reliance. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”3 The bold apostle understood true belief means relinquishing self-will and relying completely on God. Of his former religious achievements and repute, Paul now considered “everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”4 This is the kind of belief to which we are called, belief to the point of entrustment. This is life safely deposited in Christ on whose love we can rely. Take it to the bank.

“Your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” — Colossians 3:3 NIV

Father, You are good, and in goodness You reach out to us. So fill us with the knowledge of Your love that we would joyfully rely on You every step of our lives. In Christ we pray. Amen.

1 1 John 4:15-16 NIV
2 Isaiah 55:6
3 Galatians 2:20 NIV
4 Philippians 3:8 NIV