Mary Did You Know?

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Imagine what was going through Mary’s mind as the angel Gabriel told her she was going to give birth to the Messiah. How she responded is a lesson for us all.

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David. (Luke 1:30-32)

Have you ever received a promise or a prophecy, only to have to wait for it to come to fruition? Perhaps you had been told you would have a prosperous ministry, but still seem to be plodding along at square one. Or perhaps you were unable to find employment for a long time. It can be very difficult to wait. Imagine being Mary, who as a young teen was told she would carry the Son of God in her womb. In addition, imagine her being told that this baby would be the Savior of the world. What do you think Mary thought? How did she hold up under all this information? What was going through her mind when she changed his diapers? Taught him to eat solid foods? Helped him learn how to dress? Guided him through childhood to adulthood? Do you think she constantly had in the forefront of her mind, “This is the Son of God!” Or did that thought slowly move to the background when Jesus seemed to be a normal baby and grew up as a regular child? Jesus’ public ministry didn’t start until he was 30 years old. Think about it. For 30 years, Mary held the knowledge that Jesus was the Messiah. Could you imagine holding on to an unrealized truth for so long? Did she have any idea what kind of ministry life Jesus would have? The healings? The prophecy? The teachings? The opposition? The suffering? I, for one, don’t believe that Mary knew the details about Jesus’ life beforehand, and that on some level, she was just as surprised by Jesus’ ministry as anyone. But then, that’s just my thoughts on the subject.

In John 16:12, where Jesus says: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.” As most of you know, God usually only gives us a piece of the big picture at a time. He may give a promise or a prophecy, but often he doesn’t give us the details of how, or even when, it will unfold. What if the angel had told Mary, “You are to give birth to the Son of God, and after thirty years, he’ll start his public ministry. At that point, your son will be opposed by the leaders of this country for three years, then he’ll be brutally beaten, crucified, and all will abandon Him.” How could Mary or any human possibly bear that knowledge? 

I must confess I have been guilty of getting frustrated with God because something I believed didn’t seem to be happening. But Mary made the choice to trust in God. She responded to the angel by saying in Luke 1:38, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” She had the right perspective (I am a servant of the Lord) and the right heart (let it be according to your word.) We can learn a lot from Mary. If God is calling us, then He will lead and provide everything necessary. We just need to have the faith to follow Him.

The lyrics of “Mary, Did You Know?” stir our hearts with some of the deepest mysteries of Christmas. We think of Mary, a young, vulnerable woman called into the most extraordinary human work in all of history… giving birth to God Incarnate. We are reminded that the baby to whom Mary gave birth would walk on water, heal the sick, and save us. We are astounded once more by the fact that Mary’s baby boy is the “Lord of all creation” and, in fact, “the great I AM.” This is a mystery beyond our comprehension, though it stands at the center of Christian faith. As the Gospel of John puts it, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (1:14) This Word became human in Jesus, the son of Mary. So, Mary did you know? Why Yes, in part, Yes. Mary knew her child would be the Messiah, as we now know that God became man. But that sort of knowledge does not leave us without questions. As Mary rocked her baby to sleep, night after night, did she not wonder what it would all mean, how her child’s Messiahship (a made-up word ) would play out in the future?

Even when we know the Biblical answers, we still ponder the questions, and it’s a good exercise to do so. Regardless of how much Mary did or did not perfectly understand, we can be sure that she asked many questions of God, the Father, as she cradled God, the Son. As we think back to the manger scene, think about the power, authority and majesty she cradled in her arms. Those little lips were the same lips that had spoken the world into existence. Think on all contained in this young child lying quietly against his mother’s breast. Imagine a young mother lulling a fussy baby to sleep, hot tears streaming down his pink cheeks, and thinking this tiny being is God incarnate, the Savior of us all! In fact, wasn’t He the very one who had given life to his mother, Mary?  Extraordinary!

Luke 2:19 says, “Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” We could easily assume that Mary had plenty of questions among those ponderings. The question “Mary, did you know?” opens our thoughts for contemplation, curiosity, and wonder. It’s as though we are peering over Mary’s shoulder as she rocks baby Jesus, the Christ, to sleep. It’s allowing us to witness the humility of God and yet, the vastness of power contained in those tiny fingers grasping for the comfort of his mother’s hand. After all, who would know this wonder, this strangeness, and this beauty better than the woman in whose womb the Son of God grew?

The mystery woven into Mary’s calling as Jesus’s mother has tempted some to attribute divine status to her and worship her. It was a temptation even when Jesus was walking the earth. In Luke 11:27 a woman in a crowd shouted to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”

Jesus knew the woman’s line of reasoning was dangerous. So he responded to her: 

 “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke11:27-28) Do you see the guarding grace in Jesus’s response? In a single sentence he was protecting Mary’s true blessedness and protecting us from idolatry. Mary’s true blessing is not in bearing the Son, it’s in believing the Son. Being the mother of Jesus was a great blessing, but it was nowhere near the blessing of having her sins paid for by the fruit of her womb. So as we ponder Mary’s experience this Christmas, let us join her relative, Elizabeth, and say of her: “blessed is she who believed the fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45) Because God’s greatest blessing is given to those who believe him and obey Him.

Idol of Dagon

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In 1 Samuel 4:1-3 we read that Israel has been defeated in an initial battle with the Philistines, suffering the cost of 4,000 lives. The Israelites were stunned at the outcome. How could God allow them such a defeat? Although defeated by the Philistines, instead of seeking and humbling themselves before God, the Israelites concluded, “Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.” Yes, the Israelites needed God’s help, but were wrong in the way they sought it. Like an over-sized good luck charm, they believed the presence of the ark would save them and make them win. They looked to the ark, not to the Lord. They were treating the ark like an idol. However, the ark of God is not an idol; the ark of God is not Israel’s God. The ark is a symbol of God’s presence. It plays an important role in Israel’s worship, but it is not their God. Even so, assured of their decision, ark in hand, the Israelites commenced their fight. The Philistines rose to the challenge dreading that it might mean death or defeat for them. Instead, it lead to an even greater defeat for the Israelites. Thirty thousand soldiers were killed, along with Eli’s sons. When Eli, the priest, learns of their death and the ark’s capture, he falls dead as well.1 Sam. 5:1-5 “After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.”

            No doubt, the Philistines were jubilant and confident in the superiority of their god over the God of Israel. They faced the God of Israel in battle and believed their god Dagon delivered them and defeated Israel. Dagon was represented with a half-man, half-fish figure, and was said to be the father of Baal. Now, the ark of the covenant of Israel’s God stood as a trophy in the temple of their god Dagon. Their victory seemed complete. 

            Had the glory of God departed? Not at all. God was more than able to glorify Himself among the Philistines and their pagan gods. When men disgrace the glory of God, we may think the glory has departed. But when men and women will not glorify God, God will glorify Himself. Our God is able to uphold his own name and honor without our help. The next morning, there was Dagon, who had fallen and was lying face down on the ground before the Ark of the Lord. God glorified himself when He made the Dagon statue bow down in worship before Him. The priests of Dagon then stood the statue upright again. The next day the head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso was left. Imagine the horror of the Philistine priests who entered the temple of Dagon that morning. They not only saw their god bowing down before the Ark, they also saw the image broken. After two days, I imagine it would be hard to make any more excuses for their god, especially in light of the broken head and hands, and a meager stump remaining. 

            After seeing the superiority of Israel’s God, these Philistine priests had a choice. They could turn from their weak, inferior god Dagon and begin to serve the superior God of Israel. However, they did not. These Philistine priests, like men confronted with the truth today, rejected God despite the evidence. How could they believe something so ridiculous? Maybe, just as it is for many of the lost today, it’s because worshipping the Lord instead of Dagon means a huge change in thinking and behavior, a surrender, a transformation. The Philistine priests were unwilling to make any changes. They found it easier to take Dagon and set it in its place again. It is the same today, despite the evidence of a living God, men continue their idol worship because some believe it is easier to pick up the pieces and glue them back together than to submit to the living God who transforms lives. Some try to keep both Dagon in their life and God. They are afraid of surrendering all the way to Christ. Perhaps there’s a cherished sin they don’t want to give up, a love for the world and its pleasures. 

God won’t share you.  One or the other has to go! “For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14-15.)

            “But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. Then the men of Ashdod said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god.” Therefore, they sent and gathered to themselves all the lords of the Philistines, and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried away to Gath.” So they carried the ark of the God of Israel away. “(1Sam. 5: 6-8)

The hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod. Yet, they would not listen when God struck down their statue; they just set it up again. When we close our ears to God, He often finds another way to speak to us, and we may not like the second way. The Bible says, “He ravaged them and struck them with tumors.” Instead of submitting to the God of Israel, they decided to get rid of Him, send the ark away. We can do things to push God away, but even the best of our attempts are temporary. We can’t get rid of God. We must all face God and stand before Him one day. The ark of God was sent first to Gath and after that to Ekron. And the hand of the Lord came against both cities and tumors broke out on them. 

            When they sent the ark to Ekron, the people cried out, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!” So they sent and gathered together the lords of the Philistines, and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, back to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people.” Death had filled the city with panic; the hand of God is very heavy. And the men who did not die were stricken with tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven. (1Sam. 5:10-12) 

The people of Gath and Ekron were terrified to see the Ark, but they still wouldn’t submit to the Lord God of Israel. If the Philistines had repented and turned towards the Lord, they could have been saved. Instead, the ark became a curse and a judgment to them. The same is true of the presence of God among men today, which can bring life to some and death to others. 

            As the psalmist said: “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them” (Ps. 135:15-18).Dagon became the Philistines’ shame as he was proved to be inferior to the God of the Israelites. Dagon was a god who needed his worshippers to pick him off the ground when he fell. What kind of a “god” has to be set upright by its subjects and carried off for repairs because it is broken? Yet these priests did not humble themselves and confess that the God of Israel is the only true God. Here we are reminded that no god, no weapon, and no power of darkness will stand in the light of our God. When God enters, He turns things upside down and refuses to allow sin to stand unchallenged. That is true for those who wreak havoc and blatantly sin against God in our nation today. God hears the cries of His faithful people in prayer. “Rise up O God and scatter your enemies. Let those who hate God run for their lives!” (Ps. 68:1 NLV)

Grace in Suffering

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I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten away, the great locust, and the young locust, the other locusts, and the locust swarm – my great army, that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed” (Joel 2:25-27). This passage out of the book of Joel, describes the judgment God brought upon his people because of their sin. Even though this chapter is mainly about God’s judgment, I think it gives an awesome insight into the love and grace of God. These people suffered the plague of the locusts because of their great sin before Him. The above verse even says the locusts were “my great army, that I sent among you.” In other words, God sent them. But here’s the incredible part. The Lord doesn’t owe these people anything for the consequences they suffered for their sin. They turned their back on Him time and time again. Every miserable thing they went through was just what they deserved for their waywardness. And yet, God said if they would repent of their sins, and turn back to Him, God would hold the judgment. And He would not only put an end to the devastation, but God would even restore the lost years, repaying them. What grace! 

Remember, my friends, God said, “I will repay you!”  Shocking, isn’t it? This means he would pay them back the price they paid for their sin which seems absolutely ludicrous! The fact is the people paid a dear price: ”Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army (locusts) comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come. Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert wasteland—nothing escapes them” (Joel 2:2-3). That’s quite a severe description, don’t you think?  However, God also said he would repay them. If they returned to Him, he would “restore the years the locusts have eaten away.” “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster” (Joel 2:12-13). Grace, grace, bountiful grace! 

So how will the Lord pay them back? I believe one way the Lord restores us from the suffering caused by our sin or the sins of others is by giving us an opportunity to glean lessons from our suffering, in order to help other people.  And nothing is more fulfilling than to be a blessing to someone else. When you engage in war against the enemy, physically or spiritually, you may risk life and limb, and give up a portion of your life. But, when you gain victory over your enemy, the rewards can be bountiful. As an agent of blessing to others, we come to realize that our past suffering is invaluable. Our compassion, our mercy and our wisdom multiply. The Lord compensates us for the misery that our own sin or the sin of others brings upon us. He will restore the years the locusts have eaten away.  Our pain and suffering have the ability to transform us in a way that nothing else can.

Let’s take a look at Peter’s story.  Peter had similar grace experiences with Jesus when he was first called to follow Christ and again after he denied him. “Those standing there went up to Peter and said, ‘Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”74 Then Peter began to call down curses, and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man (Jesus)!’ Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” (Matt 26:73-75) Three times just before the crucifixion Peter had denied being associated with, or even knowing Jesus. And later, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” to which Peter earnestly replied “Yes Lord, You know I do!” Peter was fully forgiven and fully accepted by Christ in spite of his weakness.  Like so many of us, Peter was not aware of his weakness, until circumstances revealed it. But Jesus wasn’t fooled. He knew all along what was in Peter, and wasn’t surprised or taken aback when it was revealed. It is, as though Jesus is saying, “You’re still included Peter. You’re still one of my boys.” Whatever favor and love Jesus had for Peter before he denied him, He still had afterwards.“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15) After Peter was forgiven, he realized the depth of Jesus’ love and wanted to serve Him more than ever. “He who was forgiven much, now loves much.” (Luke 7:47) In other words Peter’s weakness didn’t change God‘s plan. I think the main message Jesus wanted to convey to Peter is “Nothing has changed. I still accept and approve of you and love you. I’m still going to work miracles through you. Your weakness hasn’t changed my plan for you. I always knew it was there and I chose you anyway.”Then Jesus goes on to reinstate Peter and commission him as repayment. In John 21:17,19, “Jesus asked Peter the third time, “Do you love me?” Peter said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep” —-And afterwards, Jesus said to Peter, “Follow me!” —- My friends, I believe that’s a commissioning! Reinstated, Restored and Repaid!  And again, I say– Grace, Grace, bountiful Grace! I don’t know about you, but this is incredibly comforting to this repentant sinner!

Come, Lord Jesus!

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     The last prayer in the Bible, which is also one of the shortest was written by John the apostle. He simply said, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20)

Three words, and yet, so much is inferred within that simple prayer.  John’s prayer is layered with heartache and anticipation, with distress and hope, with agony and joy. Can you imagine the apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23), savoring these three words, “Come, Lord Jesus!”, while abandoned among criminals on the island of Patmos? The promise that Christ will come again feels even sweeter when life on earth feels cruel and unyielding. It’s as if John is making a desperate attempt to literally draw the risen Jesus out of heaven, as he is fervently praying with all his might. The rocky ground beneath his knees was more than a prison; it was a model of the curse, twenty square miles overrun with the consequences of earthly sins. Suffering does that. It opens our eyes wider to all that sin has ruined. It lends an insight into just how much pain and devastation sin has brought to the world. And yet, in a strange way, suffering often awakens in us the promise of Jesus’ coming.

     Weakness and illness make us long all the more for new bodies. Prolonged relational conflicts make us long all the more for peace. Wars, earthquakes, and hurricanes (quite familiar to us in Florida) make us long all the more for a secure life, a secure ground to stand upon. The sin across this fallen world makes us long all the more for sinlessness. “Come, Lord Jesus!” is the cry of someone who really expects a better world to come — and soon. Suffering only intensifies our longing and anticipation. The prayer “Come, Lord Jesus!” is really many prayers in one. What will happen when Christ finally returns? The opening verses of Revelation 21 tell us just how many of our prayers will be answered on that day.

     “Come, Lord Jesus”, and dry our tears. Followers of Jesus are not spared sorrow in this life. In fact, following him often means more tears. Jesus himself warned us it would be so: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). And yet, Jesus promises to never leave us or forsake us. He promises to guide us and protect us. He is with us always even through the storms of this life. But one day, “He will wipe away every tear from our eyes” (Rev. 21:4). In that world, we will not have tribulation, or sorrow, or distress, or persecution, or danger. When he returns, we’ll never have another reason to cry.

     “Come, Lord Jesus”, and put an end to our pain. Some long for the end of heartache; others feel the consequences of sin in their bodies. For some, pain has followed them like a shadow. Revelation 21:4 continues, “. . . neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.” Can you imagine someone who has battled chronic pain for decades waking up one morning and feeling no more pain? The absence of pain will free our senses to enjoy the world like never before.

     “Come, Lord Jesus”, and put death to death. Jesus came on the earth that we may have eternal life defeating the power of death. Yes, death lost its sting when the Son of God died. But one day, death itself will die. When the author of life comes, “death shall be no more” (Revelation 21:4).

     “Come, Lord Jesus”, and rid us of sin. John wrote in verse 3, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.” Through that verse, John knew that God would not dwell with sin. For God to come and dwell with us, he will have to first completely destroy the sin that remains in us and in the earth— and that’s exactly what Jesus promises to do. The sin that hides in every shadow and behind every corner will be suddenly extinct. “Jesus will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil”. (Matthew 13:41). “When he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

     “Come, Lord Jesus”, and make it all new. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev.21:1).  Whatever fears have plagued you, whatever trials have surprised you, whatever clouds have followed you, they will all be transformed, in the twinkling of an eye, and stripped of their threats. In the world to come, we will have nothing to fear, nothing to mourn, nothing to endure, nothing to confess. Can you imagine?

     More than a prayer for relief, or safety, or healing, or even sinlessness, though, “Come, Lord Jesus!” is a prayer for Him, Jesus, our Savior and Lord. The burning heart of John’s three-word plea is not for what Jesus does, but for who He is. This is clear throughout the book of Revelation. The world to come is a world we want because Jesus lives there. His presence is paradise. John’s prayer, after all, “Come, Lord Jesus!”, is a response to Jesus promising three times in the previous verses, “Behold, I am coming soon. . .  Behold, I am coming soon. . .  Surely, I am coming soon.” (Rev. 22:7,12,20). The world to come is a world to want because Jesus lives there.

     While the apostle wasted away in prison, he could see the Bridegroom on the horizon (Rev. 1:12-16). His hair white, like snow. His eyes filled with fire. His feet, like burnished bronze. His face, like the sun shining in full strength. The man he had walked with, talked with, laughed with, and surely cried with, now fully glorified and ready to receive and rescue his bride, the church. The Treasure was no longer hidden in a field, but riding on the clouds. Even the vision of the new heavens and new earth in Revelation 21 makes God himself the greatest prize of the world to come: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Rev. 21:3). Yes, we want a world without grief, without pain, without fear, without death. But better to have a world like ours with God, than to have any other world without Him. His presence defines paradise. Nothing less can satisfy us. . . 

       As Randy Alcorn in his book Heaven wrote, “We think that what we want is a new job, a raise, a doctorate, a spouse, sex, drugs, alcohol, a large-screen television, a new car, a cabin in the woods, a condo in Hawaii. When what we really want is the person we were made for, Jesus, and the place we were made for, Heaven. We may imagine we want a thousand different things, but God is the one we really long for. His presence brings satisfaction; his absence brings thirst and longing. Our longing for Heaven is a longing for God.”

     When Jesus comes again, we will eat, drink and rejoice without end. Hunger and thirst will become distant memories. If worries have robbed you of sleep, if pain has made even normal days hard, if loved ones have been taken from this earth, if life has sometimes seemed stacked against you, if you can’t shake a restless aching from within, then come away to a quiet place and bask in the presence of Jesus. Take time to rest in Him a while. Seek His face. Seek Him with all your heart. Share His Word with others. Worship Him. Abide in Him. He is your all in all. This world may be the only world we’ve known, but a better world is coming…  and there’s still room at His table.

Fruit of Suffering

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Strutting before his brothers in his new coat-of-many-colors, there was Joseph, the favorite son. Excitedly, Joseph told them of a dream he had had and his promise of glory and great power to come. (Genesis 37:5-11). However, as the story unfolds, the cost would be far more than Joseph realized. In order to achieve that great power, he was humbled, betrayed by his resentful brothers, sold and made to become a slave in Egypt. And, as if that were not enough, although proving himself to be a trustworthy slave in Potiphar’s house (the captain of Pharoah’s guard), again he was betrayed and made worse than a slave…a prisoner. Joseph found himself cut off from his family, betrayed by his brothers, surrounded by a foreign culture, enslaved by a pagan ruler, falsely accused of molestation, and confined to a miserable dungeon. But in spite of it all, God had a plan.  For there in prison he met Pharoah’s butler, who eventually brought him to Pharoah, who then made him second in command, a key leader over Egypt.  “Then Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph and do what he tells you.’”(Gen.41:55) So even though Joseph went through a period of extreme trial and suffering, God remained faithful. The Lord did not abandon Joseph in his suffering, rather, He blessed him and worked through it all for the good of Joseph, the Jewish people, the Egyptians and beyond. From an arrogant, braggadocios young teen to a wise world leader, Joseph’s telling words to his brothers in Genesis 50:20 reveal his transformation: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” What an unlikely route to glory! 

But that’s God’s way, even for his own Son. Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a prisoner and then was brutally executed. He surrendered to God’s will, “Not my will but thine.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus honored His Father. “Therefore God has highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee might bow” (Philippians 2:9,10). And this is God’s way. We are promised glory through suffering with Him. We are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:17). It seems as though the way up is down. The way forward is backward. And the way to success is achieved through God’s intervention in our setbacks.  If Joseph and Jesus teach us anything it is this: “God meant it for good!” (Genesis 50:20). The goodness of God is not freedom from problems, nor is it freedom from suffering. Though we don’t like to talk about it or even think about it. We shy away from suffering in the hope that it will all just disappear and that we’ll just live our lives totally free of any pain. We think unconsciously, or maybe it’s consciously, that if we just ignore the impending hardship or turn our backs on it, then we won’t be able to be hurt. After all no one eagerly votes, “Yes, take me”, to suffer. But, as believers, we do say yes to surrendering our very lives to Christ and trusting Him as our loving Father. Burying our heads in the sand does no good and might even bring us more harm. How foolish we are at times and slow to trust Him!

Paul said in Romans 8:18: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”. There’s blessing even amidst our suffering. Our surrender to God can actually turn our suffering into fertile soil. God seeds us with strength and hope as we open our hearts to Him and trust Him during our painful times. Our hearts, like soil, receive His seed and begin to grow. Many times, there is a wait involved that can tempt us into believing that God is not working, that He doesn’t care, or that He has abandoned us. However, when we can’t see God moving, it doesn’t mean that he is not. God is always moving!  Remember that under the soil (our hearts), the planted seeds must break apart in order for them to grow! That breaking apart takes time according to the condition of the soil and God’s ultimate timing. Seeds break apart in God’s perfect timing, not ours. If the seeds break apart too soon, they won’t grow healthy roots to withstand and overcome future challenges of this world. But God is sovereign in His scheduling of our lives and that includes for Joseph as well. If Joseph had gotten out of prison earlier, he would have missed the opportunity for a window of position. Through it all, Joseph grew and bore much fruit, bountiful fruit:

1) He became a man of great influence, Pharoah’s right hand

2) He was given a gift of family in the land of suffering (a family through foreigners)

3) He became a man of vision 

4) He brought glory to God through His suffering

5) He was given authority over all the land of Egypt and wore Pharoah’s signet ring

6) He saved the remnant of God (the Jews)

 Joseph means “The Lord will increase” and he certainly did!  

“Joseph named his firstborn son, Manasseh, and said, It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.  The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.” (Genesis 41:51-52)

Fruitful in the land of my suffering!  Such a powerful, hope-filled word!

The Quest

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“Those who dance are thought mad by those who hear not the music”. That old adage is certainly true for those of us who walk to the beat of God’s drum. (Mark Batterson) When you take your cues from the Holy Spirit, you’ll do some things that will make people think you’re foolish and some will even think you’re crazy. 

Well, so be it…

When continual tears over an eight-month period led me on a quest to the Syrian border during war time, people definitely thought I was quite mad. Even my husband, at first, was questioning my sanity. And yet, I went to the border and so did he and God showed up and we danced to His music. During another time at a mom’s prayer group, a gentle whisper, beckoned me and led me to a praying mom in the nation of Malta. Did I know anyone in Malta? No, not at all. In fact, I wasn’t even sure where it was! Again, my dance seemed quite mad to some, but seeing the uplifted face of the lady of Malta after that encounter arrested in me any thought of fear or doubt.  Keeping tabs with the Holy Spirit is the quest of a lifetime. It’s invigorating, rejuvenating, and electrifying! It’s a thrilling and at times a bit scary ride of your life.  Sadly, today, there are many louder voices within our culture beaconing us this way and that, conforming us to the pattern of this world. And regrettably, many end up defining themselves by the culture. It’s a bit like selling our souls to the culture, wouldn’t you say? Those who choose not to conform may feel like they are driving the wrong way on a one-way street at rush-hour. While others are being slowly pressed into a cultural mold before they know it, and lost from the purposes God has planned for them. They let the expectations of others override the desires God has planted in their hearts. The voice of conformity stops their concerns of what God thinks and is overridden by the fear of what other people will think. Pretty soon they may find themselves unable to hear the gentle voice of the spirit, as they submerge themselves in the fruitless desires of the culture.

There is a difference between a quest and an adventure.  An adventure is something you choose. However, you are called to a quest.  An adventure is going somewhere and back again.  But you never return from a quest.  In his book, An Introductory Guide to

Listening Prayer, Bob Japenga describes how God invites each one of us to join on a quest leading to an intimate relationship with Him.  It’s not a there and back again. If developing such a relationship was not a quest, God would not have told us many times in His word to seek Him. It’s not because He is playing “hide and seek.”  After all, didn’t he compare our relationship with Him to a friendship and a marriage?  Friendships and marriages are quests, not adventures.  We don’t come back from a quest. The same is true with our relationship with God.  It is a quest and listening prayer is the significant key to our quest.

Prayer involves a two-way conversation between people and God. When we pray, we present our thanks, praises, and requests to God. As disciples of Jesus, we seek to learn from Him and be led by the Spirit in every area of our lives. Listening prayer is any kind of prayer that requires us to calm our minds and souls and be silent to focus on listening to God’s voice. A. W. Tozer emphasized how central this is in the life of anyone who wants to pursue God seriously: “The whole Bible supports the idea. God is speaking. Not God spoke, but God is speaking. He is by His nature continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking Voice. One of the great realities with which we have to deal is the Voice of God in His world.”

In listening prayer, we direct our full attention to God in faith for He desires to communicate with us. We patiently wait with open hearts, listening for the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. As we listen, God may speak words of encouragement, revelation, or guidance into our spirits. He may bring scriptures or memories to mind. We may receive visions, pictures, or sensations. Or He may simply instill His peace, joy, or love in us.

We prepare for listening prayer by quieting our souls before God. Then it helps to begin with worship, offering our praise and gratitude to Him. Clearing our minds makes room to hear God’s voice. Therefore, we should follow with a time of surrendering distractions and anxieties to Him and receiving His peace. Then we invite the Holy Spirit to guide us in our time of listening. We may pray, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). As we listen, we should fix our spiritual gaze on Jesus and avoid letting our mind wander by gently redirecting it to the Lord. Finally, we must stay attentive like Samuel, who when God called his name answered, “Speak, for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10).

As we listen, the Holy Spirit may highlight thoughts, scriptures, or mental pictures. Quietly write down anything meaningful so that you can reflect on it later. These impressions often bring clarity as you meditate on them. Listening prayer cultivates an intimate relationship with God. As we consistently make time to listen, we grow more attuned to God’s voice and learn to recognize the ways He speaks. Our discernment sharpens, and we gain wisdom for navigating life’s decisions. We can also experience the delight of true fellowship with our Holy Father.

I know listening prayer is something many of us do. But do our children? Is God’s voice the loudest voice in our life?  Is it the loudest voice in our children’s lives? Importantly, do we listen to Him daily? If not, let us reaffirm our commitment to listen to God daily through listening prayer and to intercede for our children as well. May we always maintain the fullness of our quest to know God…In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Courage and Joy

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Jesus was in agony. He was in anguish. He was deeply troubled in His spirit. Why? Because there was death in front of him; there was pain, there was hardship, and as He struggled on His knees in the garden of Gethsemane, it was evident He didn’t want to do it. Then He said to His disciples, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” (Matt. 26:38). He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matt. 26:39). But even still, he continued, “Yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus chose to go through with it, the pain, the great suffering. He chose it all. That’s courage, indomitable courage! Where did it come from? What animated Him in the face of that hardship? The book of Hebrews tells us, “for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrew 12:2). He didn’t let any danger, any obstacle, and the fear and the trouble that it produced in His soul keep him from fulfilling God’s calling on His life to redeem His people. It was joy that inspired Jesus in the face of hardship, and therefore, He became our greatest example of courage. 

Joy? Really? Was it joy? The Word says it was, so let’s look further.

G. K. Chesterton, a Christian apologist, defined courage as “a strong desire to live, taking the form of a readiness to die. Courage is when the desire for the good thing overcomes fear of the obstacle. It’s an overcoming.” Recently, I encountered an insightful quotation about courage attributed to Mark Twain: “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, and not the absence of fear.” Recently a Christian leader expanded the quote: Courage is “a stable habit of the heart that masters the passion of fear, especially by the power of a deeper desire for a greater good.” And what’s the greater good? What’s the deeper desire? If you think about a parent running into a burning building to save a child. Rescuing the child is the greater good, and then there’s the obstacle, the fire. The desire for the child overcomes the fear of the fire, even in the face of death. 

When we look in the New Testament (Philippians 1) and we see Paul in prison in Philippi, he’s confident. His eager expectation and hope-filled joy is that he won’t be ashamed. With full courage, he will honor Christ, whether by life or by death. Because living is Christ and dying is gain. “ I (Paul) eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil. 1:20-21)”. Like Paul, as believers, we understand that through our willing sacrifice. We’re going to get more of Jesus. Obeying Him is better than anything. He strengthens us to face the danger, the hardship, and the fear of death that’s in front of us, because Christ is gain. Paul was in prison, facing the possibility of his own execution, but he was not despairing or depressed. He was joyful and hopeful. He does not view his imprisonment as a setback. Instead, he views it as an opportunity for gospel advance. He preaches to his jailers and proclaims the good news about Jesus to the whole palace guard. He seeks to make Jesus impossible to ignore among his captors. He brandishes the Word without fear. 

“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, 13 so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; 14 and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” (Philippians 1:12-14) 

What’s more, Paul expects to be delivered, no matter how his situation unfolds. He expects that God’s Spirit will empower him to magnify Jesus, no matter what the cost. Paul has a Christ-treasuring courage in the face of potential loss and death. For him, to live is Christ and to die is gain, and this reality brings him courage and joy in the face of opposition, imprisonment, and death. “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” (Phil.1-18)

Courage is contagious. Boldness spreads. Fearlessness is infectious…

When Paul’s brothers and fellow workers saw his courage, their confidence in the Lord grew. Paul’s courage was contagious. When they caught it, their own courage grew. They were literally encouraged by Paul’s courage. And because Paul’s courage was rooted in seeing Christ as his greatest treasure, then his confidence and that of his brothers and fellow workers was not rooted in Paul but in Christ alone. They were confident in the Lord and their confidence in the Lord produced courage. They were emboldened by Paul’s courage and spoke forth the word without fear in the face of every opposition. Then their courage rebounded back to Paul and strengthened his own faith. He had heard that they, inspired by his example, were preaching the gospel of Christ sincerely and he rejoiced in this news. Paul’s joy was so full. He continued by encouraging them to stand fearlessly and join him in his joy-driven courage. He told them that they too must stand firm together, strive for the faith of the gospel, and fearlessly preach the good news together. The lesson of Philippians 1 is clear. Courage is contagious. Boldness spreads. Fearlessness is infectious. And when these virtues are caught, Christ is magnified…the result… joy, joy, incomparable joy!

Noah’s Walk of Obedience

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In Egypt, with the Israelite population growing out of control, Pharaoh decided to impose forced labor and to exercise post-birth population control by drowning all the baby boys in the Nile River, but allowing the little girls to live. Horrible, right? I am certain God didn’t like this either. So, because Moses’ mom could no longer hide him, in an effort to save him, she put him in a papyrus basket and sent him down the Nile. The word for this basket in Hebrew is tebah, and it’s the same word used for “ark,” as in Noah’s ark. It’s always so amazing to me how intricate and precise are the designing plans of God. Baby Moses was not just sent down the Nile River in a basket. It was, in effect, an ark. 

As you know, Noah’s ark and Moses’ ark were very different. Moses’ ark was about a yard long while Noah’s ark was probably 150 times longer. Moses’ ark was made of reeds from the Nile, while Noah’s ark was made from sturdy cypress wood. However, the two arks had two things in common. They were both covered in pitch or tar to keep them from sinking. And both arks represent the same thing – God’s means of saving humanity.

Noah’s ark saved a righteous family from God’s judgment on humanity. Moses’ ark saved the man who would lead a nation to safety after God’s judgment on Egypt. Both arks are about salvation, saving those God loves. The arks were life preservers for everyone on board, leading and preparing the world for the ultimate ark, the cross of Jesus. The cross is for those today who are sinking in a sea of sin.  God always sends an ark in one form or another to save us from drowning. Just imagine Noah and God’s exchange on the day Noah was told to build this massive ark of such incredible proportions. Just imagine for a minute, if God came to you and asked you to do what seemed impossible. What excuse would you give Him? You have to admit, Noah’s response was incredible. The Bible just states in Genesis 6:22, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him” and apparently, without argument, without a word. Amazing! I’m just totally blown away by what he didn’tsay! Noah didn’t say: “I’ve never done that before.” “I’m too old.” “People will call me crazy.” “I’m not strong enough.” “It’s impossible, I can’t do it.” “This is ridiculous.” “It’s not the right time.” 

When God asks us to do something, it never seems to be a good time. And just why do you think that is? It might just be because it’s His time, not ours. He sees the big picture. We see only our pictures. God knows the plans for centuries to come. We see only the concerns of the day and the plans in our mere bubble of life. When God asked Noah to build an ark, Noah had plenty of reasons to say no:

“I’ve never built an ark before.” “I’m six hundred years old.” “The people around me are evil.” “How am I going to manage a floating zoo?” Despite the many possible excuses, Noah obediently did everything just as God commanded him. (Genesis 6:22) Radical obedience, indeed! If Noah hadn’t obeyed God, just think what might have happened. All of humanity could have drowned in the sea. We just never really know what all is attached to the things that God asks or tells us to do. So many times, we give ourselves excuses for avoiding the things we know God is directing. Thus, in the end, we wind up limiting the plans God has for us, the opportunities He is offering. We can never limit Him but we can limit ourselves.

So what’s your reason for saying no to God? What is God asking you to do today that you may not want to do or have excuses for? Furthermore, what do you think God is asking your children and grandchildren to do? What is holding them back? 

Could it be:

1) Wrong priorities, putting others before Christ? Colossians 1:17 “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

2) Fear?  “For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7

3) Inadequacy? “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

4) Lack of trust in God? Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

My friends, when God wants us to do something, there are no good excuses for not doing it. Noah didn’t question God’s instruction, he didn’t question God’s timing, and he didn’t question his ability to complete the task. Why? Because he really knew God and fully trusted Him. Radical obedience was his natural response to God. In fact, a notable pastor once said, “Great moves of God are usually preceded by simple acts of obedience”. While the task at hand for Noah certainly wasn’t simple, it was a step that preceded a great move of God.  We can learn much from Noah and his walk. The Bible tells us that during Noah’s time, the earth was so filled with evil that the Lord felt bad that he had made man, and His heart was grieved. The Lord was so grieved that He decided to destroy man and the earth. “God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” (Gen 6:13) However, the Bible stated in Genesis 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”(Gen. 6:8) Therefore, Noah and His family were saved by God because, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless, and He walked faithfully with God.” (Gen.6:9) One cannot walk with God unless they are walking in obedience, there’s just no other path. 

Father God, may our children and grandchildren always walk faithfully in radical obedience to you, this day and every day. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Wrestling with God

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Wrestling is a sport that involves grappling with an opponent while trying to obtain a position of advantage using different methods or techniques. Surprisingly, it is a wrestling match that the Lord often uses to become our portal into faith. Jacob’s wrestling experience described in Genesis 32 can be used to shape our view of God and His blessings.  There are times when God only releases His blessings on us after a season of prolonged and sometimes painful wrestling with Him.

            In Genesis 32, Jacob is returning to His place of birth with his small tribe of wives and children after twenty years away and is mustering courage to reunite with Esau, the brother whose life he damaged through deceit and manipulation. Jacob is quite frightened because his estranged brother, Esau, is coming to meet him with four hundred men. Jacob doesn’t regard this as a welcome party! It appears to be quite an army, which terrifies him! So Jacob splits up His household into two camps and sends them all ahead of him, to try and avoid complete annihilation. Jacob, restless and unable to sleep, is left to spend the night alone — no doubt in desperate prayer. On this lonely night, he can’t hide behind his vast wealth, his many servants, or his large and complicated family… they’re all gone. He is alone in the dark in a desolate place…until he’s not. Until a nameless, stranger leaps out of nowhere, throws him to the ground and proceeds to wrestle Jacob until daybreak. At some point during this strange contest Jacob realizes that he is wrestling with God. Now that’s quite a revelation! Then amazingly, when God decides it’s time to end the match, he dislocates Jacob’s hip and demands to be released. Jacob, in significant pain, replies, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26). This response evidently pleases God, who pronounces this blessing on Jacob: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob (deceiver), but Israel (struggles with God), for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Genesis 32:28). That next morning Jacob then limps toward his tense reunion with Esau with a weakened body and a strengthened faith. Having wrestled with God, he knows his prayers regarding Esau will be answered. 

            This story may resonate with you as it does me. Have you ever found yourself alone in the dark in a desolate place?  How often, in that menacing darkness, have you done solitary battle with something you don’t recognize as God until much, much later? It is in relationship with God and in His all-encompassing presence that we fight the fights that bend, break, and remake us.  It is in God’s company that we face down our personal demons.  It is God alone who brings us to the ragged edges of our own strength so that finally, finally, we’ll surrender (a death of self), and allow ourselves to be transformed.  

            Take note of what God did when he wrestled Jacob. Jacob began the night dreading Esau’s arrival. He was full of fear and desperation. But he ended the night of struggle with God’s blessing and a renewed faith. All of our struggling with God in faith leads to rest, resting in Him that is. And isn’t it interesting that God did not simply speak to Jacob in a dream or vision as he had at other times and reiterate His promise with comforting words? This time God addressed Jacob’s fear by requiring him to wrestle all night. This probably felt to Jacob like a badly timed hassle when he just wanted comfort and assurance. However, later he realized just how comforting it was. Sometimes when we want God’s comfort, he sends it in unexpected and even unwanted packages. Surprisingly, God afflicted Jacob with an injury. This had the effect of making Jacob even more vulnerable to Esau, forcing Jacob’s faith to more fully rest on God and not himself. Evidently, from Jacob’s story, we learn that, if necessary, God will even cause us to limp to increase our faith.

Furthermore, wrestling with God changed Jacob’s identity. He was no longer to be known as one who received his blessing by deception. He was renamed Israel and received God’s blessing by prevailing with God by faith. This struggle turned out to be a profoundly gracious gift of restoration that God gave Jacob. Jacob’s tenacious faith pleased God and he rewarded Jacob’s request (Hebrews 11:6). When God calls us to wrestle with Him, there’s always more going on than we first understand and God always uses it to transform us for good. Jacob wasn’t the only person in Scripture to wrestle with God. David wrestled (1 Chronicles 13:11). Jesus wrestled (Matthew 26:39). These moments of personal struggle with God’s will are grounded in genuine relationship. That’s the kind of relationship God wants with us: one in which we learn (through experience) to trust his character, even when we struggle to understand and accept some of His choices. Wrestling with God is a matter of reaching out to Him as He is. It requires embracing his vastness and unpredictability. It may be kind of scary, but it’s the foundation for deep levels of trust in a faithful Father who is trustworthy even when we don’t understand.

            When God makes us wrestle Him for blessing, it is not because God is reluctant to bless us, even if that’s how it first feels. It is because he has more blessings for us in the wrestling than without it. Remember, God was the initiator and pursued Jacob for this match. Jacob was grappling in his own anxiety over Esau and his approaching army when God showed up. The wrestling drew Jacob out of his fearful preoccupation and forced him to focus on God. I doubt that Jacob wanted this forced focus or even believed he needed it at first. It wouldn’t surprise me if at the beginning Jacob had prayed as I might have, “God, would you get rid of this guy? This is the last thing I need right now.” But what he discovered was that the wrestling was a means of God’s grace, a channel for God’s blessing on Him. 

            So my friends, what is it you really need from God right now? What blessing do you want from Him and how badly do you want it? What I carry away from the story of Jacob’s wounding is the troubling, but solid truth, that blessing and bruising are not mutually exclusive in the realm of God.  We can limp and prevail at the same time.  I can’t dictate the terms of blessing.  I can’t say, “I want the blessing but not the limp.”  Sometimes, the blessing is the limp.  As dawn breaks, the stranger asks Jacob to disengage, and Jacob, tenacious as ever, says no: “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”  I love this line. I want to make it my life’s stance, because it assures me that sometimes, “winning” involves nothing more than not giving up.  Sometimes, the spiritual life is about little more than hanging on for dear life to a God who appears mysterious, bewildering, and a bit frightening.  Sometimes the whole of Christianity comes down to saying, “There’s so much I can’t wrap my head around, but I know there’s a blessing in this mess somewhere and I’m going to hang on until I find it.” God will meet you in your anguish, fear, and uncertainty. But He may not meet you in the way you expect or desire. Your greatest ally may show up looking at first like your adversary, inciting you to wrestle with him. If so, remember Jacob. There are multiple blessings in the wrestling. So when God calls you to wrestle with Him in prayer, it is an invitation to receive His blessing. Stay with Him and don’t give up.  He loves to bless that kind of tenacious faith and you will come out transformed. My friends, don’t let God go until He blesses you! Keep wrestling!

Bricks & Living Stones

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A few days ago I was reading a description of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) during my morning prayer time. Following the Great Flood, Noah’s descendants, who all spoke the same language, began to build a tower as an act of rebellion against God. Genesis 11: 1-4 states:

“Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

3 They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’”

In Verse 3, “brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar” stood out to me and I kept hearing it over and over in my mind, so much so, that I wrote it in my journal and began to question why? At first thought do you think the Tower of Babel could be construed as a symbol of secular society?  I certainly do. By “secular society” I mean a world that sets itself in arrogant opposition to the will of God.  The verse above states that the Tower of Babel was constructed of bricks.  Bricks? Really? It seems too long ago for that? I started thinking about the characteristics of bricks and how they might apply to this God story.  First of all, they are unnatural and artificial.  You won’t find a brick occurring in nature. They are man-made. Secondly, they are identical and uniform.  It’s not easy to distinguish one brick from another.  Thirdly, they are functionally undifferentiated and interchangeable. A brick can serve equally well anywhere in a wall.  And finally, in a sense, they are all but worthless.  What if you do lose a brick, aren’t there hundreds more just like it? Think of the Israelites as slaves in Egypt. The death and loss of one slave was of no account to the Egyptians. After all, that one slave was simply replaced by another. What could be more unnatural and artificial than a society that rejects God?  In such a state, citizens are made to conform to uniform standards thus losing their individuality. Their work is reduced to interchangeable roles.  And, because they have lost all their uniqueness, they become utterly worthless.

In opposition to the Tower of Babel,  “If then any man is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17) and furthermore, 1 Peter 2:4-5 states “As you come to him (Christ), the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house (church as body of Christ) to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

 The Tower of Babel, was being built of bricks, a man-made construction, where rebellious people were attempting to reach the heavens to be like God, to “make a name for themselves”. Yet, Jesus made a new creation, the Church (the body of Christ), a temple built of living stones. Living stones have distinguishable characteristics:  First, living stones are not just natural, but supernatural. What could be more supernatural than a society in which Christ dwells? Secondly, they are utterly unique.  No two are exactly alike. In the eyes of Jesus, every human being is utterly unique and unrepeatable.  After all, what two human beings are exactly alike?  Thirdly, they are irreplaceable. A stone that occupies a particular place in a wall can fit nowhere else but in that unique space. In the Church, every person is irreplaceable, because each one of us has a mission no one else can fulfill. We have unique gifting and purposes that only God defines. And finally, living stones are extremely precious. “You are precious in my (God’s) sight and honored, and I love you.” (Isaiah 43:4) To Christ every human being is precious, because every one of us is made in the image and likeness of God.  Each one of us, therefore, has infinite value.

            So my friends, which would you rather be… a brick in secular society or a living stone in the body of Christ, His church?  As a brick, we would ultimately lose our identity.  As a living stone, we can become all, through Christ, that we are meant to be.  C.S. Lewis puts it this way when referring to the plan of God’s people: “God sets an absurd value on the distinctness of every one of us.  When He talks of us losing ourselves, He means only abandoning the clamor of self-will; once we have done that, He really gives us back all our personality, and boasts…that when we are wholly His, we will be more ourselves than ever.  [Letter XIII]

            In a secular society, men and women, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, are able to be exchanged with each other without making any difference or without being noticed. They are interchangeable. Only in such a society can same-sex marriage and multiple genders be even remotely considered as possibilities.  In God’s Church, men and women, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, are irreplaceable. In fact marriage, as anything other than one man and one woman for life, is inconceivable.

            So there you have it… Unnatural bricks versus supernatural stones? Secular society versus the Kingdom of God? Man-made bricks or living stones? Just think for a minute! Jesus was totally unique and definitely distinctive. There aren’t enough words to describe Him. He said and did things that no one before Him and no one after Him has ever said or done. He was completely different from all other religious leaders before or after Him.  He was born of a virgin, He turned water into wine, He healed the sick, He raised the dead, He walked on the water, He fed 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish, He stilled storms, He died on Calvary, He rose from the dead! He ascended to the right hand of God. Jesus was the greatest of all living Stones (1Peter 2:4). As the Psalm says, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone” (Ps. 118:22) As believers we are the living stones, made alive in the Lord Jesus and through Him built up as a spiritual house. Today no longer do we need a temple of physical stones. We are the living temple, united in Christ Jesus!