Where Are You?

 "Where Are You?"

Genesis 3:9

God's question could have created in Adam and Eve a moment of self-reflection. "Where are you" could have been understood to mean, "what have you done," or "what were you thinking," or "what sense does it make to hide from God?"

Shame, guilt, blaming--these struggles all flow from disobedience. We don't want to be seen in our nakedness, that is, we don't want to be seen as we are. Exposure of sin and the destruction of innocence cause us to hide from the One who can clothe us, give us a future that accommodates our sin, and prepares a way for us to be forgiven and restored.

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I like reading mysteries. Occasionally, I come upon a sentence or two that strikes me as an insight to life. Anne Perry, speaking through the character, Elena, wrote, "You do not need to believe evil, only to use its methods. You will get accustomed to them, until eventually they are not your last choice, but your first. For a while you can justify it to yourself, and then eventually you will not bother. You have forgotten what you are fighting for; now winning is the only objective! And the more you win, the more you justify it, until the whole idea of right and wrong disappears and only winning matters."

Anne Perry wrote the words above in the 21st century. Here is another insight on the subject of evil from the 17the century. Jacob Spener, called the father of pietism, wrote, "The evil circumstances of our time are . . .to be borne with compassion rather than bewailed with anger."

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Grandchildren. Today our four-year-old grandson came for a visit. He, like all the four year old siblings before him--except Mr. Happy--struggles or have struggled with disequilibrium, a nice way of saying, his anger can get the best of him. I continue to be amazed at the parenting skills of my son and daughter-in-law. They have found a way to help with disequilibrium. Today our grandson brought with him a timing clock and a book mark and a series of stickers. He told us that we should time him for fifteen minutes. If he managed, he said,  "to go without shouting or hitting or saying bad words or making a mean face," he was to receive a sticker to put on his bookmark. We dutifully timed him, and he went more than three hours! He got stickers every fifteen minutes for the whole time he was with us.

 

Mark 8:31-38 A Reflection on the Cross with Some Personal Additions

Mark 8:33  -  “Get behind me, Satan!” (v. 33)

Certainly this encounter between Jesus and Peter causes any follower of Christ to take pause. If Peter who was a leader of the disciples could be the instrument of Satan, then the possibility exists that any of us could, also, find ourselves opposing the message and ministry of Jesus. Peter received the chastisement of Jesus because he attempted to dissuade Jesus from the cross. Any retreat from the message of the cross puts us over against Jesus.

The disciples were willing to fight for Jesus, and they were willing to die in that fight. In Gethsemane a sword was drawn and a blow was struck. (Mark 14:47) They would fight and die, but they were not willing to take up a cross voluntarily. Peter and all the disciples, despite their protestations, deserted Jesus when he surrendered to the cross. (Mark 14:19; 29;71)

The message of the cross is self-denial. (Mark 8:34) The message of the cross is total abandonment of one’s life to the Gospel. (Mark 8:35) The message of the cross is the decision to choose God’s way over the ways of the world. (Mark 8:38)

Peter found himself following the ways of the world, of evil, of Satan, when he attempted to substitute his own judgment for the Lordship of Christ. The good news is that God’s grace brought Peter to repentance and faith. He embraced God’s  forgiveness and in the light of the resurrection received a new understanding of God’s plan in Christ to reconcile the world. Our first natural response to the cross, like Peter’s response, is to flee. Only in the strength of the Spirit can a disciple bear the cross. Yet those who bear the cross are promised the power of resurrection.

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Witness to the Cross today.

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) “Ultimately evil is done not so much by evil people, but by good people who do not know themselves and who do not probe deeply.”

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Grandchildren. We were sitting around the dining room table explaining to Mr. Happy (age 3) his given and family names. He has uncles from both the Burke and the Smith sides of the family who are named William; I told him that he and I share that name too; he responded, “Congratulations!”  We laughed. Then we proceeded to name all the Smiths in the family. Another burst of laughter when he summarized, “God is a Smith!” 

Mark 1:9-15 A Reflection with Some Personal Additions

Jesus begins his ministry.

One finds not a spare word in these seven verses. Information, insight, and instruction fill the passage so tightly that once it is opened it is difficult to repackage into one theme. Messages abound: baptism, repentance, temptation, divine intervention, the reality of evil, the relationship of John to Jesus and the content of the Gospel! Mark squeezed all these important ideas into just seven verses.

Jesus traveled over eighty miles from Galilee to the wilderness of Judah to identify with John’s ministry in which John called people to repentance and baptism. Jesus’ personal intensity of purpose became a dramatic public demonstration as he gave witness with his whole body, descending into the waters of the Jordan in the arms of John and then coming out of the water as one lifted from death to life. Still more dramatic the heavens broke open; they were “torn” open, and the barriers between divine and human were bridged in the person of Jesus when God’s voice was heard. The full meaning of “Son of God” was not clear to the disciples of Jesus early in his ministry, but the message was clear that Jesus was pleasing to God the Father.

Mark pushed the action forward saying, “at once,” Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit. Jesus was affirmed by God, but often, as here in the wilderness, he faced challenges to his ministry. Especially he faced the reality of supernatural evil, personified in Satan. The “wild animals” of the wilderness were a true challenge as well and could symbolize the reality that ministry has many natural obstacles. Not every problem has its source in supernatural evil. Angels, the help of God, came to Jesus to minister to him and will come in some form, in some way to all who endure opposition to ministry in the Lord’s name. The wilderness journey was forty days. Just as Israel had been formed through forty years of wilderness life, so Jesus endured this necessary step in his progress toward God’s eventual purpose for him. In the Bible forty symbolizes completeness. God prepared him fully and will prepare the church and all its servants for the ministry God has called them to fulfill.

John was imprisoned. (v. 14) The officials foolishly believed they could silence the proclamation by killing John; instead, with the passing of John Jesus stepped fully into the public eye and preached the Gospel. As John had prophesied one far more powerful (verse 7) had appeared. 

Jesus brought good news: God’s kingdom or rule in the human heart was at hand for those who were willing to embrace the twin gifts of repentance and faith. Repentance was the gift of change; one can change again and again by turning toward God. Faith or trust in God was the gift that enabled the repentant to receive mercy and forgiveness and transformation through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus proclaimed this Gospel in word and deed. Fulfillment of his ministry came with the cross and resurrection--the demonstration of God’s love and God’s power. What Jesus promised in his preaching he fulfilled. Then and now, all who have received the Gospel wait for Christ’s return and the consummation of all things to the glory of God.

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Richard Baxter. “Faith is not a collection of opinions. People who dispute . . . are frequently the least acquainted with God. . . . Concentrate on the important things. The least controversial are the most valuable for faith.” (The Saints’ Everlasting Rest)

Marriage. In 1969 I made plans to ask Judy on Valentine’s Day to marry me. However, I was so eager that I asked her on February 13. I was right to waste no time. Forty-six years later I continue to be grateful to God for my dear wife who has blessed me beyond all that I could have imagined.