The Hidden Bridge
From my daily deviotional:
In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Harrison Ford goes after the Holy Grail, there is a final test where he has to take a step of faith to get to the Grail. He has to cross a chasm over what appears to be a bottomless pit in order to claim the cup so he can use it to heal his father (Sean Connery) from a fatal wound.The riddle he and his father have figured out has convinced him he must take a step out into the abyss – has to put his full weight into it – and as he does, sure enough, a bridge appears out of nowhere and his step lands on something solid that was not visible until the instant his foot came down on it in mid-air.All issues of faith are like this.It’s not enough to believe, you have to put your whole weight into it.And when you do, you risk falling, but you find something solid.
When I read that, I immediately begin to argue with myself. I know that is the type of faith I need – to walk out into nothingness hoping that somehow, some way I will not fall into it. But I’m so, so afraid that I will fall. Actually, what I’m afraid of, when it comes down to it, is that my faith is in the wrong place. Yes, my faith is in God, but is the decision I’m making the one He wants me to make? Is the abyss I’m about to step into the abyss where God is waiting with the invisible bridge, or did I make a wrong turn at the last tunnel?
I want to have that faith. I know that if I do I will have some utterly unbelievable stories to tell people as witness of God’s awesome power. Not only that, but there will be no doubt whatsoever that I was walking in God’s will once I see that bridge start to form under my feet. I think it’s important to note that it’s not blind faith. We have reason to go where we go, just like Indiana Jones knew he had to step out because of a riddle….he didn’t just come up with it on his own. God leads us places and brings us to points in our lives, so it’s not like we can’t even explain why we’re about to take that step of faith, even if the reason we have seems ridiculous.
Am I the only one who feels like this? I hope not…I don’t like being alone. At the same time, I hope there are others who boldly step out in faith this way. If you have, I’d like to hear about it. I’m not talking about things like I prayed about which car I should buy and God showed me. I’m talking about stuff like I felt called to sell every single thing I had to move to a crazy place and be a missionary, or even giving to the Lord in your need (how can I give financially to God’s work if I can’t pay my bills?). Stuff that was sink or swim, life or death. Those are great things to share, and maybe they can be used to uplift those of us who lack in our faith.
-j
What Would Jesus Do
Every once in a while the devotional thought I read in my morning email is particularly excellent, and this is one of those whiles. When it’s all said and done, I want this to be what people say about me, though it’s kind of hard to do sometimes.
What Jesus would do
by John Fischer“Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had around him.” (John 13:3-5 NLT)
He could do anything; so he served. What a radical thing.
This is a highly unusual cause and effect and one that sets Jesus apart from the rest of us. Here you have described what secular sources today would call the ultimate in self-realization. Jesus knew who he was, where he came from, and where he was going. Oh, and on top of that, he had authority over everything. “So …” and what follows is the last thing we would expect. Put this level of confidence and authority in the mind of any average human being and I don’t think the natural consequence would be to see this person purposely taking on a servant’s role.
So what does this say to the rest of us? It says we need to do the radical thing. We need to use our personal gains to serve others.
Self-realization is in high demand today. People spend a good deal of money, time, and effort trying to achieve it. Counseling, exercise, meditation, and yoga are just some of the things that have been employed in the pursuit of this goal, but arriving at it is, at best, elusive. If you found something this hard to get, wouldn’t you want to keep it?
Jesus showed us something different. He used his self-realization for someone other than himself. This was the essence of Christ’s example. Finding yourself gives you the privilege of giving yourself up for something greater.
Later on, Jesus said he did this as an example to his disciples so they would learn to serve each other. If Jesus, being our master, used his self-realization to serve his disciples, then what does that say about us? Are we greater than he? It doesn’t stop with us. This is the way God’s economy works. Whatever we receive becomes a benefit for someone else.
When it comes down to it, in Christ, we have all the things that Jesus had. Our “self-realization” is really liberation from self in becoming like Christ. In Christ we have authority in the Holy Spirit, and we know where we came from and where we are going, so I guess that about settles it. Time to strap on your towel and get busy serving. That’s what Jesus would do.
-j
Not A Tame Lion
Here’s another exerpt from a devotional I get in e-mail. I love it when we can challenge the common, complacent views of Christians and hopefully get us thinking much more deeply.
And there is much to give one comfort in believing. Probably the most important things are forgiveness, God’s grace to us, his mercy, the knowledge of his presence, and the Holy Spirit who is the Comforter.
But following God is not only about feeling good. There are also challenges by Paul to grow and be ruthless with the sin in our lives, John’s indictments in Revelation about mediocre faith, and James’ admonishments to have a faith backed up by good deeds. But of all the New Testament voices, no one forces us to think differently than we normally would think more than Jesus himself.
There are simply no warm fuzzies with Jesus, or as C.S. Lewis put it in The Chronicles of Narnia, he is not a tame lion. He would heal people and then tell them not to tell anyone who did it. He forgave a woman caught in the act of adultery and then told her to go on and stop sinning. He gave Peter his greatest compliment and followed it up with the harshest putdown. And when his disciples enthusiastically stated their willingness to follow him wherever he went, he challenged them with whether or not they could drink the cup he was going to drink – meaning the cup of suffering and death.
One of the greatest temptations in the ministry is to take the edge off these difficult aspects of following Christ. We want to make it easy for people to join our churches. We want to equate being a Christian with the American dream. We want to get forgiven and keep on sinning. We want to have it both ways, but Jesus was never compromising.
Too true.
-j
Excellent Devotion
I love when God’s Word speaks straight to my life. A friend pointed me to this devotional, and I had to capture it forever.
From Crosswalk.com
“Wait! Wait! Wait!”
For reading & meditation:
Psalms 31:1-24
“How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you ‘” (v.19)
As we move on we start to think about some of the red furrows of life from which we often draw back. At such times we become “a corn of wheat afraid to die”. But as we are seeing, where there is no death, there can be no life. Outside the furrow we remain safe, warm, comfortable – and unfruitful. First we shall consider what I am calling “divine delays” – those periods of life to which God leads us when it seems that nothing is happening and that His purposes for our lives are temporarily shelved. Perhaps you are at this point at this very moment. If so, don’t panic – God’s delays are not His denials. Our Master has a purpose in everything He does. You must believe that, even though your fears scream the opposite. One of the most difficult things to do in the Christian life is to wait for God’s purposes to come to pass. Sometimes they take so long to materialise that we find ourselves getting vexed and frustrated. Have you heard about the Christian who prayed: “Lord, give me patience ‘ and I want it right now”? Wouldnt you rather do anything than wait? A man told a Christian counsellor I know: “Waiting for God to bring His purposes to pass is the biggest problem I face in my Christian life; there is something within me that would rather do the wrong thing than wait.” As waiting for God to bring about His purposes is more the rule than the exception in the Christian life, we had better learn what God has in mind when His red light flashes out the signal, “Wait! Wait! Wait!”
Prayer:
O Father, teach me to trust You when Your plans and purposes for my life are seemingly delayed. I confess that impatience is one of the most difficult things for me to “die” to. I cannot do it on my own. Help me, my Father. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.