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No Comments 02 March 2008

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Song: Michael Card Joy in the Journey

Scripture
But they approached Moses and said, â€œWe simply want to build pens for our livestock and fortified towns for our wives and children. Then we will arm ourselves and lead our fellow Israelites into battle until we have brought them safely to their land. Meanwhile, our families will stay in the fortified towns we build here, so they will be safe from any attacks by the local people. Numbers 32:16-17

Observation
They could have gone farther, but in their imagination the chieftains of Reuben and Gad had gone far enough. It had been a 40 year march through the desert. At last they spotted green grass, open fields and homes empty and ready to move into. It was easy to say yes and hard to say no. What they did next showed their immaturity. They asked for the favor of jumping to the front of the line, dodging the draft, avoiding the war and putting down roots. Mature leaders would have fought the battles first then taken what God had to give. But the green fields and empty houses were alluring.

Sadly, they got what they wanted as well as what they needed. It works that way when we ask for an easier way. The Lord hears our prayer and he answers with yes. We think it is because of his great love to pamper us, when from God’s point of view he blesses us to try us. Reuben and Gad were given the land but with it came a centuries long division between them and the rest of the nation because of the river between them. Somehow they were always on the cold edge away from the center of action in Jerusalem. It was easy for them to dilute with the neighbors. Centuries later, Jesus would visit this region and find Jews in the pig business. They lived high on the hog and asked Jesus to leave. Comfort turned out to be a bad choice.

There is a human yearning to be comfortable and to have ideal conditions. We want to be home. We want open fields. We want ideal circumstances. As Christians we combine that with plenty of Bible and come to the conclusion where God is life is perfect. When conditions are less than ideal we become dissatisfied. We chafe. Ideal circumstances can become an idol that take us away from the Lord. From Genesis 1:1 it is clear that the Lord works best in chaos. The presence of God is not displayed in perfection but in a mess. Are conditions unfair, confusing, incomplete, disorienting? Yes, and they are perfectly God. We need to learn to live with discomfort this this is what motivates us to move ahead.

So what should we do in imperfect conditions? Continue to move forward under God’s direction and then see what comforts he offers to us. The people of Gad and Reuben would have been better off fighting for their kinfolk and then seeing what God would give to them. He would have given to them land chosen to make them into the people he wanted them to be.

I read this the other day from Henri Nouwen, “We all have dreams about the perfect life: a life without pain, sadness, conflict, or war. The spiritual challenge is to experience glimpses of this perfect life right in the middle of our many struggles. By embracing the reality of our mortal life, we can get in touch with the eternal life that has been sown there. The apostle Paul expresses this powerfully when he writes: “We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we see no way out but we never despair; we are pursued but never cut off; knocked down, but still have some life in us; always we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible in our … mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:8-12). Only by facing our mortality can we come in touch with the life that transcends death. Our imperfections open for us the vision of the perfect life that God in and through Jesus has promised us.”

Application
We are not to become comfortable until God gives the comforts to us. If I ask for what I want, God will give me what I need, and I don’t want that. So it is better to wait until God gives me what I need, then I will have what I really want. I really want that.

Prayer
Father, I choose today to be content in you, not just at the end but on the way there! I give up the notion of ideals and the fallacy that all should be just right. I embrace the unevenness of life and follow you. Amen.

Children, Pride, Significance

A Life Savings in Play Money

1 Comment 02 March 2008

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Song: Desperation Band Here In Your Presence

Scripture
Jesus asked his disciples, â€œWhat were you discussing out on the road?â€ But they didnâ€™t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, â€œWhoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.â€ Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, â€œAnyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me….Mark 9:34-37

Observation
Imagine a man who came to the end of his working life, who counted on the nest egg of thousands he had squirreled away, and with the withdrawal of his money he discovered that it was all saved in Monopoly Money. That currency may work for a few hours to play a board game, but it is worthless in the marketplace. A worker could have millions saved in Monopoly currency but he would be a pauper because it is the wrong kind of cash.

With one little child, Jesus showed the disciples that their spiritual bank accounts were stuffed with worthless bucks. They had been saving Kudos Money, which gets its worth from being in on the inner circle and close to the leader. The closer they rode to Jesus in the bus the more valuable they thought they were. Since Peter, James and John were allowed to peek into heaven at the Mount of Transfiguration, there had been lots of jostling for rank on the road. The disciples thought they had it figured out.

With one little child, Jesus showed the disciples that the dough was at the end of the line and not at the front. It is clear that in the ministry of Jesus, children were never peripheral. Jesus center staged children. He pushed past adults to bless them. He applauded their playful songs through the holy Temple. He even took time to look in the pockets of a little boy and perform a miracle with his lunch. In all of the Old Testament there is no other leader who noticed children. Jesus stands alone as treasuring children; it is with the little ones that he has placed the value.

Application
I wonder if most children’s ministries in churches are in the basement or back rooms because Jesus wants to test us to see if we value what he values? I don’t think this means that everyone must be a Sunday School teacher, though it wouldn’t hurt! It does mean that we need to constantly readjust our sense of significance. Working with children recalibrates our scale of values. The disciples squeezed in close to Jesus because of their insecurity. They were not confident in the Father’s love for them, so they were unable to risk the lonely places at the back of the crowd. We will value what Jesus values when we become stable in the great love of God for us. We need to be sure that the money we are saving is real money, that what we are living for is really worth having forever.

Prayer
Jesus, I know that you really love the children and in loving them I will become more of what you need me to be. So Lord, help me to see where the goods really are. The treasures of the kingdom are not always on the platform or the boardroom but in the basement Sunday School rooms where you wander and wonder with children. Amen.