FEARLESS RIGHTEOUSNESS

Heartbroken to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of men, and be not dismayed at their revilings.  Isa. 51:7, R.S.V.


Why is the disapproval of others so terrifying to us?  Often we will do almost anything to avoid having others regard us as in the wrong.  Do you recognize in your own heart that intense desire to be correct, to be known as "in the right"?

Perhaps we doubt our own convictions, our own values, when they differ from the accepted values of others.  Yet the fear of standing alone can make us fragile, vulnerable, easily manipulated.  And in these times of confused values and intense conflict, that is not a healthy condition to be in.

How can our Father prepare a people who will be able to stand for the right in the final conflicts, against the forceful opinions of what will appear to be the entire world?  How can He make us essentially unmoved by the pressures, even the outrage, of people who are themselves threatened by those "who know righteousness"?

God does not do this by barking orders at us with greater force than does the threatening world around us.  His people do not trade fear for fear.  Rather, we heed His invitation to listen while He instructs us in the ways of righteousness.  By wise and patient teaching He writes His law in our hearts.  More than that, His powerful and unchanging love works to heal that emptiness and insecurity that plagues us all.  In this way He gives us the emotional strength to say, "World, it doesn't matter so much what you think of me.  The God of this universe counts me as precious!"

God's dealings with us are complete.  He begins by showing us the difference between righteousness and wickedness. Taking a second step, He helps us "internalize" the principles of righteousness; He writes them on our hearts so that they represent the very things we most want to do.  Finally, He makes us so inwardly secure, so properly self-confident in Him, that we become fearless of the hassles and pressures of the unrighteous.

Paul said, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control" (2 Tim. 1:7, R.S.V.).  What greater strength is there than to know that one is fearlessly standing right in the center of God's will and His love!

WHY JESUS CLEANSED THE TEMPLE

He went into the temple and began driving out those who bought and sold in the temple.  Mark 11:15, N.E.B.

To many people the picture of Jesus in the Temple turning over the money changers' tables and driving out the pigeon sellers and other traders is somewhat puzzling and "out of character" with the gentle Master of the Gospels.  But is it?

One thing stands out in Jesus' ministry: the picture He gave of the Father.  Everything He did and said revealed God as reasonable, compassionate, and approachable, so much so that it made the Isaealite rulers very uncomfortable.  Their position of authority gave them their hold over the people, and they played their roles to the fullest.  In the process they gave a very distorted and sinister picture of God.

That is the basis of Jesus' act of cleansing the Temple.  Not only had the people been left untaught as to the true meaning of the sacrifices they were required to bring, But they were scandalized by the way in which they were made monetary victims in the process.  Bringing a perfectly acceptable lamb, they ran the chance of having an officiating priest reject it for some obscure reason.  They were then directed to the licensed vendor of "acceptable" lambs within the Temple, who would provide them with an animal--at a higher price than one would pay elsewhere.  But on the other hand, they were spared the problem of going out and purchasing another animal that also might not pass the scrutiny of the priests.

The fact that the very lambs rejected by the priests managed to be "recycled" into the pens of the "acceptable sacrifice" vendors was not unknown to the people.  But they couldn't beat the system.  They had to have a lamb that passed the priest's inspection.  Needless to say, the whole process brought reproach upon God and His dealings with helpless mankind.

Jesus reacted!  Why?  Because God was grieved that He should be viewed in such a light.  It was like saying that He was willing to take advantage of the needy, that He was unreasonable and arbitrary, that the whole business was in service of cold legality.  So God showed the people, by the measure of passion displayed by His Son, how heinous the Temple business was in His sight.  When He turned the money tables over, God proclaimed, "Money is not what is important to Me.  Sheep aren't important to Me.  People are!"

I'm glad that God set the record straight!

TWO KINDS OF SUFFERING

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.  Isa. 53:3, R.S.V.


A young mother looks tenderly into the eyes of her terminally ill child.  She fights back the tears; the lump in her throat is too large for her to speak.  Oh, how she cherishes that little life with a love measured by her suffering.

An insecure teenage girl rushes to the window to watch through hot tears as her first boyfriend walks toward the road.  He has just broken up with her, and she is sure the world will end before sundown.  His attentions to her were the center of her very existence to a degree measured now by her suffering.

To the extent that one loves, to that same extent one is vulnerable to suffering.  To the extent that one is self-centered and insecure, to that same extent one is also vulnerable to suffering.  But they are two different kinds of suffering!  The first kind is rooted in the hurting of the ones who are loved.  The second kind is rooted in the failure to be loved.

The suffering of one who is able to love produces character growth as he struggles in every way to bring healing and hope to another who is hurting.  He longs for larger capacities of the heart, deeper sensitivities of the soul, more perseverance in prayer.  But the suffering of the one who is not loved often inhibits character growth, as he grasps, manipulates, and maneuvers to get other people to reduce the hurt in his heart.

There is a flippant view of the Christian life that suggests that becoming a Christian means launching into a trouble-free life--walking on the sunny side of the street, whistling bright tunes, with the wind at our backs and a smile always on our faces.  People who succumb to this view of Christianity are always stunned (and then disappointed in God) when they have to suffer the realities of this grubby planet.

Those who walk with their Master do not escape suffering; rather they exchange the nature of their suffering.  They move from destructive suffering to constructive suffering, from energy-draining hurt to stretching and growing hurt.

Jesus is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief--because He loves so much!  He grieves for the emptiness, the hurt, the confusion, and the self-deception in the lives of all of us encompassed in His great heart of love.

THE UNANSWERED QUESTION

Jesus said to them, "Then neither will I tell you by what authority I act."  Mark 11:33, N.E.B.

Shortly after Jesus fed a huge crowd of people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fishes, He was approached by the Pharisees who "came out and engaged him in discussion.  To test him they asked him for a sign from heaven.  He sighed deeply to himself and said, 'Why does this generation ask for a sign?  I tell you this: no sign shall be given to this generation' " (Mark 8:11, 12, N.E.B.).

These religious leaders wanted Jesus to show them a sign to prove His authority and messiahship.  Why didn't Jesus comply with their wishes?  Wouldn't it have saved Him the agony of rejection by the spiritual fathers of Israel, making His mission on earth so much easier?  Certainly it would have made life simpler for the disciples.  Maybe that's why Jesus warned them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (verse 15)--to avoid their line of reasoning.

The Pharisees wanted to see firepower!  After all, the Messiah was going to free the children of Israel from Roman bondage, wasn't He?  Settle a few scores!  Make all the surrounding nations think twice before they trespassed onto the Promised Land!  But no such sign was to be given.  It would have been profoundly misleading.  Jesus came to reveal that God desires to love people to wholeness, not browbeat them into submission--all people, including citizens of Rome!

On another occasion, as Jesus was walking in the Temple court not long after having chased the money changers, "the chief priests, lawyers, and elders came to him and said, 'By what authority are you acting like this?  Who gave you authority to act in this way?' " (chap. 11:27, 28, N.E.B.).

Jesus understood that they desired to force Him into a corner, hoping that His answer would make Him utterly vulnerable to their destructive designs on His life.  Instead, Jesus countered by asking them about the authority of John the Baptist.  Afraid to expose their own devious minds to the people, they declined to answer.  "And Jesus said to them, 'Then neither will I tell you by what authority I act' " (verse 33, N.E.B.).

Again, for Jesus to say that God was His authority would have implied overtones of muscle power in His earthly mission.  In no way would Jesus misrepresent His Father's character!  Power gets people's attention, but it is a poor teacher of God's truth.

JESUS IS A GENTLEMAN

"Here I stand knocking at the door; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and sit down to supper with him and he with me."  Rev. 3:20, N.E.B.


Jesus can invade the vast emptiness of space, speaking but a word and thrusting in worlds, solar systems, and galaxies.  He can invade a deep-rock tomb, penetrating even the ears of the dead with the command "Lazarus, come forth!"

He can invade the cells of a disease-ridden body with the simple command "Be whole!"  Without asking permission, Jesus commands the armies of heaven, the stars of the galaxies, and the electrons in the atoms.

But when He approaches the loyalties of the human mind, the "invasion" stops.  He makes no commands, implies no threats.  He does not force the door.  The Scriptures portray Him standing, with utmost courtesy, outside the door, knocking.  And were the door to be opened, He would enter, not to deliver a scathing rebuke for being left outside but to enjoy a pleasant meal with His new friend.

Could Jesus have commanded a solution to the problem of errant loyalties, He could have skipped some six thousand years of controversy and pain.  But He knew that a commanded solution is no solution.  And so, even though the Laodicean condition is a deadly one, He still only knocks.

He knocks through that aching emptiness of the heart that only He can fill, through crushing problems that only He can solve, through longings after new horizons that only He can satisfy.  He knocks through direct convictions of the Spirit while reading the Scriptures, through a nagging awareness of spiritual dullness, and through the winsome appeals of a genuine friend.

Many leave the door closed to His gentle knocking because they suppose that, like a door-to-door salesman, He is simply "peddling goods."  New behaviors to adopt.  More things to do, and new lists of things not to do.  Additional burdens to add to an already weary life.  They fail to notice that the open door welcomes the Person Himself--in warm, healing fellowship.  Dear reader, do you have any valid reason to say No to Him?

FOOL'S GOLD AND BLIND FAITH

So I advise you to buy from me gold refined on the fire, to make you truly rich.  Rev. 3:18, N.E.B.

In the gold rush of the mid 1800s, many people set their sights on California.  Often selling all they possessed, they migrated west in hope of striking it rich.  Some did strike it rich, most did not.  Perhaps the saddest stories told are about those who thought they had when, in fact, their claims consisted of pyrite--fool's gold!

In the book of Revelation are chronicled the seven different phases of the Christian church since the days of the apostles.  To Laodicea--those who live in the very end of time--God says,

"'You say, 'How rich I am!  And how well I have done!  I have everything I want.'  In fact, though you do not know it, you are the most pitiful wretch, poor, blind, and naked" (Rev. 3:17, N.E.B.).

How many times I have heard this passage read through clenched teeth, as if God could barely restrain His anger and disgust!  Yet He clearly says in verse 19, "All whom I love, I reprove and discipline"  (N.E.B.).  With the concept of disciplining, we understand that it is with urgency that He would teach us our error in order to save us from being exposed and shamed.  He even offers a solution: "I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, to make you truly rich" (verse 18, N.E.B.).

What is this preciously genuine gold He offers us?  "These [trials] have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 1:7, N.I.V.).  It is our faith in God, as it is tested in the fires of personal experience, that brings us "all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:2, 3, R.S.V.).

God does not desire us to have a blind faith in Him.  If what we believe about Him does not integrate realistically and effectively into every facet of our lives and dealings with others, it's as good as fool's gold.  The solution involves fellowship with Him.  In essence He says, "I understand, and I want to help you.  Let Me come have supper with you so we can talk!" (see Rev. 3:15, 20).

Let's hear Him out!

THE BEST EXAMPLE OF FAITH

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  Gal. 2:20.

I have often asked groups of people to nominate whom they believe to be the best example of "faith" in the Bible.  Most people favor the familiar heroes of faith: Abraham, Job, Moses, or Elijah.  Some mention John the Baptist or David.

When asked to explain their choices, people usually speak of those events, such as Abraham's offering of Isaac, in which people do remarkable things that don't appear to make any sense.  For many Christians it appears that faith has more to do with blind incredulity than with a life-changing relationship.

This is revealed by the fact that virtually no one ever nominates Jesus Christ as the best example of faith.  It seldom occurs to us that He lived the life that He did only by His faith relationship with His Father.  It is common to think of Jesus as an example in terms of proper behavior for us to follow.  But the primary way in which Jesus is our example is in the trusting, depending, informed friendship with God that enabled Jesus' own proper behavior.

Jesus spoke explicitly of His faith relationship with divinity outside of Himself: "I do nothing on my own authority, but in all that I say, I have been taught by my Father.  He who sent me is present with me, and has not left me alone; for I always do what is acceptable to him" (John 8:28, 29, N.E.B.).  The divinity that charged Jesus' life with power and purpose was not His own, but His Father's.

Watching the way Jesus lived His life charges the word faith with explicit meaning.  As He fell dying to the ground in Gethsemane, crushed by the most difficult decision any person had ever been called upon to make, He cried out three times, "Not my will, but thine be done."  Hours later, as the clouds of the second death began to surround Him, His last words spoke explicit confidence: "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!" (Luke 23:46, R.S.V.).

When Paul describes the means by which he lives the new life, he says it is through a very special kind of faith relationship--Jesus' kind of faith.  And that same relationship is available to us!

EVER ASCENDING

Do not lose your own safe foothold.  But grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  2 Peter 3:17, 18, N.E.B.


Mountain climbers understand how important it is to find a safe foothold before continuing upward.  Only the reckless will move before they are sure of their position.  Caution, however, does not imply inertness.  In fact, to be cautious suggests that movement is anticipated.  Fear produces inactivity.  It is altogether a different matter to yell "Stop!" than it is to warn "Be careful!"

In the area of Christian growth, three distinct attitudes prevade: recklessness, caution, and fear.  I believe our view of God will decide which attitude we adopt.  In 2 Peter 3:4, we read of the reckless approach to God: "Where now is the promise of his coming?  Our fathers have been laid to rest, but still everything continues exactly as it has always been since the world began" (N.E.B.).  Such people believe that God is uninvolved in the affairs of men--either because He doesn't exist, doesn't care, or is so indulgent that He won't react.

God cares a great deal!  Verse 9 tells us, "It is not that the Lord is slow in fulfilling his promise, as some suppose, but that he is very patient with you, because it is not his will for any to be lost, but for all to come to repentance" (N.E.B.)--to experience a healing change of mind concerning Him.

We may be cautious without being afraid.  Though warned, "Do not lose your own foothold," because of potential error, we are urged to "grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."  The coming of the Day of the Lord need not paralyze us with fear.  We can "look eagerly" forward to it because "we have his promise" (verses 12, 13, N.E.B.).  Our picture of God can be reassuringly and excitingly clear in Jesus!  And Jesus promised that special preparation is being made in the Father's house for our homecoming.

We've only just begun to know the Father through Christ!  By His warm and ready acceptance of us, we can be sure that God desires us ever to be ascending in our approach to Him.  New insights will thrill our souls as we climb higher and higher, away from the delusions of this world.  And should we slip, we know that underneath us are His everlasting arms.

"YOU ARE A SEVERE MAN"

Then another came, saying, "Lord, here is your pound, which I kept laid away in a napkin; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man."  Luke 19:20, 21, R.S.V.

Most authors writing in the field of human personality classify extreme shyness as a type of emotional disorder.  The withdrawn, fearful, passive person who seldom finds the courage to assert himself into any social interaction is not enjoying his full personhood.  Many authors trace this pattern of excessive shyness to a very strong, overbearing person (usually a parent) in the person's earlier life.

The usual pattern is one of who is often harshly rebuked for doing something wrong.  The emotional risk involved in making a mistake become so great that one withdraws into the safety of doing nothing at all.  As the pattern continues, one increasingly cowers into solitude, risking no mistakes, no new approaches to friendship, no new adventures in life.

How grievous it was to Jesus, then, when His earthly friends held His Father to be "a severe man."  So He told them a parable of a man who took his life--his talents, energies, even his personhood--and hid it inside the handkerchief of fear.  His whole existence became flat, "safe," and unproductive.  No new friendships to broaden his horizons, no new methods of witnessing, no new dimensions of self-development.  Why?  Because he saw the Master as one who would pounce on him with severe judgments should he endeavor and fail.

Though Jesus' parable ends with strong dissatisfaction for all who hold such a view, it is a bright beacon of hope for all who hold the Father to be the "Infinite Eavesdropper" who lurks in the corner of your mind, ready to catch you in some little flaw.  You can almost hear Jesus shouting, "My Father is not like that!  In His friendship, you are safe to risk, to dare, to grow,...and yes, even to stumble and then try again.  My Father will help you."

In Jesus' parable the servant was condemned not for doing anything wrong but for holding such an unnecessarily tragic view of his Master.  It is not a parable about financial stewardship or about helping with the missionary activities of the local church.  Rather, it is one of Jesus' most potent means of pointing out just how deeply our view of God shapes the quality of our entire life.  "In My Father's friendship," He says, "you are free to dare!"

THE VEGETABLE LAMB OF TARTARY

"Away with you, Satan," he said; "you think as men think, not as God thinks."  Mark 8:33, N.E.B.

The legend of the vegetable lamb of Tartary, half plant and half animal, originates from the Middle Ages.  When European travelers to the Far East were first introduced to cotton, a plant they knew nothing of at that time, they took it for wool--a substance they did know.  Since wool came from sheep, they deduced that cotton came from lambs that grew from a tree to which the lambs were attached by their navels.  It was said that the lambs grazed as the plant bent to the ground.  The lambs and plant died after all the grass around had been eaten.

We laugh at such preposterous ideas.  Yet such legends often survive for centuries as accepted fact.  It was no different in Jesus' day.  The coming Messiah had been so cloaked with Jewish tradition and legend that when Jesus "began to teach [His disciples] that the Son of Man had to undergo great sufferings, and to be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and doctors of the law; to be put to death, and to rise again three days afterwards....Peter took him by the arm and began to rebuke him," even though Jesus "spoke about it plainly" (Mark 8:31, 32, N.E.B.)!

We marvel at Peter's attitude.  He had it all wrong!  So wrong, in fact, that Jesus was prompted to utter one of His most startling rebukes; " 'Away with you, Satan,' he said, 'you think as men think, not as God thinks' " (verse 33. N.E.B.).  May I suggest that our ideas of why Jesus had to die might be as far off the mark as was Peter's resistance to its even happening?

Jesus addressed Satan directly not to scold or humiliate Peter in front of his friends, but to dramatically draw attention to the originator of such thinking.  Our first parents accepted the fatal deception that they had life apart from the Creator.  When Peter cried out, "No Lord, this shall never happen to you" (Matt. 16:22, N.E.B.), he was actually reaffirming the serpent's lie, "Of course you will not die" (Gen. 3:4, N.E.B.).

The death of Christ as the Son of man was to demonstrate once and for all what separation from God brings.  To imply that God requires death as a penalty for not believing Him is little better than presuming wool to grow on trees--no matter how many people think so.