Disruption

“Disruption” is a big word these days. I suppose that there have always been disruptions. Now everything gets talked about more. But perhaps we can think about this word Biblically. God is a God of disruptions.

A disruption is something that interrupts what we regard as normal. If the stock market has been going up for a period of time, we begin to regard that as normal. But if the stock market then goes down, we assume that there has been a disruption. But are we a good judge of what is normal? Not very. But God is - He is a good Judge.

In Genesis 6 when things were going on as normal (or so humans with bad memories and poor perspective so thought), God sent a disruption, called the Flood. It was geologically and globally disruptive. Only 8 individuals were spared. This was a disruption of an unacceptable normal. It was a return to God’s normal - to people living lives centered in the worship of God.

Years later, the people of Israel were getting by, but not so well. They would face enemies and opposition, which they came to regard as normal. But actually, the hardships were “disruptions” sent by God to get their attention, that they might reform their ways. But these local disruptions were followed by big ones: the Assyrian captivity for the northern tribes, and the Babylonian captivity for the southern, and they faced national disruption. God was going to turn their hearts back to Himself. He was bringing them back to normal. But only so far. It was preparatory.

Climactically, God acted to bring about another Disruption: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son.” He sent Jesus into the world, to walk in our shoes, and to die in our place. He placed the sin of the world on His shoulders, and offered forgiveness in Christ. Deep Disruption. Upside-down and Inside-out Disruption. He did all this to make possible a right relationship with Himself - fellowship with God. 

And now the world goes on, many with no consideration of what God has done in Christ, developing theories of what, for each day, is the new normal. There continue to  many more disruptions, but then, predicted in Scripture, a Final Disruption, when Jesus comes again in His glory. Are you ready?

     “For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.” (Revelation 18:8 NAS95)

Mark 10:13-17 Children are Always and Everywhere

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 10:13-17 Children are Always and Everywhere

There may be some areas where children are not allowed. But those are artificial areas, not real life; or, they are areas where the dying go to gather and wait. Otherwise, children are always and everywhere.

This must have been so in Jesus’ day. The culture may have not catered to kids the way we do today. But every time Jesus spoke and crowds gathered, kids must have been present. But they were rarely front and center.

So this passage is remarkable, thought-provoking, and convicting:

Mark 10:13   And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶ And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

There are two key phrases that we need to wrestle with: 

“for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”

“receive the kingdom of God like a child”

What are the characteristics of children that we need, or, that we have lost? And how is it that a child ‘receives’? I assume that the answers are closely related. I also assume that we can find some clues in how adults had been (not) responding to Jesus. That part is easy to answer.

Adults, especially religious adults (and remember, just about everybody in this culture was religious) had all kinds of arguments and evasions. They would argue about a technicality in order to avoid the obvious. They were often defensive and suspicious. And, things haven’t changed much. Today, adults are much the same way.

On the other hand, children are much less complicated. They can approach a subject, or a person, much more simply. As a child, either you like them, or you don’t. You either come close, or, you run away. You either accept what they say, or get distracted and do something else. 

But there is more. There is also a sense of innocence, not yet ‘graduated’ to suspicion. And wonder. Children have a sense of curiosity. And acceptance. And trust. 

Can children be easily taken in? Yes. And adults will miss an opportunity because of fear and distrust. It seems, when it comes to Jesus, as though we need to be open to that which is not normal; curious enough not to immediately object; will to accept something unfamiliar. And, as we find in the story, there is a blessing in it.

Jesus, the Branch

Of all the titles that are ascribed to Jesus, it does not seem as though “the Branch” is the highest or best. And yet it reveals something to us about the nature of  God’s plan of redemption, and how it is structured.

We have Old Testament texts referring to "the Branch"; references that point to Jesus in the New Testament, who “fleshes out” this image for us. So let’s see what we can learn. 

Isaiah 4:2 says that “In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious.” But “that day” was anything but glorious. The preceding verses show how the people would be stripped of all dignities due to their sins, and that “instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction; Instead of a belt, a rope.” This branch would actually be a shoot, a sucker that grows from the stump of a tree that has been cut down. The house of David appeared to have fallen.

And so this little shoot, which would grow into a great Branch, can be called, in advance of its appearance, “beautiful and glorious.” Those qualities are expanded in Isaiah 11, where the picture is political, and the reigning term seems to be “righteousness,” alongside “wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength.” Take the time to read through Isaiah 11.

But that “beauty and glory” are not even apparent to all in the earthly life of Jesus. While those who were touched by His words and deeds saw something of this, many, in their hardness of heart, did not. Isaiah 53 portrays this theme, where “the root out of parched ground” did not have an “appearance that we should be attracted to him.” We often base our expectations on appearances, and Jesus’ rejection by people made many think that He was “stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” 

But no, He was not stricken and smitten because of Himself, but rather, for us. Read Isaiah 53, and notice the emphasis on what was “ours” borne by “Him.” It is fitting, then, that we find another reference to “Branch” in Jeremiah 33, a new covenant context.

Jesus gave His disciples, and us, a beautiful picture of what the Branch has become. He said in John 15, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” By faith in Christ, we are united to Him, and in that relationship with Him, our lives are enabled and equipped to be fruitful. Apart from Him, lifeless, like the stump of a discarded tree.

Fake Stamps

THE POSTAGE STAMP LOOKS LIKE a postage stamp is supposed to look: white, perforated edges, and part of a circular cancellation mark in the corner. It also has the country and postage clearly printed, though its depiction of the pirate Blackbeard during an attack might be more dramatic than most philatelic subjects. But it’s not a postage stamp, not really, because its country of origin is Sealand—a metal platform about the size of a tennis court, off the English coast. Sealand is one of the quirky, strangely numerous states known as “micronations,” or self-proclaimed polities with no legal recognition. Some of them, to simulate legitimacy or at least make a little money, have issued their own flags, passports, coins, and yes, postage stamps. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/micronation-stamps

Put one of these stamps on your letter, and it will get returned. But we are not primarily concerned about letters and stamps. We are concerned with Christians who live out their faith. The warning in this illustration is that there are some who seem to be “micro-“ Christians; “self-proclaimed” Christians; lacking “legal recognition.” 

The rule is, if you have to put an adjective in front of it, then it is probably not real. There is no such thing as a “micro-“ Christian; nor a “self-proclaimed” Christian. The “legal authority” in this case refers to the only way one becomes a Christian at all: through justification by faith, not of works, by which we are declared righteous by God and accepted into His presence. Without that legal standing, accomplished by Christ, one is not a Christian.

Paul writes to Timothy, and warns him to beware of those who have an appearance of godliness, but in practice, they deny it’s power. They are like fake stamps, treasured by some, but worthless before God. They are not merely empty place-holders, pew-sitters who are unable to contribute to the health of the Body (congregation). They are actually detrimental, in that the Spirit of God is not active within them, and therefore all that they have to offer is resourced from their own selves, or, as the Bible says, from their flesh.

Christians who live out their faith do so by living faithfully according to the Gospel; according to Christ’s death and resurrection; living dead to sin and alive to God. That faithfulness is made possible not by pretending or play-acting, but through the working of the Spirit of God within them, who is forming the character of Christ in their lives. They do not merely look like Christians. They are Christians.

Really, Really

If a TV show is good, we don’t say it’s interesting. We say it’s really interesting. If we have a bad toothache, it’s not just bad. It’s really bad.

The Old Testament of the Bible, written largely in Hebrew, has some interesting ways of intensifying language. It seems a bit more sophisticated than repeatedly using the word really.

One way is to repeat the verb. The first occurrence of this is early in the Bible, in Genesis 2, when God speaks to Adam about not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because, “in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” The rendering “you shall surely die” is actually the repetition of the verb “to die” in two different forms, back to back. It happens often with many different verbs.

Another instance of this same thing is in Jeremiah 7, where Jeremiah is warning the people not to think that they can go on living in sin and yet presume to claim the promises of God as their own. Jeremiah calls on them to “Amend your ways and your deeds.” He goes on to say, “if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, …” then God’s impending judgment will be stayed.

In this case, the rendering “truly amend” is a repetition, as before, of a particular verb in two different forms. But it also something else. It is an intensified form of that verb. This verb in “normal” form would be “to do good.” But in this intensified form, it is “to make to do good.” It is to take charge of the situation in such a way that good comes about. It is not letting good happen. It is making good happen.

“Letting good happen” wasn’t working so well. The people were involved in stealing and lying. Actually, #’s 6-9 of the 10 commandments are mentioned: murder, adultery, stealing, and lying (bearing false witness). Good doesn’t seem to just happen on it’s own. Which is why just letting kids express themselves is a far cry from “train up a child in the way he should go.” After all, they tend to take after their parents.

We are to pray and plan for how we can make good happen. How can I be a good neighbor? It probably won’t happen on it’s own. You need to pray/plan for it. How can I avoid that particularly sticky temptation? It probably won’t happen on it’s own. You need to pray/plan for it. You need to “amend your ways,”  “to make good happen.” Put a prayer/plan to it. Really.

Mark 10:1-12 Marriage is Hard

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 10:1-12 Marriage is Hard

Marriage is hard. Jesus’ teaching about marriage and divorce is hard. Our attempts to explain around His teaching is hard also. So let’s try and make some sense of this.

It seems that the Pharisees already knew that there was a problem here. Moses’ law made a concession for divorce  under certain circumstances, but the ideal has always been in place - marriage between a man and a woman “’til death us do part.” Let’s be clear what this means. Sexual relationship, according to God’s design, is to be practiced only within the marriage relationship. That means that each man and each woman, if they get married, would only have sexual experience with that one person, unless their spouse died and they remarried. This whole experience of multiple partners is far removed from what God designed.

But marriage is hard. Why? The Bible teaches that we are all sinners from birth. So, whether follower of Jesus or not (and God’s design for marriage is for all of humanity, not only for Christians) we are still sinners. Our progress toward holiness is progressive, and nothing exposes one’s selfishness like being married and being called to put the other person first.

Also, divorce comes naturally to us. All of humanity is already divorced from God through Adam’s sin. There has been a fracture, a rupture in that relationship, and only through God’s act of reconciliation in Christ is that divorce resolved. Divorce is not just a “bad” marriage problem; it’s a “bad” humanity problem. We need God. And our marriages need God. And, we need to learn to practice in our marriage relationship what God extends to us in the Gospel.

So marriages are to be characterized by love and sacrificial service for the other person. We are to seek to grow in our ability to understand the soul of the other person. We are to forgive, and forgive, and forgive. We are to pray for one another consistently. We are to want the best for the other, even above what seems to be best for us. Marriage is hard.

Jesus says, “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Don’t get divorced. That’s a tough one, isn’t it. I think the exception clauses still apply, though not as a necessary action, but as a permission. But the general rule, the reigning principle is: don’t get divorced.

“Don’t get divorced” never made it into the top tier of God’s Law (if that is how you think about the 10 commandments). But any sexual relationship after divorce does make it into that top tier: #7, no adultery. And, adultery, or fornication, is rampant in our world, and total avoidance seems impossible.

Let’s put this in perspective. We are all sinners. Sinners sin. We are not to lie, but we have all deceived ourselves and have attempted to deceive God. We are not to steal, but we have all stolen glory from God as we have tried to put ourselves at the center. We have all loved something more than God, turning it into an idol (the Bible calls this, at times, spiritual adultery). And, we are all divorced, and many people have experienced that divorce not only in their relationship with God, but also in a marriage relationship. And in each of these cases, God offers forgiveness in Christ. 

Two more things. Divorce is different. I can like, repent of my lying, and be a former liar. But if I divorce, I can repent of my divorce, but I may not be able to reconcile, since it depends at least on the willingness of the other person, and so I will continue to be a divorcee, and not free to marry and enjoy marriage relationship. Be careful who you marry, and be careful to stay married.

The last thing is this: the promise of forgiveness in Christ is never to be a license to go ahead and do what you know is displeasing to God, but you will do it anyway because you know that forgiveness is available. That forgiveness is only available, in the first place, to believers, and a person expressing that kind of callous “using” of forgiveness is not demonstrating faith at all, and has no assurance of being a believer.

Did I say marriage is hard? It is humbling. And there are many, many people who have already failed in this area, have proceeded into more areas of difficulty, and who continue to feel the pain of their past and present actions. Here is what the Bible says, to all of us: “God justifies the  ungodly.” It’s people like you, like us, that God reaches out to, as we admit our sinfulness and ours sins, and as we purpose to walk in obedience, starting today, scars and all. The scars don’t disappear, but God’s grace is sufficient.