Today I held Grace for the first time. Grace is my granddaughter, born March 27 to my daughter, Allison and our son-in-law, Noah. Like all grandparents, I am amazed at this miracle.
Holding her, I thought about my mother who died eight weeks ago today at the age of 89. The night before she died we gathered around her bed, my wife and I and our children. We told her we loved her and she told us that she loved us. We reminisced about a few memories. Then, my son-in-law held his iPhone up to her ear and played a recording of Grace’s heart beat. It was strong and rapid, dancing with new life. My mother’s heart was failing and would beat its last beat by morning. Grace’s heartbeat was just beginning, pounding in my daughter’s womb, waiting to be born.
I also thought about my daughter. She was born the year I turned 40. Jackie, my wife, was 37. We had two sons ages thirteen and eight. We had not expected any more children. When we discovered Jackie was pregnant, we met with the doctor. He asked if we wanted to terminate the pregnancy, apparently due to our age, the increased risk of defects and the fact that this pregnancy was not planned. We sat dumbfounded by his question. We looked at each other for a moment and responded, “No.” This was not a pregnancy, this was our child. We wanted this child. We would do nothing to risk her full and complete health. We changed doctors. Eight months later, Allison was born, as perfect a daughter as a father could ever wish to hold. I rocked her to sleep every night and sang songs to her about Jesus until she finally told me she thought she was too old to be rocked any more. Those were treasured moments, moments when I celebrated God’s gift of our daughter. Moments when I oftened reflected on the doctor’s question.
Years later I started writing poetry and wrote a poem about the daughter God gave us. Here it is:
You came into my life unexpected,
unrequested, unplanned and unknown,
bursting the bands of my being,
redefining and rewriting
the schemata of my soul.
I thought my world was whole,
believed I knew my substance
needing none other than I knew,
contemplating and comprehending completeness.
You appeared to me,
a formless faded phantom on a screen,
echoes of flesh, a beating heart,
tiny fetal foot reflected in the womb
of your mother.
We wanted you, longed for you,
waited for you, prayed for you,
prepared for you:
a room, built with my own hands,
a yellow crib and mobile,
fluffy toys and dolls,
to greet you when you came ...
home.
And you came,
revealing my arrogant ignorance,
that I could think my world complete,
that I could live if you were not,
that life could be without you,
that life could be again in your going.
You pose the question in my mind,
with your smile, your girlish giggle,
the stroking of your cat,
the tears upon your cheek,
the weight of your slumbering body
at rest in mine, curled up in the arms
of a big blue chair:
“What is there I know not that I have not
and could not live without?”
So, today, I held Grace, my daughter’s daughter, and reflected on the grace of God!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Preserving a People
Every time we voice our pledge to the flag, we are reminded of our American commitment: “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.” Justice is important. We cannot have liberty without justice. Cornelius Dupree Jr.’s recent exoneration and release after serving 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit along with the growing number of exonerations based on DNA testing raises huge questions.
John Grisham’s latest novel, “The Confession,” underscores the difficulties. Although a work of fiction, his story of a young black man wrongly convicted in Texas and executed in Huntsville is chilling. It is reminiscent of scenes from Steven King’s novel, The Green Mile. I once stood beside the execution table in the death chamber at Huntsville. The sense of the place was haunting. Many have gone to their deaths in that room guilty of the crimes for which they were convicted. Others, it appears, were innocent.
Ed Gray, former prosecutor in the Dallas County district attorney’s office recently wrote a memoir of his career entitled, Henry Wade’s Tough Justice. Wade was the Dallas County DA for 36 years. He is best known for prosecuting Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. Gray states that the standing joke in the Wade administration was “Anybody can convict a guilty person. Convicting the innocent is the trick.”
The best known person ever condemned and executed for crimes he did not commit was Jesus. He was wrongly accused before the courts of his day and appeared before the Roman governor, Pilate, who, after yielding to social and political pressure, sentenced him to die. He was then tortured and crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem according to Roman law.
Like most Americans I still believe we have the best judicial system on earth. But no system can rise above the people involved in it, including lawyers, judges, juries, officers and those called upon for testimony. As believers who worship the One who suffered the world’s greatest injustice we need constantly to commit ourselves to truth, honesty, integrity and ethics that preserve the freedoms we hold so precious.
Justice, of course, extends beyond the courtroom. We create or erode a just society every day by the way we live, by being truthful and honest in all our dealings. My middle son once stood in line for more than half an hour to return a few dollars to a department store that the clerk had mistakenly given him in change. When he finally reached the counter, the workers in the service department were dumbfounded. No one had ever stood in line to return money. Their system wasn’t set up to handle it. An older man standing in line behind him and watching stopped him. “Young man. If you ever need a job, you call me.”
Every lie, every slander, every dishonest deed destroys a nation. Every truth, every encouragement, every honest action, builds up a people. Deuteronomy 16: 20 says, “Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Micah 6:8 states, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
John Grisham’s latest novel, “The Confession,” underscores the difficulties. Although a work of fiction, his story of a young black man wrongly convicted in Texas and executed in Huntsville is chilling. It is reminiscent of scenes from Steven King’s novel, The Green Mile. I once stood beside the execution table in the death chamber at Huntsville. The sense of the place was haunting. Many have gone to their deaths in that room guilty of the crimes for which they were convicted. Others, it appears, were innocent.
Ed Gray, former prosecutor in the Dallas County district attorney’s office recently wrote a memoir of his career entitled, Henry Wade’s Tough Justice. Wade was the Dallas County DA for 36 years. He is best known for prosecuting Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. Gray states that the standing joke in the Wade administration was “Anybody can convict a guilty person. Convicting the innocent is the trick.”
The best known person ever condemned and executed for crimes he did not commit was Jesus. He was wrongly accused before the courts of his day and appeared before the Roman governor, Pilate, who, after yielding to social and political pressure, sentenced him to die. He was then tortured and crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem according to Roman law.
Like most Americans I still believe we have the best judicial system on earth. But no system can rise above the people involved in it, including lawyers, judges, juries, officers and those called upon for testimony. As believers who worship the One who suffered the world’s greatest injustice we need constantly to commit ourselves to truth, honesty, integrity and ethics that preserve the freedoms we hold so precious.
Justice, of course, extends beyond the courtroom. We create or erode a just society every day by the way we live, by being truthful and honest in all our dealings. My middle son once stood in line for more than half an hour to return a few dollars to a department store that the clerk had mistakenly given him in change. When he finally reached the counter, the workers in the service department were dumbfounded. No one had ever stood in line to return money. Their system wasn’t set up to handle it. An older man standing in line behind him and watching stopped him. “Young man. If you ever need a job, you call me.”
Every lie, every slander, every dishonest deed destroys a nation. Every truth, every encouragement, every honest action, builds up a people. Deuteronomy 16: 20 says, “Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Micah 6:8 states, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Monday, March 14, 2011
When Disaster Strikes
Our hearts go out to the Japanese people. The reports of devastation continue to escalate and the depth of loss continues to deepen. Thousands of bodies wash up daily on Japanese shores. Plumes of smoke rise from exploding nuclear plants. Last week’s disaster seems overwhelming.
Whenever disasters like this strike we are prone to ask spiritual and theological questions that usually revolve around “Why?” Jesus addressed this question on more than one occasion and gave us some insight into the answers. When he addressed a crowd regarding a recent building collapse he posed a rhetorical question: “Do you think that those who died when the tower at Siloam fell were more sinful than others?” And answered his own question clearly, “I tell you, no.”
When his disciples discovered a man blind from his birth they asked a similar question. “Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his sins or the sins of his parents that he was born blind?” Jesus answered them, “It was neither that this man sinned nor his parents. He was born blind that the works of God might be made manifest in him.” He then proceeded to heal the man so that he could see.
Jesus predicted that earthquakes would continue and would occur in various places on the earth. We have learned that our planet is in constant movement. The earth’s crust continues to shift. Most often its movement is imperceptible, but occasionally it shifts with dramatic and devastating results. We have witnessed the destruction that can be leveled on human civilization when this happens.
I stood on the shore at Banda Aceh, Indonesia following the 2004 tsunami and witnessed the devastation that laid waste that capital city and claimed the lives of a quarter million people. My daughter and son-in-law volunteered in the recovery efforts after Haiti was decimated with similar loss of life. Last year alone, there were twenty-two quakes measuring 7 or greater on the Richter magnitude scale. Earthquakes struck Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Japan, Mexico, the Solomon Islands, Ecuador and New Zealand.
Natural disasters will occur. They are as inevitable as the rising and setting sun though not as predictable or as regular. Where and when they will strike and with what force, we don’t know, though geologists continue to search for clues by studying movement in the earth’s crust.
Jesus was clear that earthquakes would come and disasters would occur. He was also clear about how we should respond. We must manifest the works of God. We must pray for the people of Japan. When one people suffer, we all suffer. And we must give. My favorite organization for responding to disasters worldwide is the Texas Baptist Men. They have a long history of working effectively with local and global organizations to bring meaningful help where disasters strike. They are especially adept at providing clean water and clean up volunteers when needed. I know their leadership personally and have great confidence in them. Donations can be given for disaster relief to Texas Baptist Men at www.texasbaptistmen.org.
Whenever disasters like this strike we are prone to ask spiritual and theological questions that usually revolve around “Why?” Jesus addressed this question on more than one occasion and gave us some insight into the answers. When he addressed a crowd regarding a recent building collapse he posed a rhetorical question: “Do you think that those who died when the tower at Siloam fell were more sinful than others?” And answered his own question clearly, “I tell you, no.”
When his disciples discovered a man blind from his birth they asked a similar question. “Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his sins or the sins of his parents that he was born blind?” Jesus answered them, “It was neither that this man sinned nor his parents. He was born blind that the works of God might be made manifest in him.” He then proceeded to heal the man so that he could see.
Jesus predicted that earthquakes would continue and would occur in various places on the earth. We have learned that our planet is in constant movement. The earth’s crust continues to shift. Most often its movement is imperceptible, but occasionally it shifts with dramatic and devastating results. We have witnessed the destruction that can be leveled on human civilization when this happens.
I stood on the shore at Banda Aceh, Indonesia following the 2004 tsunami and witnessed the devastation that laid waste that capital city and claimed the lives of a quarter million people. My daughter and son-in-law volunteered in the recovery efforts after Haiti was decimated with similar loss of life. Last year alone, there were twenty-two quakes measuring 7 or greater on the Richter magnitude scale. Earthquakes struck Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Japan, Mexico, the Solomon Islands, Ecuador and New Zealand.
Natural disasters will occur. They are as inevitable as the rising and setting sun though not as predictable or as regular. Where and when they will strike and with what force, we don’t know, though geologists continue to search for clues by studying movement in the earth’s crust.
Jesus was clear that earthquakes would come and disasters would occur. He was also clear about how we should respond. We must manifest the works of God. We must pray for the people of Japan. When one people suffer, we all suffer. And we must give. My favorite organization for responding to disasters worldwide is the Texas Baptist Men. They have a long history of working effectively with local and global organizations to bring meaningful help where disasters strike. They are especially adept at providing clean water and clean up volunteers when needed. I know their leadership personally and have great confidence in them. Donations can be given for disaster relief to Texas Baptist Men at www.texasbaptistmen.org.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Finding God's Vision
For several years I led an organization that asked two questions: “What is God’s vision for your life?” and, “How can we help you fulfill God’s vision?” Some churches are beginning to ask these questions regarding those who attend. They are, I believe, the right questions. Unlike the institutional and program oriented question, “How can you help our church?” these questions help people discover the transforming dynamic of God that changes their lives and the world. Most people have an innate sense that God has a vision and purpose for their life. At the same time, most people have difficulty finding God’s vision and living it.
Two weeks ago I spent the weekend with a relatively new church in Wisconsin that is learning to ask these questions. The church started ten years ago with two hundred people present. Ten years later more than 1,400 gather each weekend at Jacobs Well in Eau Claire. During lunch I sat beside a woman who was obviously very involved and comfortable at the church. I asked if she was a staff member. She laughed and said, “No, I am a volunteer.” I later learned that two years ago she was addicted to drugs and battling depression.
A few years ago I visited the Harley Davidson factory in Kansas City. We wanted to learn what made Harley Davidson tick (or rumble) and why this company had made such a dramatic turn around. We visited the teams assembling the bikes and met with their managers. We listened to one of their young executives who introduced himself as “a disciple of Jesus Christ disguised as a Harley Davidson executive.”
In 2004 I answered my cell phone and listened as a young woman with a speech impediment introduced herself. “I’m Heather. I have cerebral palsy. God has called me to India. How can you help me?” That brief conversation started a long friendship. I drove to Waco to visit Heather and found her confined to a wheel chair with limited use of one arm. In spite of her disabilities, she radiated the presence of Christ. She said God whispered in her ear, “India.” She has been to Bangalore twice to work with others who have similar handicaps to her own and plans to return. She wrote her first children’s book this year entitled “My Friends and I.”
God has a vision for every life. It is just a matter of finding God’s vision and living it out. Here are some clues I have discovered that help people get started on that journey: 1. Trust Jesus Christ and welcome Him into your life, 2. Study the Bible. God speaks to us through His Word, 3. Pray. Start praying for others, not just yourself and your own family, and 4. Listen to other believers who seek to encourage you. Get involved in a healthy church and a small group of authentic followers of Jesus Christ.
When Paul neared the end of his life, he said, “I have not been disobedient to the vision.” (Acts 26:19). He followed the principles in the previous paragraph. His journey started with his trust in Jesus Christ on the way to Damascus. He studied the Scriptures and discovered its mysteries. He prayed constantly for others. Barnabas encouraged him and introduced him to other believers. He became involved in the church at Antioch that “set him apart” for “the work to which God had called him.” When he got stumped, he looked for God’s vision for the next step on his journey. (Acts 16:6-10).
(Heather Herschap's new children's book, "My Friends and I," is available on Amazon)
Two weeks ago I spent the weekend with a relatively new church in Wisconsin that is learning to ask these questions. The church started ten years ago with two hundred people present. Ten years later more than 1,400 gather each weekend at Jacobs Well in Eau Claire. During lunch I sat beside a woman who was obviously very involved and comfortable at the church. I asked if she was a staff member. She laughed and said, “No, I am a volunteer.” I later learned that two years ago she was addicted to drugs and battling depression.
A few years ago I visited the Harley Davidson factory in Kansas City. We wanted to learn what made Harley Davidson tick (or rumble) and why this company had made such a dramatic turn around. We visited the teams assembling the bikes and met with their managers. We listened to one of their young executives who introduced himself as “a disciple of Jesus Christ disguised as a Harley Davidson executive.”
In 2004 I answered my cell phone and listened as a young woman with a speech impediment introduced herself. “I’m Heather. I have cerebral palsy. God has called me to India. How can you help me?” That brief conversation started a long friendship. I drove to Waco to visit Heather and found her confined to a wheel chair with limited use of one arm. In spite of her disabilities, she radiated the presence of Christ. She said God whispered in her ear, “India.” She has been to Bangalore twice to work with others who have similar handicaps to her own and plans to return. She wrote her first children’s book this year entitled “My Friends and I.”
God has a vision for every life. It is just a matter of finding God’s vision and living it out. Here are some clues I have discovered that help people get started on that journey: 1. Trust Jesus Christ and welcome Him into your life, 2. Study the Bible. God speaks to us through His Word, 3. Pray. Start praying for others, not just yourself and your own family, and 4. Listen to other believers who seek to encourage you. Get involved in a healthy church and a small group of authentic followers of Jesus Christ.
When Paul neared the end of his life, he said, “I have not been disobedient to the vision.” (Acts 26:19). He followed the principles in the previous paragraph. His journey started with his trust in Jesus Christ on the way to Damascus. He studied the Scriptures and discovered its mysteries. He prayed constantly for others. Barnabas encouraged him and introduced him to other believers. He became involved in the church at Antioch that “set him apart” for “the work to which God had called him.” When he got stumped, he looked for God’s vision for the next step on his journey. (Acts 16:6-10).
(Heather Herschap's new children's book, "My Friends and I," is available on Amazon)
Monday, February 28, 2011
Did Jesus Do Dishes?
Did Jesus do dishes? The very question sounds sacrilegious. That might be the point. Sometimes our “religion” prism causes us to miss the real miracle about Jesus. The whole idea of “religion” tends to confine our thinking to “church” related activities and theological conversations. To most people, Jesus never enters day-to-day conversation because to do so is to introduce “religion,” and daily life has little to do with religion.
Those who knew Jesus, who met him, heard him, saw him, ate with him and walked with him were struck by his humanity. He was real, but, as some say, “not real religious.” He went to the synagogues and spoke there, but it was the religious people who had difficulty with him. He ate with tax collectors, visited with prostitutes and befriended lepers, violated religious laws by healing the sick and allowing his disciples to harvest grain on the Sabbath.
Jesus’ divinity continued to shine through for all to see: he made the blind see, caused the deaf to hear, lifted the lame to walk and raised the dead. Even the wind and the sea obeyed him. But, as important as all those things were, especially to the individuals who experienced it, he elevated the mundane to the miraculous.
John described him like this: “The Word became flesh and lived among us and we saw his glory, glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14); “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1) The writer of Hebrews wrote: “For we have not a high priest who is not touched with our infirmities but was tempted in all ways like as we are, yet without sin.”
The Bible never says that Jesus did the dishes. It does say that he washed feet. Which, it seems to me, required a great deal more humility than washing dishes. I expect dishes were prized possessions in most homes of Galilee. They weren’t cheap. You could not pick up dishes at the local Walmart or the Dollar store. They were all hand crafted and often passed down from generation to generation. Most homes likely had little more than the bare essentials when it came to dishes. They did not pile up in the sink waiting for someone to unload the dishwasher. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Jesus helped his mother out, or even lent a hand to Martha in the kitchen at Bethany, and washed dishes.
I always think my wife will be most impressed when I buy her flowers. She does appreciate them and she likes them. But what she really seems to like is the times that I do the dishes. It may be that the most spiritual thing you may do today is to do the dishes. It could be a God thing.
Those who knew Jesus, who met him, heard him, saw him, ate with him and walked with him were struck by his humanity. He was real, but, as some say, “not real religious.” He went to the synagogues and spoke there, but it was the religious people who had difficulty with him. He ate with tax collectors, visited with prostitutes and befriended lepers, violated religious laws by healing the sick and allowing his disciples to harvest grain on the Sabbath.
Jesus’ divinity continued to shine through for all to see: he made the blind see, caused the deaf to hear, lifted the lame to walk and raised the dead. Even the wind and the sea obeyed him. But, as important as all those things were, especially to the individuals who experienced it, he elevated the mundane to the miraculous.
John described him like this: “The Word became flesh and lived among us and we saw his glory, glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14); “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” (1 John 1:1) The writer of Hebrews wrote: “For we have not a high priest who is not touched with our infirmities but was tempted in all ways like as we are, yet without sin.”
The Bible never says that Jesus did the dishes. It does say that he washed feet. Which, it seems to me, required a great deal more humility than washing dishes. I expect dishes were prized possessions in most homes of Galilee. They weren’t cheap. You could not pick up dishes at the local Walmart or the Dollar store. They were all hand crafted and often passed down from generation to generation. Most homes likely had little more than the bare essentials when it came to dishes. They did not pile up in the sink waiting for someone to unload the dishwasher. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Jesus helped his mother out, or even lent a hand to Martha in the kitchen at Bethany, and washed dishes.
I always think my wife will be most impressed when I buy her flowers. She does appreciate them and she likes them. But what she really seems to like is the times that I do the dishes. It may be that the most spiritual thing you may do today is to do the dishes. It could be a God thing.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Who Is Jesus?
He is the most controversial man ever to live. His own family thought him mad. The people loved him. One of his closest friends betrayed him. The Jewish court convicted him of heresy. The Romans killed him. He never earned a degree and had no formal schooling. He was never elected to office. He never wrote a book. When he died he owned nothing beyond the clothes on his back. But, within three centuries of his death, the entire Roman Empire worshipped him. More books have been written about him than any other individual who has ever lived. Entire libraries have been devoted to understanding his life and his teaching. He changed the course of western civilization and, today, two thousand years since he was born, millions are turning to him in Africa and Asia. Who is Jesus?
Leo Tolstoy, arguably the greatest Russian novelist, author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, spent much of his life wrestling with the teachings of Jesus. In his later years he wrote The Kingdom of God is Within You in an attempt to implement the teachings of Jesus. Tolstoy corresponded with a young Mahatma Gandhi who, although he remained Hindu, often quoted from Jesus and recognized Jesus’ influence on his thinking. When Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home was bombed in 1956, he stepped out on the front porch to quiet an angry crowd that threatened to do battle with the police. He said, “"We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us. We must make them know that we love them. Jesus still cries out in words that echo across the centuries: 'Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; pray for them that despitefully use you.' This is what we must live by.”
Jesus remains popular in the United States. A Barna Group survey concluded that more people claim a “connection” with Jesus than the number claiming a Facebook or Twitter account. Two out of three Americans claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus. But who is the Jesus whom two thirds of Americans claim to know? In his book, Imaginary Jesus, Matt Mikalatos creates a fictional story in which Jesus is seen according to the image that brings us the greatest benefit. In so doing, he introduces “King James Jesus,” “Magic 8-ball Jesus,” “Testosterone Jesus,” “Free Will Jesus,” “New Age Jesus,” and “Meticulous Jesus.” All of this leaves us asking the question again, “Who is Jesus?”
Jesus was the first person to pose this question. According to Luke 9 and Mathew 16, when Jesus’ popularity was growing so that thousands thronged to see and hear him, he took his twelve disciples aside and asked them the question, “Whom do men say that I am?” The disciples looked at one another and began repeating what they had heard others say. “Some say you are John the Baptist,” they said. “Others say you are Elijah. And still others say you are one of the prophets.” After hearing their response Jesus put the question to them more personally. “Who do you say I am?” In both accounts, Peter was the one who spoke first. “You are the Christ the Son of the living God.” Jesus affirmed Peter by saying to him, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in Heaven.”
Of course Jesus was looking for more than a confession, a creed or mental assent from his followers. It is clear that Jesus expected them to put their faith into action. Elsewhere he said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say.” “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Perhaps the most important questions any of us will face in this life are, “Who is Jesus?” and, “Are you doing what He said?”
Leo Tolstoy, arguably the greatest Russian novelist, author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, spent much of his life wrestling with the teachings of Jesus. In his later years he wrote The Kingdom of God is Within You in an attempt to implement the teachings of Jesus. Tolstoy corresponded with a young Mahatma Gandhi who, although he remained Hindu, often quoted from Jesus and recognized Jesus’ influence on his thinking. When Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home was bombed in 1956, he stepped out on the front porch to quiet an angry crowd that threatened to do battle with the police. He said, “"We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us. We must make them know that we love them. Jesus still cries out in words that echo across the centuries: 'Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; pray for them that despitefully use you.' This is what we must live by.”
Jesus remains popular in the United States. A Barna Group survey concluded that more people claim a “connection” with Jesus than the number claiming a Facebook or Twitter account. Two out of three Americans claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus. But who is the Jesus whom two thirds of Americans claim to know? In his book, Imaginary Jesus, Matt Mikalatos creates a fictional story in which Jesus is seen according to the image that brings us the greatest benefit. In so doing, he introduces “King James Jesus,” “Magic 8-ball Jesus,” “Testosterone Jesus,” “Free Will Jesus,” “New Age Jesus,” and “Meticulous Jesus.” All of this leaves us asking the question again, “Who is Jesus?”
Jesus was the first person to pose this question. According to Luke 9 and Mathew 16, when Jesus’ popularity was growing so that thousands thronged to see and hear him, he took his twelve disciples aside and asked them the question, “Whom do men say that I am?” The disciples looked at one another and began repeating what they had heard others say. “Some say you are John the Baptist,” they said. “Others say you are Elijah. And still others say you are one of the prophets.” After hearing their response Jesus put the question to them more personally. “Who do you say I am?” In both accounts, Peter was the one who spoke first. “You are the Christ the Son of the living God.” Jesus affirmed Peter by saying to him, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in Heaven.”
Of course Jesus was looking for more than a confession, a creed or mental assent from his followers. It is clear that Jesus expected them to put their faith into action. Elsewhere he said, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say.” “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Perhaps the most important questions any of us will face in this life are, “Who is Jesus?” and, “Are you doing what He said?”
Friday, February 11, 2011
Out of Egypt
The world is focused on Egypt, a land that has always figured prominently in the Bible. When Matthew wrote about Mary and Joseph’s escape to Egypt to protect their child, he paused to note the prophetic fulfillment: “And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” (Mt. 2:15).
When I went to Egypt a few years ago, I visited the Coptic Church built on the spot where Joseph and Mary supposedly lived during the first years of Jesus’ life. I also visited the pyramids and stood in the awe inspiring shadow of these immense structures that stand like sky scrapers in the desert. I reflected on the fact that these same pyramids stood where they stand today when Abraham first came to Egypt, when Joseph ruled as Prime Minister and when Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s courts. Standing on that spot, the sweep of history suddenly seemed to shrink and the events of the Bible appeared as current events.
My visit to Egypt with a group of Christian leaders came at a tense moment. Our troops were poised to attack Iraq and war was imminent. While there, we had the opportunity to sit down with the governor of Cairo. We first learned that the governor was a graduate of the University of Minnesota. We visited about Minnesota seasons, the long brutal winter and the contrasts with the climate in Egypt. Then we asked him, “What is it that you need in Egypt.” His response was quick and clear. He first stated that they were not pleased with everything the United States is doing in the Middle East. And then he said, “We like Americans. And we want your business.” Each year thousands of Egyptian young people graduate from their schools and universities. They are well educated and well trained, but they have no jobs. More than anything else, he stated, they needed businesses to flourish and provide jobs for their people.
The governor’s statements presaged much of the conflict that is presently broiling in the streets of this ancient city. They also revealed a new reality for those of us engaged in global missions. In Egypt as in many other predominantly Muslim countries, the doors for traditional missionaries remains closed. But the door for Christian entrepreneurs is open.
Today Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control of the country to the military. While the military promises a transition to greater democracy, it is still unclear what the final results will be. Hopefully recent events will result in a more open democracy with freedom of religion and free speech. But it could result in an oppressive fundamentalist Islamic state similar to what happened in Iran when the Shah was removed. One thing is clear, what happens in Egypt affects world history and will doubtless shape the global future for our children. Spiritual and political forces are vying for dominance in the Middle East. Turkey and Iran represent the struggle between Shiite and Sunni Muslims for control. At the same time, more Muslims are turning to Christ than at any time in history. We need to pray that God will use this current crisis in Egypt for His glory and that God will provide an open door for the gospel. It could be that the pathway to faith and peace in the Middle East could come “out of Egypt.”
When I went to Egypt a few years ago, I visited the Coptic Church built on the spot where Joseph and Mary supposedly lived during the first years of Jesus’ life. I also visited the pyramids and stood in the awe inspiring shadow of these immense structures that stand like sky scrapers in the desert. I reflected on the fact that these same pyramids stood where they stand today when Abraham first came to Egypt, when Joseph ruled as Prime Minister and when Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s courts. Standing on that spot, the sweep of history suddenly seemed to shrink and the events of the Bible appeared as current events.
My visit to Egypt with a group of Christian leaders came at a tense moment. Our troops were poised to attack Iraq and war was imminent. While there, we had the opportunity to sit down with the governor of Cairo. We first learned that the governor was a graduate of the University of Minnesota. We visited about Minnesota seasons, the long brutal winter and the contrasts with the climate in Egypt. Then we asked him, “What is it that you need in Egypt.” His response was quick and clear. He first stated that they were not pleased with everything the United States is doing in the Middle East. And then he said, “We like Americans. And we want your business.” Each year thousands of Egyptian young people graduate from their schools and universities. They are well educated and well trained, but they have no jobs. More than anything else, he stated, they needed businesses to flourish and provide jobs for their people.
The governor’s statements presaged much of the conflict that is presently broiling in the streets of this ancient city. They also revealed a new reality for those of us engaged in global missions. In Egypt as in many other predominantly Muslim countries, the doors for traditional missionaries remains closed. But the door for Christian entrepreneurs is open.
Today Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control of the country to the military. While the military promises a transition to greater democracy, it is still unclear what the final results will be. Hopefully recent events will result in a more open democracy with freedom of religion and free speech. But it could result in an oppressive fundamentalist Islamic state similar to what happened in Iran when the Shah was removed. One thing is clear, what happens in Egypt affects world history and will doubtless shape the global future for our children. Spiritual and political forces are vying for dominance in the Middle East. Turkey and Iran represent the struggle between Shiite and Sunni Muslims for control. At the same time, more Muslims are turning to Christ than at any time in history. We need to pray that God will use this current crisis in Egypt for His glory and that God will provide an open door for the gospel. It could be that the pathway to faith and peace in the Middle East could come “out of Egypt.”
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