Understanding Life’s Challenges

Could it be that challenges in the life of the child of God are more opportunities to see God’s power, rather than problems ? In John 6, Jesus posed an intriguing question to Philip. “Where shall we purchase bread to feed the crowds coming to them?” John explained that Jesus asked Philip this question to test him, because Jesus already knew what he was about to do. Philip responded in a typical and practical way. After doing a quick mental calculation, he told Jesus how much money would be required, which was understood that they didn’t have. Jesus knew that he would provide food for the people and he knew how he would do it. His question for Philip was to challenge him to adjust his thinking from a merely human practical way of thinking to thinking more along the Kingdom of God.

Jesus doesn’t bring or allow challenges into our life in order to defeat us, but to build us up in our trust in him, so that we would trust in him and not our possessions or abilities. In Romans 12, Paul wrote that the Romans should continually renew their minds. It is possible that he meant that they should adjust their thinking from a human perspective, based on the resources they can see to thinking about what Jesus wants to accomplish in their life and situation. A life challenge can then become an opportunity to Jesus’ power in and through us, rather than something that produces anxiety in us.

Flattery or Freedom

Jesus said something insightful and powerful to the religious leaders. He told them that he didn’t seek the glory of man (John 5:41). At first that statement doesn’t seem all that powerful, until we reflect that if we do not seek the praise of other men, then we are completely free from their control. The giving of praise can be a subtle way of controlling another person. On the other hand, seeking it can cause us to be controlled by the opinions of others. Negatively, we call it flattery; Jesus was completely immune from flattery. He only cared about what God, his Father, did and thought. The religious leaders to whom he spoke these words were quite different. While they pretended to care about God, they really sought to receive praise from one another. Their desire for each other’s praise rendered them blind to what had been written in the Scriptures. They claimed to be followers of Moses, but they were blind to what Moses had written about the Messiah (John 5:45-47).

This brings us to the question, why do we praise to others? As we give praise how much desire is there for us to receive something back from that person? To the extent that we really want something from that person, even for that person to like us, we are treading very closely to flattery. Normally we don’t think twice about praising someone, but how often do we run our desire to praise someone else by the Holy Spirit to examine our own motives and ask if our praise will really be beneficial to the person we are praising? Our desire to give and receive praise could lead us to the same blindness that the religious leaders had. Rather Jesus found that by keeping his focus on God, his Father, protected him, even though at times he offended other men.

The Irony of an Offense

It can happen that what we consider truth may actually hinder us from growth in our understanding. Jesus revealed an ironic truth to the religious leaders during his conversation with them after he healed the man by the pool on the Sabbath. They rejected Jesus for two reasons; he healed on the Sabbath and he called God his Father. Both of which violated their mistaken understanding of the Scriptures; so they rejected Jesus. Jesus warned them saying, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (John 5:39-40 ESV) The leaders were convinced that they possessed complete truth from God, that their understanding of the Scriptures was completely accurate. They had reached a point which prevented them from further growth. Their conviction that their interpretation of the Scriptures was the only correct one rendered them blind to what the Scriptures actually said about Jesus and prevented them from enjoying eternal life, that comes through Jesus, not through the study and practice of the Scriptures.

Jesus’ words to the religious leaders instruct us that what offends us may possibly be pointing us to a growth opportunity. Peter was offended by Jesus saying that Jesus would be killed, but Jesus corrected him. Later, Peter was offended at the thought of eating what he considered unclean food, but again Jesus corrected him. Unlike the religious leaders, Peter allowed Jesus to overcome the offense in his life. His example instructs us to consider what Jesus says about what offends us. What does the Holy Spirit say? Is this an opportunity for me to grow? An offense should cause us to pause long enough to consider that our understanding of truth may not be complete or perfectly accurate and actually be an opportunity for growth in disguise.

Jesus’ Love For His Followers

When reading through the Gospel of John I’m always surprised at how Jesus addressed his mother. He never addressed her as “mother”, or “mom”. But always as “woman”. With Mary he did so when she mentioned that the hosts had run out of wine at the wedding of Cana (John 2:4). He did so again from the cross, when he entrusted her to John the disciple’s care (John 19:26). It has always struck me as surprising that Jesus would address his own mother in such a manner. It couldn’t mean that he did not care for Mary, because he demonstrated that when he entrusted her to John. Recently I noticed that Jesus used the same manner of address with other women in John’s gospel. In John 4:21, he referred to the Samaritan woman with the exact same term. Then in John 8:10, he addressed the woman caught in adultery using the same word. Finally, after his resurrection when he saw Mary Magdalene, in John 20:15, again Jesus used the same term. It seems so curious that Jesus would used the exact same term to address with each of these women, including his own mother! The question of why remained. Several moths ago, I heard a sermon in which the speaker mentioned that Jesus, when he had been told his mother and brothers were there, asked who were his mother and brothers. He answered his own question by saying that each one who followed him was his mother and brother. It struck me that it was not that Jesus loved his mother less by referring to her as “woman”, but that he loves the rest of us in the same manner as he did his own mother. Jesus has the same affection for all of us who seek to follow him as he did for his mother Mary. I find that awesome to ponder.

God’s Glory

There are almost four hundred references to “glory” in the Bible; it might surprise you to learn that many of those references liken us to God’s glory. We were created with a purpose and a destiny to rule, crowned with God’s glory (Psalm 8:5-8; Isaiah 60:2-3; 62:2-3). A ruler’s crown sets him or her apart from all others. It is a symbol of authority. God’s glory is our crown and authority to rule over all of creation. David said that all things have been placed under man’s feet. Jesus expanded our authority to all authority in heaven and on earth which has been given to him and now delegated to us (Matthew 28:18). Isaiah noted that this glory with which we are crowned will one day draw all nations as sons and daughters of God (Isaiah 60:2-3). However, if Paul wrote about men being the glory of God, then perhaps falling short of glory is not about performance, but rather living below who we truly are. We do this because we do not really understand who we are; if we did, perhaps we would not fall short of the glory given to us.

God’s Great Love

Several years ago I was watching an episode of “Bones”. Bones and Booth were driving; they were discussing Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac. Booth told Bones how he could never do what Abraham did and be willing to offer his son as a sacrifice. There conversation provoked me to further reflection on that story found in Genesis 22. God told Abraham to take his son Isaac, whom he loved, and sacrifice him (Genesis 22:1). Abraham was willing to do so and proved that his love for God surpassed even his own love for Isaac. John says that God loved the world so much, he gave his only begotten son for the world (John 3:16). Isn’t it odd that people struggle to understand how Abraham could be willing to sacrifice Isaac, but rarely question how God could sacrifice Jesus for us? Why is that? Do we not think that Father experienced grief and horror at seeing Jesus suffer on the cross and then turn his back on him, something that Abraham never had to experience? Abraham never experienced loss of Isaac, because God stopped him and told him to sacrifice a ram. The ram is understood as an illustration of what Jesus would do for us. However, there was not anyone to stop God from sacrificing Jesus for us. There was no substitute sacrifice for Jesus. While Abraham demonstrated that his love for God even surpassed his love for Isaac, God also demonstrated to us that his love for us surpasses even his love for Jesus. Why did Jesus have to die? It was the only way for God our Father to reveal how much he loves us. If he sacrificed his own son on our behalf then he loves us even more. The more that we grasp the magnitude of our heavenly Father’s love for us the more our lives are transformed.

Abraham’s Extraordinary Faith

In Genesis 22, we read a surprising account. God tells Abraham to go and sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. God referred to Isaac as Abraham’s “only son, whom he loves”. God’s reference to Isaac as Abraham’s only son is an indication that something bigger is taking place here, because Abraham had another son, Ishmael. God was using Abraham to illustrate something that would take place later. We will look at that in the next post. A second curious aspect of this story that we often miss is what Abraham told the young men who had accompanied him and Isaac. Abraham said that they, Abraham, and Isaac, would go and that they both would return. When he left the young men, Abraham believed that Isaac would be slain, burned on the altar, and then return with him. Although the term isn’t used, resurrection is implied. This is what the author of Hebrews referred to when he wrote that Abraham believed that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:19). When we read those words in Hebrews, we read them through the lens of Jesus’ resurrection and numbers of other resurrection accounts recorded in Scripture. However, Abraham’s case is fascinating, because prior to this point in Scripture, there is no record of anyone rising from the dead. Scripture does not record a resurrection until the time of Elijah over 1000 years after Abraham. Yet, Abraham told those with him that he and Isaac would return, even though he had every intention to sacrifice Isaac in accordance with the command Father had given to him.

Here is the point, Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead even though that had never happened before. Imagine having that type of faith in what God could do! Believing that God will do something that he had never done before in history. How might that type of faith change the way you live?

Next time we will look at this story from God’s perspective and what he was teaching us.

Understanding Life’s Challenges

Have you ever noticed that when we gain a certain level of experience, we begin to depend on that past experience? We tell ourselves that we’ve done that before, so we can do it again. However, when we face a challenge for the first time, we pray, knowing that it is impossible. So, we go to Father for additional resources. He provides and we have victory. However, the next time, when we face a similar, but bigger challenge, we may just assume that since we already had victory, we can just move forward and not seek Father’s resources—because we have already seen victory. Often that is enough, but when we face a new and unprecedented challenge, we need more. Although Jesus did not explain this in detail, I think this is what happened in Matthew chapter 17 when the disciples were unable to help the boy with seizures. When Jesus came he cast out the demon who caused the boy’s seizures. Although they had cast out demons before they failed this time and asked Jesus why. Jesus told them bluntly that their faith was too little. The disciples faced a situation that required them to have increased faith in Father’s power to defeat the demonic, but they depended on their past, now inadequate, success in casting out demons. Like the disciples in Matthew 17, I am coming to discover that the challenges in life are rarely just problems, but opportunities for connection with Father to have a co-victory over problems both new ones and those I’ve encountered before.

How to respond to blessing

In the parable of the talents, Jesus taught his disciples how to respond to blessings in our life. The first two servants responded by using their blessings (talents) for good, but the third man hid his because he was afraid of the Master. In fear, he actually accused his Master of stealing from others (see Matthew 25:24-25). When our heavenly Father blesses us, we must not respond in fear of losing it. Yet, this becomes harder the older we become, because our Father gives us more and more. When I was in college, I didn’t have much materially. I had a great heritage from my family, but I owned little more than a car, a stereo, clothes, and some textbooks. If I lost all my worldly possessions, it would not have been a great loss. However, as time went by, Father gave me a wife, children, and way more stuff than any of us need. With each new blessing comes an increased temptation to protect what I have. Fear and anxiety bangs at the door of my heart to enter in with all kinds of “what if” scenarios. With nothing, it is easy to live like the first two men in the parable of the talents, but with each increasing blessing, the temptation to slip into a life of fear, like the third man, becomes increasingly attractive. However, fear is a cruel master, constantly seeking more and more control of our lives. On the other hand, the recognition of what Jesus taught us about God our Father sets us free. The more that we grasp and act upon his goodness, the more our lives are set free.

The Paradox of Blessing and Tribulation

While we often misinterpret tribulation, I believe we do the same with blessing. Blessing comes to us starting out as good, because it comes from Father. But, throughout Scripture, people who were blessed often fell. It happened over and over, until in Luke 18, Jesus declared how hard it was for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. The disciples couldn’t believe their ears when Jesus said that. Think about it. The people who have received God’s blessing have the hardest time entering into the kingdom! King Saul was blessed when he was anointed king over Israel. It was God who made him king. Nevertheless, in the midst of all that blessing, he fell to the extent that God had to remove him. David fell into sin with Bathsheba, not when he was in tribulation, but when he was at the height of his power—rich and secure in his palace. Solomon, the wisest and richest man who didn’t have an enemy in the world, fell into idolatry at the end of his life. In the decades prior to Assyria’s invasion, Israel experienced great wealth and blessing. Prior to Babylon’s invasion, Judah experienced blessing and even revival under King Josiah.

We have to be missing something here, because God is the one who blesses us for good purposes. So, why do blessings often end up badly? It can’t be Father’s fault, so we must be missing something. That something, I believe, is our worldly meaning given to the blessing. I believe the reason blessing is given is the same as heaven’s purpose in tribulation. Father desires an encounter with us. In difficulty we turn to our heavenly Father for help, but in blessing we need to go to him just as often in thanksgiving and ask for wisdom to manage the blessing in an appropriate manner. Put another way, in tribulation, Father encounters us and produces strength. In blessing us, Father offers partnership to produce intimacy.