Do You See What I See ...

 

Often, there is more to what you see, than what you focus on.  Have you ever stood on top of a mountain and beheld the panorama around you that unfolds.  There are few words to describe such beauty.  And each different mountain you find yourself near the peak of, provides an entirely different view than the previous ones.  Or perhaps you are city person, unable or uninclined to assail great mountain tops; have you taken the elevator up on the tallest building around you, ideally at night, and beheld the thousands upon thousands of lights that define what panorama man has constructed.  Each light representing a family, a business person, or team, or other small gathering of people working to some purpose.  When you behold such sights you realize your place among them, how small you may indeed be, but how important in the tapestry, because of God’s unique footprint in how you were made, and for what purpose, both here and in the world to come.

Sometimes the scenes themselves do not have to be grand, to offer what is truly magnificent.  Imagine that humble manger outside of Bethlehem all those years ago.  That scene was not one of palatial glory, or of a grand spectacle of nature.  It was dirty.  It was smelly.  It was small.  And yet in it, was born the Master of the entire Universe, come because His vision was able to look down through time and space and lock eyes with you.  That Baby knew how much you specifically needed Him to be born.  His love for you was unique and His ability to lock eyes and hearts with you was undimmed even though He must take human form and humble Himself to be born of a virgin, and laid in our rags, in a manger where barn animals most often had dinner, and not far from where dinner was then deposited (thus the smells).  That sight was not one of a heavenly throne our Lord had always earned and been worthy of.  It was instead a poo factory, with new parents who had no clue how to raise the Son of God.  And here was Jesus locked in a totally dependent human form, because even then He knew what you needed and was willing to pay any price to offer it to you.

But years would pass by.  The baby would grow into the Man, the Lamb of God.  His ministry would mature and now be nearing its interrupted close.  And just before that happened, the view would once again become spectacular.  Luke tells us this story in his gospel letter to his friend about what we believe and why.  It begins in the nineteenth chapter picking up in verse 28 saying … “And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascending up to Jerusalem.  [verse 29] And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, [verse 30] Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. [verse 31] And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. [verse 32] And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. [verse 33] And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? [verse 34] And they said, The Lord hath need of him.”

Jesus was about to make His final triumphal entry into the capital city of Jerusalem.  The people would see this as their new King finally coming to take His place upon the throne of the nation and with a simple word drive out the Romans who had so long oppressed them.  Those pagan Romans were about to “get theirs” so to speak.  Yet this was not what Jesus had in mind.  Even now our Savior chooses humility instead of grandeur.  One simple colt is enough for Him.  Jesus does not summon a team of white Stallions and a chariot of fire to ride upon to make this journey.  There is to be no army at His side.  Ironically even Romans would be welcomed in this processional.  And all Jesus asks for is a baby donkey, a colt, that has never been ridden by any man.  An animal unbroken by bridal or whip, perhaps still too young for it.  Perhaps a descendant of the same donkey family who witnessed His birth only 30 years earlier in that dirty stable transformed at His mere presence within it.

Every sign of Jesus was one of peace.  But His own disciples refused to see it.  They just could not help themselves.  At last, the final national unveiling of the new King was about to happen.  They could just sense it.  Above all else they sought position in the earthly kingdom they imagined Jesus was about to setup.  So Luke continues in verse 35 saying … “And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. [verse 36] And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. [verse 37] And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; [verse 38] Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.”  The people are overwhelmed with joy.  Their faith in Jesus is on full display.  And in ironies of ironies, they all with one accord sing anthems of praise, steeped in the lyrics of peace itself.  Even though peace is not in their hearts, justice is.  They are looking for long overdue relief from the suffering under a pagan foot.  Surely it is time for the God of Israel to re-establish His power over the pagan gods that have so long wrecked His kingdom and His people.

This processional is one built for a King, and for the first time Jesus seems to be allowing it, instead of just disappearing into the crowd unable to put that crown upon His head.  The chorus of songs however too closely associate Jesus with having come from God, and so the Sanhedrin is not amused.  Luke continues in verse 39 saying … “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. [verse 40] And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”  The prophets of long ago had predicted this very scene, and so that prophecy was to be fulfilled.  If the disciples of Jesus kept silent the stones would begin to praise God and sing out.  The Pharisees knew what they were facing.  And they knew Jesus did not lie, or exaggerate, so they backed off their demands.  They would simply endure this and later find another way to claim it did not exactly fulfill what Isaiah had predicted.

The processional moved on.  The view eventually came upon a local ridge that offered a scene to behold the city of Jerusalem from.  Imagine the rebuilt Solomon’s temple in all its glory.  Coated with gold upon the rooftop making it reflect the sun’s light in almost blinding detail.  The city was arrayed like a bride waiting for her bridegroom.  And here was Jesus coming to it.  The view was grand and spectacular.  The sounds were of anthems sung for the Son of God, eagerly awaiting Him to take His place as our earthly King, even if that was not to be His destiny.  This was a scene that filled the eyes and hearts of men.  But Jesus could see something else.  His eyes could see past the fickle praise, and self-motivated joy.  It was more than just a welcoming of Romans to the fountain of salvation that moved Him.  It was a look backwards through time at all the events that had defined this city in pain that comes from the embrace of sin, and more to the point, the refusal to acknowledge it.  But Jesus does not just look backwards, He looks forwards across more than a century.  He looks across millenia and spans time and space, and He sees in this moment, not just the citizens of Jerusalem, but straight into your house, your home, and right into your heart.

Luke continues to record His words in verse 41 saying … “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, [verse 42] Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. [verse 43] For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, [verse 44] And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”  We read these words and think backwards to the time when the Romans (who were never thrown out by Jesus despite their pagan gods and torture of God’s beloved people and His own Son) would come and totally surround Jerusalem until they completely destroyed it in anger and rage.  Their siege of it would last so long it bring the people to the point of starvation, even to consider eating their own children to survive.  We look back and heed the warning of Jesus.

But what if that warning was not just meant for them?  What if Jesus was talking to you.  What if your enemy was not a Roman soldier but a demon of addiction binding your heart to a cherished sin you will not acknowledge or allow Jesus to free you from.  What if you without even realizing it, are encompassed by fallen angels bent on your destruction, having dug a trench around you, to lock you into what you like, what you enjoy, what you want.  Have you considered your destruction might entangle your children with you, pulling your whole family down with your sin.  All because you refuse to see the time of your visitation by Jesus to free you from your choices and desires.  Your prayers become corrupted by what you want, wanting what you should not.  And while you see a processional for a King you hope will grant you even more of your desires.  The heart of Jesus breaks at your refusal to see anything else, including His so great love for you.  Jesus is so distraught by this, He weeps.  Weeping is not a gentle cry, it is anguish that cannot be hid.  It is loud.  It is full of tears.  It would be embarrassing to most of us, but not so with Jesus.  He weeps openly for you.  Oh that His tears would blend with your own.  Oh that your heart would finally break and find His so open to you.  Of that you would at last release your mind and heart to Him to be finally and fully remade in His image and not your own.

The words of the Christmas tune include “Do you see what I see?”.  Jesus saw past the spectacle that might otherwise fill our eyes, to what is truly important to Him.  He locks eyes with you, and begs you to see more than what is right in front of you.  And His heart breaks into weeping at what He finds.  Can we change that outcome?  Can we take the tears of our savior and turn them into joy, to restore happiness to His heart, by the release of our own?  Can you finally see what Jesus sees?  Or are we to be locked into looking only for more of what we want, when what we want, is the problem we face.  Let us look up, away from everything else, and find magnificence in becoming someone new, remade as clay in the hands of the Lord, with a new heart, that finds it must have, new things, things we could not imagined before.  Let us not refuse to see the time of our visitation, but instead embrace it and do not let it pass.

 

Do Nothing Christians ...

Being a couch potato seems to suit me just fine.  In my case perhaps better amended to being an electric recliner chair potato (don’t even have to pull a level to go from rocker to reclined, just push the button and away we go).  Now given this, you might think exertion of any kind is just right out the window, but alas, I still must push on to nearby furniture in order to swivel the chair left or right depending on what I am trying to accomplish.  But TV remotes have long taken away the “need” to get up.  And I have an end table nearby to store drinks, or medicine, or candy.  So once I situate the pillows putting my laptop at just the right angle and my elbows elevated on the softest couch pillows I have even encountered.  I can last as long in this chair as my aging bladder will allow (directly reduced by the number of ice drinks I take from my 64oz thermal mug).  For added effect I have a set of comfortably padded headphones which means I can stay in stealth mode in wee hours of the night so as not to disturb anyone else who might be sleeping.  And since I begin my day by going to the bathroom and generally don’t eat until evening time, being a couch potato is a condition that can exhaust many hours of my life if I let it.

And I begin to wonder; has all of this comfort I arrange in my personal life become the same approach I am taking to my spiritual life?  I tell myself that I need all these niceties in my physical existence because over the years my health conditions have mandated them.  Indeed I would probably not even own this chair I sit in had it not been for blown discs and bad feet.  The comfortable little nest I have prepared just so, actually serves as an offset for the degradation of age no one can ignore.  But then, I have been a Christian for a very long time as well.  And while the pandemic has driven believers to worship at home via Zoom, Teams, or Youtube – that could hardly be my excuse for a lack of church attendance.  Me celebrating in person with the body of Christ has a very “special occasion” flair to it.  Baptisms, holidays, little children putting on programs, or the odd Christian musical artist I enjoy - seem to be the only events enough to get me out of the house in order to worship.  But the mundane week-to-week kind of worship just never quite seems to be enough.  And if church attendance is how we measure spiritual activity – we have a crappy yardstick, and even by that measure, I would not measure up.

At its core, Christianity is about others.  How we love others, how we care for others.  On that score, my wife is a naturally social person, her normal personality is to gravitate towards an extroverted empathetic style.  She needs church.  I tend to keep it from her.  So her worship consists of the semi-rare discussion with me on Sabbath’s, our prayer time for others, and then it is back to watching recipes and Malamutes on Youtube which I can only assume is her form of relaxation, but worship?  Again, if I am to be more concerned about her than I am about me, I should be getting her to church every week, at least outside of this Pandemic, for which I am guilty of appreciating the inability to do so.  My eldest daughter took over teaching my class at my church.  Yes, there was a time when I was quite active in church, holding several leadership and teaching positions for more than a few years.  But focusing on my daughter, she faithfully goes (outside of this Covid timespan) to church every week and teaches what is now her class without ever missing a session.  I go sometimes to support her, but that often turns out to be a bad idea.  Cause I cannot keep my mouth shut, so I tend to derail where she might have gone in her class had I not been present.  If Christianity is about others, even about family, I am still not measuring up very well.

So when I use the phrase “do nothing” Christians, what comes to your mind?  Do you, like I have above, first look in the mirror and find your own life wanting?  It is all too easy to take the other course.  Instead of focusing on our own short comings, we tend to focus only on our accomplishments.  Taking credit for things we probably shouldn’t be taking credit for.  Nevertheless we counter the arguments of “do nothing” with the list of endless missions we are a part of, whether financially, or personally.  We reason that we are basically “good people” with a few nagging problems.  But we “help” a lot of other people in one way or another.  We return the skills and abilities God has entrusted in us, at least in some form in His service.  And so because we have mission, we refuse to call ourselves “do nothing”, reasoning we must be doing something right.  But how much do we do?  If this were a financial analogy, how sound an investment would you be for God to invest in you.  Luke recorded a parable in his gospel letter to his friend about what we believe and why, on just this topic. 

It picks up in the nineteenth chapter in verse 11 saying … “And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. [verse 12] He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. [verse 13] And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.”  Jesus offers us this parable because too many just assumed the Kingdom of Heaven would just arrive at any moment, all too soon, and before the salvation of our hearts and minds had any chance to really take hold.  So he compares us, His servantry, as being entrusted by a Nobleman who goes away into a far country (that one is apt, Jesus sure seems like He is very far from us now), but before He leaves, He gives or entrusts each of us with money or gifts.  His direction is to “occupy” till He returns.  You could easily associate the word Occupy with Occupation, or please Work these investments in you on My behalf until I return.  Each of you have received something.

What I fail to read in this opening, is a direction from Jesus (or the Nobleman in this story), for me to take His investment in me, and prop it up with comfy pillows, warm blankets, remote controls, and the great time suck that is Netflix or HBO.  I do not see direction there to get comfortable at all.  To take time out for “me” time anywhere in this opening.  In fact, it appears to be direction to “do something”.  Now it does not say exactly “what” to do.  But it does set a certain level of expectation that during His absence from us in person, we are to be His representatives, and work His gifts invested in us, until He returns to collect the fruits of our labors.  There is that nasty word again; “labor”.  Pretty sure I cannot turn “couch potato” into an official position in the church.  Even if by numbers, there are a lot of us.  Too many of us.  And just because I watch PureFlix on Sabbath does not negate the direction in this story to do a little more than that.

Jesus continues in verse 14 saying … “But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. [verse 15] And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.”  Wow.  This parable went sideways very quickly.  No sooner is Jesus out of sight, and out of mind – than “His citizens” – send a message after Him of total rebellion.  His citizens, folks that live in His world, have life because of His governance and mercy decide; [hey, screw you.  We want our freedom from your oppression.  We want to do, what we want to do.  So just don’t bother coming back.  We are happier without you and your oppressive laws and rules and restrictions.]  This is going to be a tough crowd.  The real question that should stick in the back of our minds, is whether these rebellious citizens are in the church or just outside of it.  After all, how could you even be a citizen if you never believed at all.

But as we step away from all out rebellion for a moment.  There are still those of us, who will now be called back in front of Jesus, to give account, for what we have done with His gifts and investments made in us - now - at the moment of His returning.  Think about that for a moment.  If redemption is the ultimate goal.  Then at the moment of Christ’s return, we are either redeemed through belief, or we are not.  We have either allowed Jesus to save us, trusting in Him to do so.  Or we did not, perhaps relying on self to do that job that only Jesus ever could, or worse throwing in the towel with the citizens who have declared for all out rebellion in His absence.  But if we widen our lens just a little.  Assume you are in the saved column of the spreadsheet.  Who is there with you?  Is your wife, husband, or significant other there with you hand in hand – or are they effectively left behind, because you could never muster the time to love them to the foot of Jesus, and in to the Kingdom with you hand in hand.  If you are there, and they are not.  At the moment of Christ’s return, there is no more time to influence that outcome.  Maybe instead of a romantic love we are taking about a parental one, or a familial one, or just the love of a friend.  If you are there and they are not, the time is over to change that outcome forever.  What is done then, is done forever.

That will be the measure by which we will be called into account.  I have to ask myself; Who will I have helped to save by being the couch potato that seems to suit me so well?  Anyone?  When I “do me”, or tell others to “do you”, are I not effectively abandoning the whole of Christianity in favor of selfishness that bares no fruit at the end of all things.  Perhaps instead we should “do Christ” or at least follow His lead, and get up, whether it is easy or not, but get up, and get out of our comfort zone, and do “something” that leads others to the feet of Jesus to find the salvation we all so desperately need.  It is not enough to just find ourselves not part of the open rebellion against Jesus.  If we love like Jesus.  Then we cannot be content to sit by and watch this precious minutes of our lives drift away one by one into the abyss of self-service and self-entertainment to the gain of no other souls, perhaps not even our own.  We were asked to work, to bring forward returns on His investment.  But when He calls us forward to testify, will we have anything to say outside of lame claims of mission and ministry we knew we were never fully invested in, at least not fully invested in our hearts.  If we were invested, our lives would be different.

Nevertheless, the story continues in verse 16 saying … “Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. [verse 17] And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. [verse 18] And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. [verse 19] And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.”  So it is possible to bring forward a return on investment.  We know that is true.  We read about it, or watch a video, or a movie, about some modern Christian, who left everything they knew, abandoned it all for the call of Christ, and went and served, and made a difference in this world.  And you and I treat the hearing of those stories, as if in some way, the hearing is enough of an accomplishment to offer.  When Jesus returns He looks at us, and asks what did you do.  And we respond, well, I watched several Youtube videos on various missions, and Christian missionaries who did great works.  Jesus says, I am glad you got hope from their testimonies.  But what is yours, what did you “do”?  What will be your answer, especially in the light of knowing it is possible, there are stories of those who have done it and are still doing it.

Jesus continues in verse 20 saying … “And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: [verse 21] For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. [verse 22] And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: [verse 23] Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?”  Several things to unpack here.  First, like me, there are far too many of us Christians content to “do nothing” with what God has invested in us.  The best we do is “some”.  The reality of what we do is stash our gifts in a napkin and hope to hold on to them, undamaged until He returns.  Hearts never having been transformed.  But when an untransformed heart looks at God, it does not see love, it sees rules, and unfair restrictions.  The difference between this kind of servant, and the citizens who demanded outright rebellion, is really not all that much.  Both picture the Nobleman ruler as austere, demanding, and unfair.  So Jesus then asks the logical question, if that is how you picture me, then why did you not do even the least little bit, to keep the big-bad-God, from striking you down?  Not even a little?  It makes no sense, if you believe God is horrible a ruler.  Seems like you would do at least something to keep Him from getting angry at you.

Jesus continues in verse 24 saying … “And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. [verse 25] (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) [verse 26] For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. [verse 27] But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.”  Imagine how hard these remedies are on the heart of God.  But when the mission of redemption is on the line, we do not have the luxury of dilly-dally where it comes to doing something to save others.  Their very souls depend upon it.  And as for souls, those who refuse to be saved, have only this fate of finality in front of them.  The time for rebellion is fast ticking by.  The same reason it is better for the lost to have the gifts of the failing servant reallocated to the most successful servant – is to avoid the same fate the rebellious lost will face.  You are either saved.  Or you are not.  Your wife or husband is either with you hand in hand, or they are not.  At the end, there is only one condition that exists, saved, or not.  For those who are not, there is no more time, to change the mind, the heart, and the life.  And mercy cannot tolerate evil forever.  It must be exterminated and all those who embrace evil will share its fate.

Then comes the horror of the realization of your role, not just in the saved, but in the lost.  All those you sinned against, or sinned with.  All those you had no time to love, the ones you were too busy to make time for, being pressed by “other matters”.  All the times you let fear of your survival, food, clothing, shelter, keep you from loving; trusting to your own need to provide these things, instead of trusting in God to provide them, giving you the precious time you needed to love someone else.  All this lack of action leads up to the horror of knowing there is an empty place in His Kingdom you might have otherwise helped to fill.  Everyone likes to refute the idea that a “do nothing” Christian is not an accurate description of who they are.  But on this day of judgment, of self judgment there will be no hiding from the absence of those who should have been there but are not, and perhaps are not, because of you.  Your heart will be finally and fully be transformed to love like Jesus does.  But with that, will come its breaking, like the heart of God must be shattered for every child who refuses what He longed to offer them.  You cannot save others.  But you can love them, and through that loving, draw them closer to the one who does save us all.  Failing to do that, will be a failure that will one day shatter your heart.  Only then will you realize there was no greater priority, or need, than to love those who needed you most.

Perhaps it is long past time for us all to “do more”.  For some of us, to “do something”.  For love simply will not permit us to “do nothing” for even another second.