More Than Remains

My husband is a floor fanatic. Ol' Hawkeye can spot a dog hair on the carpet at fifty yards in a dense fog. I'm not entirely sure why there'd be fog in our living room, but I digress. There are days when I tiptoe across the basement floor and, moments later, he's coming along behind me, rubbing away the prints left by my bare feet. Sure, it seems a bit extra, but my husband will always have something to do. After all, even the tidiest among us leaves traces of their existence on this earth. The most obvious and, probably, the most involuntary being our entire bodies. We will leave behind the remnant of our physical existence in bones, ashes, and even some remnants prolonged and beating in the chests of others or capturing a few more sunrises in the orbits of someone once a stranger. Evidence of our existence.

I was thinking about the remnants of some of the Bible patriarchs and not so exemplary persons the other day. For instance, Genesis 23:1-4 records the death of Sarah. Abraham purchased land for the purpose of burying his beloved and was later interred there as well. The Cave of Makhpela is considered today to be a sacred place; the Cave of the Patriarchs.

Three generations after Abraham, Joseph demanded a promise from those left behind after his death (Genesis 50:24-26). Though the children of Israel were living in Egypt, when the day came for them to leave, they were to take Joseph's remains with them that he might rest in the land God had promised Abraham.    

And Moses. He died, but Deuteronomy 34:5, 6 give us no coordinates on his grave; we're told that God buried him. A body. A grave. But the where is left for us to wonder. Nevertheless, we can be sure his mortal frame lingered where God put it.

As for the not so exemplary, there's Jezebel. The account of her death is one that tends to linger in memory. She was heartless, to say the least, in her dealings with the people of Israel; orchestrating the death of an innocent man whose only offense was owning a bit of property her husband coveted. Her wickedness was condemned by God through the prophet Elijah and judged with this promise in 1 Kings 21:23:

The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

It happened (2 Kings 9:30-37), and Jezebel was rendered little more than a tasty carcass for dogs to disperse. 

So, what's the point? you may ask. Why are we ruminating on remains? Well, the thought that came to me as I completed my consideration of corpses, was that Jesus, the greatest, most influential Man who ever walked terra firma didn't leave behind a body, a pile of ashes, a functioning kidney. There is no grave upon which we can place flowers. There is no place where we stood saying Goodbye as we scattered Him to the wind. And from a theological standpoint, that is HUGE! Our God-Man, our Redeemer, our Savior, Jesus was briefly placed in a tomb, raised from death, seen by hundreds, and ascended into heaven. He is alive and seated on His throne today. Deity, authority, sufficiency, omnipotence --the lack of physical remains testifies to these and many more assurances that He is God, once incarnate, Lion and Lamb. But from a human standpoint, what does this mean?       

Simply put, He has given us so much more than a pile of ash or a rotting cadaver. I love that I can go to my Nana's grave and remember her or keep my mother's ashes close and thank God for the time we had together, but Jesus will never be confined to one place. I can speak to Him anywhere I go and, unlike loved ones who have gone before us, He hears, He sees, His Spirit communicates with my spirit. That is the gift of His Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples before His death, It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. (John 16:7) His death and resurrection provides us with the opportunity to receive His Holy Spirit, to carry in us the third Person of the Trinity who comforts, guides, and sanctifies the children of God. And how are we distinguished as children of God? Because we have placed our trust in the One who has left behind no physical remains, but so much more! Salvation and a restored relationship with the God of the universe as our Father is what Jesus has left for us --an inheritance, the Bible calls it. No, there is no grave, no "proof" as some like to argue, but that's the whole point! If He'd left behind a decorative urn or a plot of land among other purchased stones, what of it? He'd be just another human, just another construct of deity or authority. He'd have no more to offer us than the traces of existence we will all leave behind. The proof He is our Savior and King is in His not leaving behind the physical but so much more!  

 

Midweek: KJV Compact Large Print Bible

That's right! I said, "Compact Large Print!" How great is that! For those of us who have had enough of Bibles with print large enough to read but bulk sufficient to qualify as additional baggage; for those of us who can never seem to find a cover for our Bibles that fits properly; for those of us who like having a Bible for those extra-long pick-up lines at school but need one that will withstand life lived in a vehicle, Thomas Nelson has done it! And they've given me a free copy to peruse for this review! I give to you, the KJV Compact Large Print Bible.

The copy I received is black Leathersoft™ bound with its own zipper closure. The front cover and spine are stamped in gold. Its double-columned pages are printed in easy-to-read 10-point KJV Comfort Print® type, with the words of Jesus in red. Inside the front cover is a presentation page and in the back matter are two unique reading plans: 30 Days of Getting to Know God and 30 Days of Getting to Know Jesus. The pages are elegantly edged in gold.

That's it. Compact. No notes, no bells, no whistles. Handy with print large enough to read. If you are a fan of the King James, a minimalist, or simply someone looking for a printed text that travels well, this could very well be the Bible for you --or for someone like you. Christmas is just around the corner! It is currently available at christianbook.com for $27.05, faithgateway for $27.99, or at Amazon for $32.13.     

To Bring Him Glory!

As I stared out at the brilliant October Glory Maple in the back yard, I noticed the different colors of leaves moving in the breeze. Some of its leaves held on tightly to their late summer green. Others had adopted the vibrant orange that gained this tree its name. While others still, had yellow tips with green at the stem. 

Variegated. Diverse. Not every leaf at equal stages. 

And I thought about every individual's journey with (or without) Jesus. No two people are in exactly the same place with regard to their relationship with Christ. Some will, in this life, never bow the knee to Him. Others haven't yet, but --praise God! --one day will. Those who have, those who do bow the knee are each learning and experiencing something new with regard to serving Him, obeying Him, worshiping Him, and proclaiming Him. I would imagine there are countless variables that come into play with regard to timing and transformation; but together, as the body of Christ, we are trained and equipped to bring Him glory with our lives, as one body. How critical it is that we pray for and encourage one another, showing one another grace as we go through the process. Like this tree with marvelous colors I admire year after year, the difference in stages and hues bringing to mind the diversity of Christ's Church, it is that very diversity that is not only part of its transformation, but a wonder to behold!

Only one day later, however, my husband awakened to an orange glow pouring through the windows of our kitchen. The variegated tree I'd so admired the previous afternoon was now covered with vibrant orange leaves. Few remained that had not been fully transformed. This fiery ambassador of autumn had shed almost every vestige of hesitancy or ineptitude in a matter of hours! It had become fully as it was meant to be in this season!

Integrated. Kindred. Every leaf moving toward the same goal.

And I thought again about every individual's journey with (or without) Jesus. Without our Standard, Jesus Christ, there is no goal to which one can move. Those without Christ will never find the wholeness and integration --as individuals or as a group --that is found in Christ alone. Pray for them. Those who have not yet believed unto salvation will --praise God! --one day stand before the throne of our King, whole and perfect, unique persons, but parts of the whole and perfect Bride of Christ. Like the single leaves of a mighty tree unite to proclaim the glory of their Creator, all God's children will be uniquely created individuals, joined in partnership for the purposes of worshipping the One True and Living King; each one dearly loved and highly favored by Him. As His body, we are called to be of one mind; the mind of Christ possessed among many, that He may be fully and perfectly served, receiving the glory He is due, and proclaimed with one accord! But much like the whole tree thrives when its parts are healthy, singlemindedness in the body of Christ is not something we, as a group, can achieve unless we, as individuals, have personally committed to seeking integrity and Christlikeness on our own. 

Someone once said, "Though I value...integrity, I'm not so wild about the costs that sometimes go along with it." Those costs can mean that "leaves" like us can constantly rub up against other leaves; forced to exist on the same tiny branch as leaves that are still fighting to remain in a past season, or leaves that may not be as bright and brilliant as we think we are, or leaves that might be showing signs of some sort of ailment. But integrity, wholeness, purity, moral soundness is worth all of the rubbing. And if we and those "leaves" around us have, as individuals, surrendered to the Holy Spirit's work in us, something beautiful and magnificent and glorious will greet us one day. After all, look at the trees. 

Will You Knock or Will You Tow?

There are signs for a reason! If they'd obeyed them, they wouldn't have to worry about being towed, a friend ranted.

You know overnight parking around here can be tough. Have you tried knocking on the neighbor's door? his wife countered.

I'm not doing all that! The signs say, 'No parking after 7:30 AM.' It's 8:30 now, and there's plenty of parking. They had a right to get up and move them!

Are you trying to spend the morning punishing people or are you trying to get the street cleared for the contractor's vehicles?

Would the Apostle Paul have been just as disheartened by this exchange as he was with the church in Galatia? The believers, a blend of Messianic Jews and Gentiles had come to know the saving grace of Jesus. Somewhere along the line, they had, however, fallen prey to the preaching of a different message, one that declared Gentile believers had to first become Jews and observe Jewish law to be true followers of the Messiah. In fact, it had gotten so bad, Paul wrote:

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! (v. 13-15)

When Jesus came and lived among humanity, He spoke a message of love, forgiveness, grace, and salvation from the judgment we are due outside of God's mercy. In fact, His message earned Him a lot of grief from those who insisted there was more to it than that. No one can be made righteous before God without jumping through a whole lot of hoops. They were wrong; and when Jesus gave His life in our place on Calvary, He not only demonstrated His willingness to practice what He preached, He proved He was the One sufficient to surpass every expectation. Jesus fulfilled the Law. The Galatians aren't the only ones who have lost sight of that over the course of history; we sometimes do as well. Of course, we must continue to keep God's commandments despite their inability to fully restore our relationship with God. Obedience demonstrates love for our Savior (John 14:15). But there is only One Mediator between us and our Creator (1 Timothy 2:5, 6); there is only One Way to approach God (John 14:6). And being a good person isn't it, upholding the Law isn't it. Because of God's love for us and the Son's love for the Father (demonstrated through His obedience), we are redeemed (Romans 5:1, 2, 8). The Law is great, but only love leads to that measure of selflessness, sacrifice, and obedience to the Law. 

So, back to the Galatians (and my friends with the parking problem). Obedience to the Law, to the utmost letter of it, for the purpose of "being" righteous or demanding others be righteous is legalism. When legalism shows up, love leaves. But when the perfect love of God presides by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, the Law is made perfect and humanity thrives. People surrendered to the Holy Spirit are vessels, conduits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control overflowing to others (Galatians 5:22, 23). As I said before, to obey the commands of Jesus is to demonstrate love, so there must be boundaries and rules; but the Law is applied in love and for the purposes of loving rightly. Take for example, the parking problem. If my friends had positioned themselves at the curb anxiously awaiting the wrecker, their neighbor's response would surely have been negative; but a knock on the door at 7:30 AM, while unpleasant, would probably have been more welcome than a bill for towing. And it just might have created an opportunity to talk or discover some way my friends could have poured out the light of Christ upon their neighbor's lives. 

Let me be clear, pouring out Sonlight on another's life is neither reckless indulgence nor ruthless judgment. Help and kindness when delivered with the message of the Gospel is exactly what Jesus modeled; there is structure, purpose, an explicit pointing to God as the Giver all predicated upon love. Sharing the message of Christ's coming to reconcile and restore sinners is by no means delivered with a pointed finger but is, again, predicated upon love, our love for God and our love for our neighbor. A missionary friend once offered her guideline: When we seek to share Jesus with our neighbor, on our first visit we take food. On our second visit, we take clothing. On our third visit, we take our Bibles. Again, not looking to be legalistic; this is not some hard and fast rule. The point being made, however, was a balance: tending to the spiritual needs of our neighbors in tandem with recognizing and addressing their physical needs. 

As much as our nation and our world needs law and order, the laws of men will only ever be imperfect, and men will only respond to them imperfectly. The Law of God is perfect, but it is a law of liberty, given to humanity in love and sealed with the very blood of the Son of God. The Law of God creates doers, lovers of God who go forth in love toward their neighbor and share the joy of obedience to God's Law.

But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. ~ James 1:25 

Love does what the Law cannot. Love makes permanent changes to unrighteous behavior. It is love that will draw our neighbors to the Lover of our souls; a knock at the door, not a tow truck.