March 22 – Depth of Understanding

        Mark 4:11, 12, 33 – "Jesus told [the Twelve], 'The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside, everything is said in parables, so that "they may be always seeing, but never perceiving; always hearing, but never understanding; otherwise they might repent and be forgiven....with many similar parables, Jesus spoke the word to [the crowds], as much as they could understand."

         Verses 12 and 33 almost seem to contradict each other. Does Jesus want me to understand God's truth, or does he not? Does he want me to follow God's ways, or does he care that I persist in my folly? Please make up your mind, Jesus. The crux of the matter, however, goes deeper than surface appearances. Let's start with God's heart.

        The Scripture is plain in 2 Peter 3:9 – "....Yahweh is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish [spiritually], but wanting everyone to arrive at a place of repentance." Therefore, God does not take pleasure in us humans persisting in our sinful lifestyles. Then, why do verses 11 and 12 in the opening scripture, seem so mean-spirited on the surface?

        One must go back to the Old Testament scripture to which these verses point. Isaiah 6:9-13 is the reference point. Isaiah prophesied during the point in time, in which the kingdoms of Israel and Judah had mostly lost their way in being obedient in serving God. How did this happen? Psalm 80:11, 12 gives us the answer: "But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own devices." That sounds exactly like what happened to Pharoah when he would not allow the Israelites and Moses to leave Egypt. It is exactly what happens to sinners, who are described in Romans 1:18-32. When we allow our stubborn hearts to become calloused, it takes much more work to get us to repent. That is why Jesus had to speak in parables as "much as they could understand". It takes persistent chipping away of hard callousness to get to the soft flesh. It takes the blasting of time to sand down the hard grittiness.

        So, Isaiah 6:11, 12 asks the question, " 'For how long, O Adonai?' And he answered "Until the cities lie ruined, and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted, and fields ruined and ravaged, until Yahweh has sent everyone far away, and the land is utterly forsaken." We get the picture that one might have to hit rock bottom before the eyes are opened to see the need to repent of our sinful ways. Obversly, verse 13 in Isaiah 6 gives us hope for those who have hit rock bottom. "As the terebinth and oaks leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land." How often do we see new shoots of growth spring from a stump that is left just above the ground level? Sometimes we do see them, depending on the hardiness of the tree that was cut. The word of God is telling us that there is hope for the worst of us – that new life can spring from what appears to be ruins.

        Let us allow ourselves a greater depth of understanding of what Jesus is trying to teach us, by not letting our hearts become hardened. Let us turn again to him, and to following God's ways with our entire hearts. We should desire to say to God, "Thy will be done." Let us not get to the point where God says to us "Alright, your will be done." Our depth of understanding, at that point, will have become very shallow.

March 6 – Victory in Death

        Psalm 17:15 – "And I, in righteousness, I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness."

        Is it still a blessed thing to live, and live some more? So sings one of my favorite spiritually-minded bands from the 90s. I am certainly "pro-life" on the conservative side of morality, as the over-arching theme of the Bible paints that picture. I am even more on the side of the Catholics, who consistently fight for the right of life from "natural birth to natural death". Things get complicated, however, now that modern science and health technology is able to prolong our physical existence, to extend our time on this earth. Some would call some of this technology "unnatural", as in the case of a person kept alive on a ventilator, with no hope of life without it. Some would call a piece of this technology "merciful", as in the case of easing the pain for a terminally-ill cancer patient. "Natural" death occurs less and less these days. Don't get me wrong; I am not judging anyone for the decisions he makes regarding the use of any of these technologies. No one has to answer to me.  I am simply asking the question – is it still a blessed thing to keep on physically existing just to keep putting off the inevitable?

        Paul's faith in God was so strong, that he said in Philippians 1:23, 24, "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is better for you that I remain in the body". He knew that he would be with his Maker when his physical life ended. In the 21st-century western world, the mindset is to live as long as possible, because there is nothing after death – no afterlife, no hope, not even re-incarnation, because there is no God, who designed the afterlife. I believe that some of this yeast has spread through the body of Christ; this leaven is devoid of hope, and is not full of truth. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that death is easy to take. It still hurts when we lose a loved one. The sting of death is still currently stinging – an unpleasant experience on many levels.

        The psalm above, this prayer of David, is similar to most of his psalms. It is a cry of deliverance from wicked men, who are out to make his life miserable. It contains hope as well, in verse 14. Then verse 15 seems like an odd statement to me in the context of the Psalm. Is David referring to peaceful physical sleep, and a sense of victory in God, when he awakes? Quite possibly. But, as with much of the Bible, there are double entendres (and sometimes triple and quadruple) lurking around every corner. As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15, he calls death "sleep". He then goes on to describe that death will one day be swallowed by Life himself in a victorious manner.

        For us believers, the finality of life on this earth ushers us across the "Jordan" to the promised land, to heaven, our temporary home in God's abode, where there is no longer any suffering, but only bliss, joy, and eternal peace. Why is that? Because God is not only preparing a "place" for his children (John 14:1-4), but that place is in his presence. We will finally be able to "see" the image of our Master Jesus, because we will no longer be looking through a clouded glass at the vague beauty on the other side (1 Corinthians 13:12). We will be on the other side, where our sight will be clear, and where we no longer have to experience the sting of death.