Know the "why"

I was posed a question last night that I didn't know how to answer.  "In 1 Corinthians 2:5," I was asked, "it states 'That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.'  My faith in the wisdom of men has taught me that there is no God.  So if to find God I must first give up the wisdom I so stringently stand by, where does one exist between those two ends before faith, in one or the other, is found?  In Faith limbo?  Faithless?"

Whew.  Heavy stuff.  I spent some time praying, some time asking a few close friends what they would say.  One dear friend in particular said something that gave me pause.  She said that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7), which means that there is still much that can be learned in this world.  You don't have to throw away everything you've learned, you just need to see if it is truth or not by comparing it to what God has revealed to be true." 

One thing that I noticed in college is that sometimes it is the smartest people who have the hardest time believing in God.  They've heard all of the arguments to the contrary, seen all of the scientific or historical evidence, listened to and studied all of the reasons why God couldn't possibly exist.  All of the facts that they have studied tell them that God is a myth, and that anyone who believes otherwise is a fool.

The thing is, however, that Christianity is not a blind faith.  Believing in the Lord does not mean that you have to just believe in what you're told to believe, while the scientists and atheists get all of the "real" facts.  1 Peter 3:15 says to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."  There are historical accounts that back up stories found in the Bible.  There are archaeological remnants that correlate perfectly with Biblical accounts.  God is a God of logic and reason, not panic and chaos.  Sure, sometimes we do not always understand Him; but that doesn't mean that He is illogical. 

So if you know God, I would encourage you today to ask yourself why.  Why do you love Him?  Why do you believe in Him?  Why are you willing to trust Him with your life?  Don't be caught by surprise if someone asks you to explain the hope that is within you.  And if you don't know God, I would encourage you to do the same.  Read the Bible, read the history and science books, ask questions with an open mind.  Like my friend said, you don't have to throw away everything you've learned.  You just have to let the God of reason show you what is true and what is not.

Proverbs 1:1-7
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; 
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; 
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young - 
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance - 
6 for understanding the proverbs and parables. the sayings and riddles of the wise.  
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, 
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  

The infinite smallness of God

I'm often overwhelmed, as I was yesterday, by the infinite bigness of God.  He is the God of the universe; He created everything in it; He holds the world in His hands...it's easy to get be conscious of God's bigness.  In fact, many people, myself included, allow themselves to be intimidated by His bigness, to be convinced that He's just SO big, He couldn't possibly want to involve Himself in our puny little lives.

But, although God is infinitely huge, He is also infinitely small.  He does not just care about the sun in the sky, the fates of kings, and the futures of nations.  He cares about you.  He cares about your bad breakup, your painful past, your flu symptoms, everything.  The Bible says that He knows the number of hairs on each and every one of our heads.  When I was younger I used to try to count the hairs on my head sometimes.  I would never get past a few hundred before I gave up.  But God does not give up on us.  Ever. 

I've heard so many people tell me that there's no reason for them to ask God for help.  They are too insignificant; their requests are too trivial; their mistakes are too numerous and too big.  But that's folly, pure and simple.  God didn't come to heal the healthy.  He came to heal the sick.  And He always cares about what's going on in your life.  The answer to your prayers may not always be yes, but He always want to hear what's on your heart, even to the smallest detail.  He cares about you.  And if it's something that's important to you, it's important to Him.  That's the infinite smallness of God. 

Psalm 55:1-3,22

 ¹ Listen to my prayer, O God,
do not ignore my plea;
² hear me and answer me.
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
³ because of what my enemy is saying,
because of the threats of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering on me
and assail me in their anger....

 ²² Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.

The infinite bigness of God

I braved a typhoon this weekend.  Well really, I braved the residual effects of one.  Japan suffered a typhoon on Saturday, and South Korea got some of the storm, too.  I had gone on a bike ride just before the worst of the storm hit, and was forced to seek shelter under a bridge.

As I was sitting there huddling behind the massive concrete pillar, the wind howling and the rain pelting my face, I was struck by how big my God really is.  I wonder if Peter felt a similar way, as he was preparing to step from the safety of his boat into the frothing, furious ocean beneath him, simply because Jesus had told him to do so.  Our God is the God who knit us together before we were even born; who knows the number of hairs on all of our heads; who hung the stars in their twinkling perches; who tells the sun when to rise and the tides when to come in.

And yet, the truly amazing thing is that so often we still try to hide from Him.  We somehow think that the Creator of the Universe, the One who knows every detail of the world, we think that He will not notice our absence, not miss the presence of His dearly beloved children. 

But God is a big God - much bigger than we could ever fathom.  Let Him find you.  Let Him take care of you.  He's got big hands - He can do it.  He's a pretty darn capable individual.... :)

Jeremiah 23:23-24

 ²³ “Am I only a God nearby,”
            declares the LORD,
   “and not a God far away?
²⁴ Who can hide in secret places
   so that I cannot see them?”
            declares the LORD.
   “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
            declares the LORD. 

Radical Living

I've often prayed that God would make me more radical in my faith.  Not a Bible-thumping, greater-than-thou, fire-and-damnation-preaching kind of radical; but rather the kind that is willing to do anything the Lord asks of me.  Even if I don't want to.  Even if it makes me uncomfortable.  Even if it hurts or inconveniences me.

I was reading in John 14 today, and I noticed a little handwritten note that I had written in the margins of the page.  There was no date, no context of any sort; all it said was "radical living is possible," next to John 14:15.  This verse simply says that "If you love me, you will keep my commands."

If we love Him, we will obey Him.  What a simple truth, yet how hard it is for most people to grasp.  Perhaps that's why those who actually do grasp it are considered "radical."  We live our lives in our own little bubbles of self, family, and friends, rarely even giving those outside of the bubble a second glance.  But Jesus calls us to love the unlovable, help the downtrodden, clothe the naked, and feed the hungry.  The people outside of our bubble.

It's only natural that God would expect those who love Him to listen to Him.  But obeying Him is far from natural.  It takes a change, a miraculous transformation, to come to the point where you want to obey Him, you want to put others' needs ahead of your own.  That's true love for Him.  That's a radical life.  So let me ask you....how radical is your life?
 

John 14:15-21

  ¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. ¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Change

I saw a snake today.  I took my Bible study outside and sat near the river that goes by my house, and as I was sitting there, just staring at the water, a small green snake slithered by me.  I watched, fascinated, as it slowly moved across the sidewalk, its slimy green body contracting and expanding to propel itself forward.

I thought back to the days of Adam and Eve.  Many scholars believe that the curse God placed upon the serpent in Genesis 3, indicated that the serpent used to walk upright, on actual legs.  And I was all of a sudden struck by the magnitude that sin has in our lives.  Because of his folly, not only was the snake's life forever changed, but so were the lives of all of his descendents after him.  Sin does not only cause a minor inconvenience in our lives; it is a cancer, eating us alive, changing the very fiber of who we are.

But sin is not the only thing that changes us.  Can you remember back to the time when you did not have Jesus in your life?  Do you notice a difference now?  It is true that sin will change and destroy you; but Jesus will change and save you.  He says that He is the only way to the Father.  Everything else is simply fool's gold.  But one way or another, you are going to be changed.  So here's my question to you: will it be for better or for worse?

Genesis 3:14-15

¹⁴ So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

   “Cursed are you above all livestock
   and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
   and you will eat dust
   all the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put enmity
   between you and the woman,
   and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
   and you will strike his heel.”

Look for the manna

"Happiness is like manna; it is to be gathered in grains, and enjoyed every day. It will not keep; it cannot be accumulated; nor have we got to go out of ourselves or into remote places to gather it, since it is rained down from Heaven, at our very doors."  ~Tryon Edwards


I think I'm finally experiencing this thing that everyone warned me about called "culture shock."  The constant, never ending struggle to adapt and understand is merciless.  All of the little things I have to remember to do, and always working so hard to understand what people are saying leaves my brain a mushy, sticky, unhappy mess by the end of the day.  Yesterday I was telling my mother about my struggles, and she said something rather profound.

"I AM proud of you," she said, "because even in the midst of all the yucky stuff you still manage to find fun and love - and that's an important quality to have throughout life."

It's amazing how much our perspective changes the events in our lives.  I find it uncanny how a simple determination to see good things in your life makes so many more good things surface.  It is boiling hot these days in Gyeongju - but the coastal breezes are lovely.  It is incredibly difficult to live in a country in which I do not speak the language - but every day my Korean improves a little bit, and almost every day my efforts earn me a new friend or two.  I do not understand the culture here at all, and feel lost so often - but a smile is universal, and always understood.  I miss my friends and family from back home so much it hurts - but I am so blessed to have people in my life that I care about so deeply.

God did not promise that this life would be easy.  But He also does not want this life to be miserable.  There is always a positive side, always something that can be learned from every situation.  Not to be trite, but every cloud really does have a silver lining.  But, like Edwards said, happiness is not something that you can store up for later.  You can't put it in your emotional bank account and cash in on it when you need it.  It's a day by day experience.  God wants us to be constantly looking for Him, constantly leaning on Him - not just on Sunday mornings or during church camps.  Like the Israelites' manna, you have to choose to look for the joys in life every single day.  So when life's got you down, shake yourself up, change up your perspective...and look for the manna.

Exodus 16:4-5

 ⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” 

The right question

"The artist can, out of his own experience, tell the common man a great deal about the fulfillment of man's nature in living; but he can produce only the most unsatisfactory kind of reply if he is persistently asked the wrong question."     ~Dorothy Sayers

What a curious quote that is.  I had to read it several times before I fully understood what it was trying to say.  But once I did realize, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I've often thought that some of Jesus' responses to questions asked of Him in the Bible have seemed slightly airheaded; not particularly relevant to the question asked.  But what if the problem lies not on His end, but on ours?  What if we are always asking Him the wrong questions?  The people in the Bible were all so worried about their physical lives - money, health, etc - but Jesus was worried about their spiritual lives.  They wanted to be healed, but he wanted them to be eternally saved.  Perhaps that's why His answers never quite seemed to fit, never worked out as cleanly as His followers would have liked.  All that time, they were simply asking the wrong questions.

How often do we do that in our own lives?  We ask God to make things easier, to prosper us, to heal us.  But God's ways are not ours.  He is working on painting the bigger picture....which, from our perspectives, may seem messy and incomplete.  But God can make all things, both good and bad, work out for our good.

So whenever it seems like God's not listening, or not answering the questions that you're asking, ask yourself: are you asking the right questions?  God isn't in the business of fixing old things; He's in the business of creating new ones.

Mark 2:1-12

 ¹ A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
 ⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
 ⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹² He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”