The Concept of Light
An interesting concept unfolds as I read the Bible. Light.
From Genesis to Revelation “light” appears 232 times (in the NIV translation.) “In the beginning was the Word; in him was life, and that life was the light of men” – John 1. God created light. – Genesis 1. Moses’ face shown so bright with light after seeing God he had to wear a veil – Exodus 34. Walk in the light as he is in the light – 1 John 1.
Have you ever wondered what all that light stuff is about?
In Psalm 119 (the mega Psalm) verse 130 reads: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” What a simplistic approach. I can do simple. But what does it mean to “unfold” his words?
For me it’s kinda like grabbing a fresh bath towel from the shelf. They are neatly folded and organized (thanks to my lovely wife – my folding style is not quite so neat) so they look presentable. If I were to take that neat, folded towel, and use it to dry, how much good would it do if not unfolded? It’s the unfolding that gives a towel it’s full power. And so it is as I read the Bible.
The more I unfold (read, listen, consider, study) the more I recognize key concepts. The more I am willing to unfold the context of a story in the Bible (not just cherry pick verses here or there) the more I understand the bigger picture of what’s going on; I am personally convicted about my own affairs and about the state of the church, of the world.
Inspiration for 2011
The concept of light exposed in the Psalm 119:130 inspired me to pick up my Bible reading discipline. I am challenged to read the Bible with a renewed sense of wonder, expecting to learn more about myself and more about the character of God and His mission in this time and space. In 2011 I hope to make this a regular activity of my life – just like making coffee in the morning or exercising throughout the week.
And beyond merely reading, I hope the Holy Spirit is able to help “unfold” some truths in my life that I have either 1)ignored, or 2)not yet discovered. I hope the the unfolding of the light can continue the work of sanctification in me. And I hope to share about it here on the Proverb Curb.
Wishing you much “unfolding” that brings forth “light” in your life in 2011!
- WG
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Does anyone watch the TV show HOUSE? We watch it on Hulu and last night something struck me from a episode 4 of this season. A patient lamented about the realization he will have to care for his beloved in a new, challenging way, “it’s too hard.” House pauses, considers his response, and wisely asserts “It’s always hard.”
What wisdom. What truth. If you thought following Jesus was going to be easy, think again. We are in the battle of our lives, on the one hand trying to become perfected in Jesus (sanctification). When it comes to my sin, it’s like trying to teach a dog NOT to return to his own stuff to eat it!
On the other hand, the enemy is in an outright assault against us. It’s like a prevent defense in football (I’m not football savvy but I have played the Madden NFL video game a few times) trying to stop a big play from happening. Small advances are fine, but nothing big is allowed. Frankly, it’s always hard.
But be encouraged:
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, a we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
A few takeaways:
1. This is temporary. Rejoice in the eternal.
2. Take hold of every opportunity to renewed, day by day.
3. Pray that returning to my “stuff” like a dog does is no longer mouth watering
4. Pray for wisdom in calling your offensive set. Holy Spirit can help you break through the prevent defense. There is power in Jesus’ name!
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Our church has been doing a study on the story of Nehemiah, a guy in the Old Testament who was used in an incredible way. Not only was Nehemiah instrumental in bringing about restoration of the people of Israel back to their famed city, Jerusalem, Nehemiah also facilitated the restoration of God’s chosen people, the Jewish nation, back to the intimate relationship God longs for. Long had Israel been on a cyclical journey of obedience and blessing turned stubborness, selfishness, and disobedience that distanced them from God. Once again God was in pursuit of his beloved, and this time he chose Nehemiah.
Nehemiah takes on a major mission. His mission is exciting. His mission is dangerous. There are those who don’t buy into the whole “God’s chosen people” thing and are, quite frankly, disturbed that the Israelis are rebuilding their city. There are many who are quite territorial, and don’t want a threat in their neighborhood.
What is the result? God comes through. Nehemiah rallies the people to work their butts off for 52 straight days. Men work day and night – day as laborers building the wall and they take turns guarding the city at night. People are doing masonry work on the wall with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other, always prepared for a potential attack. At one point (4:20) Nehemiah encourages his people “God will fight for us!” And He does. And He comes through.
15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.
When it comes to winning a battle, a game, an argument, there are a few things at work. For one, it feels great to finish something, to be “better” than the competition, to emerge victorious. There is the smiting of the enemy, ruining his claims to mastery to the craft in which you just destroyed him! But what’s more intriguing, more impressive, more lasting is the the epic nature of a battle, a game, an argument. It’s the way in which the story goes, the way the sum of the parts does not equal the whole. It’s that sort of thing that makes a difference between winning and really winning.
There is a vast chasm between a mark in the W column that comes from beating a team that hasn’t one in 2 seasons with your reserve squad versus knocking of the #1 ranked team when all the odds are stacked against you. Let me tell you, from the world’s perspective, all the odds were stacked against Nehemiah, stacked against Israel. And when He comes through, you notice. Everyone else notices, too.
Do you have a story to tell? When did you notch a victory in the W column that was bigger than you?
“The world has been wrong about you. They’ve hated your glory – just as the Evil One hates the glory of God. But we need your gift. Come forth.’ I began to believe the truth, and it set me free. The doctrine I knew – kind of. But having doctrine pass before the mind is not what the Bible means by knowing the truth. It’s only when it reaches down deep into the heart that the truth begins to set us free, just as a key must penetrate a lock to turn it, or as rainfall must saturate the earth down to the roots in order for your garden to grow.” – John Eldredge, Waking the Dead
Man – this hit me hard today. So very, very true. All I can do and pray is that I would know, deep in the depths of my heart, the Truth spoken of. If all it does is “pass before my mind” I’m not getting it.
If the Church would live like this, I think the world would be an entirely different, and better place.
After going through the EPIC series with our small group I had some closing thoughts as sort of a recap.
The EPIC teaching, if you remember, is not just “another way to interpret scripture.” It is the larger story of the Gospel Good News that is often is presented and reads like cliff notes with a few pages missing! Here’s a quick recap:
1. Here are 3 eternal truths that I pray each one of us realize on our life journey:
- Life is not as it seems on the surface – there is more!
- Something else is going on, and has been going on long before I was ever born!
- I have a significance role to play in this story!
2. Here are the 4 Acts of the Larger Story that help put scripture and the Gospel into perspective:
- Act I: Eternal Love – God, Spirit, and Jesus all existed long before anything was made. They existed in community, and they wanted to share their essence.
- Act II: Entrance of Evil – We don’t know exactly “when” per-se, but what we can tell from scripture is at some point angels were created. And one of the angels, Lucifer, betrayed God. It seems he wanted to have more control, more power, be more of the center figure. He did not trust the heart of God. 1/3 of the angels went to war with Lucifer, and he became Satan, was expelled from heaven along with the 1/3.
- Act III: The human era – When God “began to create the heaven and the earth” in Genesis something else was already going on. God put his image in us, and desired to share his love and life with us. But the serpent tempted Eve and Adam to question God’s heart. We chose the wrong tree and Satan succeeded in injuring that which was most precious to God. But God would answer the question of his heart’s intention once and for all – Jesus. Jesus rescued us, the prince become peasant, showed us life restored, and gave up himself to set us free. And we are free now, not just in heaven. Free to be alive and restored to what God meant when he meant me, when he meant you. And to quote Gladiator, “and we will see him again… But not yet… Not yet.”
- Act IV: Ultimate Restoration – In the end God will make “all things new.” Not “all new things” as we often imagine. Heaven will be a restoration of that which is into that which is meant to be. Is it possible that Hollywood could write an end to a story more magnificent than the happily ever after God has in mind? This reuniting will be more than we could possibly imagine. It is not an eternal hymn sing in the sky. It is so much more – much much more beautiful and adventurous and captivating than we can possible imagine! If we understood that – if the promise of heaven was not stolen but somehow restored in us – how much more would we Christ followers live as if though we had a hope – a hope others would ask us about?
I sincerely pray each one of us would realize, at a deep, heart level, what God has in store for you. Continue to ask the question, “God, what did you mean when you made me?” If you’re having trouble with that question, here are a few places to go to help:
- Go to your desires – what things do you most enjoy – what makes you come alive?
- Consider your favorite stories – what characters do you most identify with? What about them most inspires you? What does that tell you about your own heart and God’s image in you?
We discovered in Act II and at the beginning of Act III that we have an enemy. And that enemy does a great job stealing, killing, and destroying. That’s the story of my last month, and why there are no posts on Act III and Act IV or closing thoughts.
Have you ever had one of those weeks – one of those months?
Part two: The Rescue
This is a continuation of EPIC, Act III. To reiterate, unless we collectively understand the weight of what was lost when man ate of the forbidden tree, the rescue attempt and restoration just won’t seem all that significant…
LOST
I am lost. Something is not right. I can feel it when I wake up in the morning. I can see it when I look into the eyes of my coworkers, my neighbors, my landlady. Something is incomplete… missing… wanting. The vast majority of mankind is LOST.
Most of he misery we suffer on this planet is the fruit of the human heart gone bad. this glorious treasure has been stained, marred, infected. Sin enters the story and spreads like a computer virus.
Any honest person knows this. We know we are not what we were meant to be. (EPIC, pg 57)
Have you ever asked yourself this question, “Isn’t there more to life than this?” I do… all the time. I wonder what Adam and Eve asked after the intimacy shared with God was suddenly gone?
The Challenge of the Rescue
If you randomly pick a chapter in the Old Testament it likely won’t make much sense in terms of humanity being lost, and God being on the rescue path. However, stepping back and looking at it as a whole, I see two things: 1)we (humans) are really good at running from God, 2)God is really good at pursuing us humans.
Here is the battle for the rescue to even occur, found in EPIC pages 62-63.
The dilemma of the Story is this: we don’t know if we want to be rescued. We are so enamored with our small stories and our false gods, we are so bound up in our addictions and our self-centeredness and take-it-for-granted unbelief that we don’t even know how to cry out for help. And the Evil One has no intention of letting his captives walk away scot-free. He seduces us, deceives us, assaults us – whatever it takes to keep us in darkness.
And God’s challenge is a tough one:
The challenge God faces is rescuing a people who have no idea how captive they are; no real idea how desperate they are. We know we long for Eden, but we hesitate to give ourselves back to God in abandoned trust. We are captivated by the lies of our Enemy.
Restoration
If there is any other word to better describe God’s mission, and that which was realized in the life and ministry of Jesus, I challenge you to correct me. It’s all about restoration. Restoring what? Restoring life to that which it was meant to be. God wants us back, in the fullness of his image in which he created us, his friends, his allies, sons and daughters.
God created us in freedom to be his intimate allies, and he will not give up on us. He seeks his allies still. Not religion. Not good church people. Lovers. Allies. Friends of the deepest sort. (EPIC, pg 66)
See Jeremiah 24:7
So God sends himself, Jesus, in a humble way. Much to this dismay of the Jews who perhaps expected a warrior king who would’ve once and for all raised their nation to prosperity and authority. But his Kingdom was about something else- restoration. And Jesus coming was not lollipops and candy canes, it was much more:
The coming of Jesus of Nazareth was more more like the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan. A dangerous mission, a great invasion, a daring raid into enemy territory to save the free world, but also to save one man.
And Jesus came, he showed us life restored, and he rescued us. But that is not the end of the Story.
In what part of God’s creation do you think is most awe inspiring. Answer this quick poll:
Wow- Act III is full of so much. After all, it’s our story in the Larger Story. There is no way to make this “quick thoughts” so I am going to break it into 2 parts:
- Part One: The fall
- Part Two: The rescue
Part one: The Fall
Original Glory
There are only a few short chapters in Genesis prior to the entry of the serpent and our eating of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. These few short chapters, even fewer while we (man and woman) were alive, are so often forgotten.
Even more important than the fall is the creation. What were we meant to be when God made Adam and when God made Eve?
Have you ever baked a cake or baked brownies? I’m not that good at backing. Sarah is the queen. But one thing I do know: the outcome of my baking is always at it’s pinnacle right out of the oven. Within a few minutes it’s flattened out, the edges go dark and hard, and it’s just not pretty anymore. My creation is at it’s best right away; even though I can show it off a while later, it’s nothing close to my intention, to the original splendor of my (feeble as it were) attempt at baking.
Although that’s a really bad illustration, I think there is something to be learned from knowing what once was when it comes to experiencing what now is.
God made us in his image:
I daresay we’ve heard a bit about original sin, but not nearly enough about original glory, which comes before sin and is deeper to our nature. We were crowned with glory and honor. Why does a woman long to be beautiful? Why does a man hope to be found brave ? Because we remember, if only faintly, that we were once more than we are now. (page 50)
Behind the Fall
Now that Act II is known, that there was war in heaven and the evil one is cast out, but not completely destroyed, the stage is set to understand the entrance of evil. But what is most important to realize about Satan’s motivation is this: if he cannot destroy God, he will do everything to destroy that which God loves.
You must understand: the Evil One hates God, hates anything that reminds him of the glory of God… wherever it exists. Unable to overthrow the Mighty One, he turned his sights on those who bore his image.
Satan came into the Garden and whispered to Adam and Eve – an in them, to all of us – “You cannot trust the heart of God… he’s holding out on you… you’ve got to take matters under your control.” He sowed the seed of mistrust in our hearts; he tempted us to seize control.
Understand the Evil One’s motivation – the essence behind of the words whispered to Adam and Eve – and you’ll understand the whole battle before us that wages on still.
But there is more… there is rescue.
Thought One: From my own story, and from that of so many I’ve encountered, Act II is one that is so often unknown. The existence of angelic beings, the fall of Lucifer and all his followers, and their place in our story are misunderstood in many circles. If not misunderstood, then ignored. From page 33 of Act II:
This is precisely what the Bible (and all the stories that echo it) has warned us about all these years: we live in two worlds – or in one world with two halves, part that we can see and part that we cannot. We are urged for our own welfare, to act as though the unseen world (the rest of reality) is, in fact, more weighty and more real and more dangerous than the part of reality we can see.
To understand this reality is of critical importance to understanding God’s story and, more importantly, to bring out life, and that of humanity (space and time as we know it) into clear picture. Without understanding Act II, nothing from Genesis 4 and onward can be interpreted with a sense of clarity!
Thought Two:
Satan mounted his rebellion through the power of an idea: God is holding out on us. (page 40)
This is how “evil desire” is evident in my life. If I can an answer this question, I know with certainty a choice I am about to make is one of evil intent, just like Satan’s idea: By making this choice, is the reason rooted in the fact I think God is holding out on me ?
Caught this post from Michael Hyatt, editor of Tomas Nelson (that just so happens to be the publisher of the EPIC material) and just had to share. Great insight, and if you like to read Donald Miller is an excellent and challenging author. Enjoy!
The Most Important Part of Your Story
