Slipping into Eternity

Last week my father breathed his last breath and entered into eternity with God at his side. He lived a good life and I am very thankful for having the gift of a good father who loved me.  Because of him I can better love my own children.  My dad wasn't a big talker, but his way of leading was by example. I remember celebrating his 80th birthday by renting a big dining room and inviting all his friends. We gave people the opportunity to come forward and share how they appreciated dad.  I was amazed at how much of a servant his life was to others.  What seems to be praised and admired these days is those who aggressively seize life and conquer the world around them in whatever their field.  But there are other heroes that are quietly serving and caring and giving of their lives for others.  This was my dad.  He didn't have much in the way of  hobbies or outside interests. He was a great gardener and loved to give away his produce!  This was actually a deep joy for him!    He wasn't really into technology and constantly checking his smart phone.  When I was with him I always had his total attention. And if you had a need,  if you were stuck, or if you just needed someone to  be there for you, well, my dad was there.   He defined and was the epitome of faithfulness.

He was also very generous, kind, gentle, patient and thankful-my dad never complained.  He never seemed to have a harsh word toward us kids that me or my two sisters could remember.  Is that even possible?  He would be the first to point me to God as his source of any goodness he had.

But above all these other things the faithfulness of my dad seems to stand out. He was married to my mom for over 60 years!   I've thought much about my dad in the last couple weeks.   I thought of the many days he drove me to school as a youth, as a teenager in high school and even a college student. He was never too busy that he couldn't drive me, and usually take me out for coffee or a meal in the process!  And on those drives of 2 miles to high school or 80 miles to college, he caught up with me. He used his service to me as a way to also spend quality time together.  This usually came in the form of some well placed questions and a lot of listening to my responses.  Many years later my mom would describe to me how my dad would wake up from his afternoon nap and ask her "where's Phil?" She would remind him that I was with my family in the Northwest.  I was always on his mind even toward the end of his life.

My dad's faithfulness to me seems very contrasted with our current state in this world.  How many people stand by each other anymore?  How many married couples stay together?  How many dads are there for their children however imperfectly this might be? Our world so desperately needs fathers like mine, who are faithful to the end.  Who reflect Jesus to a world mad with power, vengeance, betrayal, violence and death.  The fruit of Jesus' life was serving, healing, restoring and giving his life so that others could have life and live if to the full.  This is the fruit of a life well lived.

2 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy. . . . .5 “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. 6 His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.”     From the book of Malachi about a captive people

The sword, the scalpel and love

I visited a students home the other day where we practiced some English together.    I arrived on a freezing day to his humble apartment to find a tray of hot tea and dates lying on the floor for us to enjoy before the meal. When the lunch was ready he pulled a huge platter of spicy rice out of the oven that was covered with chicken, peppers and lemons.  It was delicious!  We finished this meal with more tea and cookies of various sorts.  Middle Eastern culture is amazing in its hospitality even to a stranger like me! Sadly such warmth and friendship is overshadowed by evil events that continue to dominate the news day after day.

As we ate and enjoyed each others company I noticed the green flag on the wall  above the couch.  It had white flowing Arabic script and underneath the letters was a sword.  I asked my friend what it meant and he said it was the Shahad from the Koran that one recites to become Muslim and affirm one's faith over against all others.  What struck me was the sword that was underneath the script.  It almost appeared as the base or foundation. The Saudi Arabian government added it to their flag to remind people of its military strength. The Arabian peninsula is of course where Islam was begun.

I recently got a letter from a friend in the Middle East who spoke of the situation they face today.  He is neither Muslim nor Christian, but prefers the term intellectual as he's a professor and author.  He wrote of how today Muslims "slaughter other humans like sheep by the name of Islam and, on the other hand, how intellectuals and leaders of "Christianity" arrange the slaughter of other peoples by the name of "Christ" or "National Interest" or "Prophecies"."  He is Arab, but he grieves for the plight of the Syrians, Iraqis and others whose countries have been torn apart by war and competing interests.  The sword is the means and the warped human heart the instigator.  His letter and the symbol of the sword reminded me of what Jesus said to his disciples in reference to following him;

³² “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. . . . ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.    ³⁹ He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.                Matthew chapter 10

 Jesus' mention of the sword was the end result of seeking to surrender to him. The very act of confessing Christ is to follow in his footsteps and renounce the world's way of making things right.  His own Jewish people were set against him!   Jesus never advocated violence. When the religious leaders taught "an eye for an eye" Jesus taught people to love.  When he was taken captive prior to his death, his friend Peter swings a sword and injures one of those capturing Jesus.  Then Jesus heals the man's injury and rebukes Peter  saying "those who live by the sword will die by the sword".  In this Jesus reaffirms what he lived in his life.  He was committed to people's lives being "conquered from within".  This was always misunderstood by his followers.  How can a conqueror not also be a warrior? But our eyes much of the time are on the external and not the eternal.

Christianity's founder calls his followers to surrender their lives, forgive their enemies and walk in humility.  Christ wasn't a warrior in the conventional sense, but rather one who pointed to a battle far more deadly within the human heart and soul.  When his followers lives were transformed by God, they left their swords and religious battles and fought for the hearts and lives of people! 

So as I thought of the sword another symbol came to mind.  The scalpel is a tool used by physicians the world over to cut out and remove what sickens, destroys and kills people.  If Jesus would have had a symbol to display, I think the scalpel would have been very fitting.  God is called in the Bible, the Physician of our souls who offers forgiveness and new life. Can we give ourselves new lives through our own means or even through religious means?   Jesus' very life pointed to a rejection of religion and ritual as the means to please God. Even self sacrifice doesn't cut it as their were already zealots and messiahs before Jesus.  The religious leaders of his day hated him and wanted him dead. They said Jesus blasphemed and called himself God which is why they had the Romans kill him.

 But what really bothered the religious leaders about Christ  was the fact that he pointed out the bankruptcy of their religious system.  It was a system of law and morality.  So everything was based on pleasing God and doing good.  Yet even these religious leaders who knew their Scriptures and what Moses and David wrote couldn't not live it.  Jesus called people to a lifestyle that loved both God and people.  In order to love as God loves, you need to become a new person.  This didn't fit the religious leaders system of law and control and Jesus threatened that control.  So they essentially murdered a man whose life was lived loving others.

 We as people do not have the capacity to fulfill such demands regardless of the religion offered.  This isn't an attack on Judaism or Islam, but rather an argument against those who seek to know and serve and please God that avoids Christ's way of surrender.  Whether he was God or not is not the first question.  The first thing to ask is whether you seek to please God by your own efforts.  I would encourage you to then discover who God is in both live and through the story of Jesus such as in the book of Luke.  Don't simply rely on what others say about the Bible or Jesus.  Find out yourself!

The very act of confessing our sin and surrendering our lives to him is a spiritual form of heart transplant.  He brings us from death to life, to be made new creations.  God replaces our dead and stony hearts with hearts that are new and linked with his. Jesus Christ did indeed die through state execution of the day because of the accusation of sedition against the state. He didn't defend himself but gave himself up to those who hated him. Up to the last day his followers kept thinking that Jesus would take up the sword, lead a rebellion and free Israel from tyranny.  Instead he was killed.  Not the type of hero we make into successful films!   But this crucifixion  was not the shameful death of a prophet that some say. Some even try to change history in order to "protect" Jesus' honor.  But this is what God's Word says about both Christ's death and return to life:
 
¹¹ When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. ¹² For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. ¹³ You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. ¹⁴ He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.           Colossians  2-New Living Translation

Christ's peace to each of you as we near good Friday and Easter-or Resurrection Day!