Category: Biblical Integration

Animals in the Scheme of Things

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A student recently asked me if animal experimentation is wrong from a biblical perspective. This is an important question that actually gives opportunity to highlight the invaluable nature of humanity, the preciousness of animals, and the incomprehensible love of God.

I will say at the outset that my heart is particularly grateful for animals used in the field of medicine, as the insulin I had to inject for survival during my first years as an insulin-dependent diabetic was pork insulin. Pork insulin was made from pig pancreases. As Erika Gebel, Ph.D., notes, “We’ve come a long way since more than two tons of pig parts were required to produce eight ounces of purified insulin. Today, the insulin that comes in vials, pens, and pumps is not from pigs and cows but from designer microorganisms. These critters provide more of the hormones (and in forms more similar to the body’s own) to the millions of people across the globe who depend on a steady stream of high-quality insulin.” (1)

All of us are touched personally by disease and deformity. Everyone loves or knows someone who survives and/or benefits because of animal use in medicine. Each of us has also been touched by the lives of animals in other ways. God has made them good and beneficial for a number of reasons. We enjoy the companionship of domesticated animals as pets and the beauty and mystery of other creatures.

But as our culture continues to deemphasize the value of human life while simultaneously emphasizing the significance of the environment and animals, we begin to see questions surface. As Christians, we rightfully need to think through the issues using biblical principles; for the biblical perspective is the only perspective that is always correct and never changing. Despite our culture’s changing standards, God’s Word is timeless, and its principles stand true through all of history. As we will explore in the Scriptures in a moment, human value is above that of both the environment and animals (though the other parts of creation are vital and blessed!). William A. Dembski (mathematician, philosopher, and theologian) asserts, “Genesis clearly teaches that humans are the end of creation. For instance, Genesis describes the creation as merely ‘good’ before humans are created but describes it as ‘very good’ only after they are created. God’s activity in creation is therefore principally concerned with forming a universe that will provide a home for humans. Although this anthropocentrism sits uneasily in the current mental environment, it is not utterly foreign to it. Indeed, the intelligibility of the physical world through our intellects and, in particular, through such intellectual achievements as mathematics suggests that we live in a meaningful world whose meaning was placed there for our benefit.” (2)

I appeal to two passages of Scripture at the outset. First, Genesis 1:20-28 (ESV):

    And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
    And God said, “Let the earth bring for the living creatures according to their kinds – livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
    Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
    So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
    And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Notice that the living creatures were created and deemed “good” by their Creator. Notice also that when God created man and woman, He jumped into a new paradigm, making them “in his own image” – unlike anything else He had made. Humans were designed to have a unique relationship with God that no plant or animal or galaxy can ever have, no matter how beautiful or enjoyable. Additionally, humans were instructed to “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Part of the human task of filling and subduing the world God created was to dominate the other creatures. Certainly this dominion is not for evil purposes, as evil goes against the very nature of God. The subduing of creation is for the purpose of building society.

The second passage to which I appeal at the start is Psalm 8:3-8 (ESV):

    When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
    Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

We see here reiterated the emphasis of Genesis. Added though, is the truth that people are made just a bit lower than heavenly beings and are crowned with glory and honor. All things are put under our feet in order that our true destiny of godly glory and honor is fulfilled. Again, I add that it is dishonorable to mistreat any part of God’s creation out of a malicious heart. Moving toward honor and glory in a broken and sinful world must happen as we seek to do so within the parameters of God’s plan, for honor and glory can only come from Him.

Our Lord clearly tells us that unneeded cruelty is wrong. Proverbs 12:10 (ESV) proclaims, “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.” Jesus Himself often uses the metaphor of being a Shepherd, and He even speaks of “laying down his life for the sheep” (John 10:15, ESV). When we look at righteous King David of the Old Testament, we see a man who valued the keeping of His sheep enough to risk his own life in protecting them from lions and bears (1 Samuel 17:34-35). In fact, when necessary, he would kill the beasts if both the life of the sheep and his life were threatened by them. So we see – that in a fallen world – the best option to protect what is valuable can involve death.

Research seems to demonstrate that domesticated animals can be a benefit to their owners in terms of emotional and physical health. This seems right, as God made animals to live on the same earth as humans, yet under our ultimate dominion and as part of the plan for us. In the same way, animals can benefit humans by providing health research for the treatment and cure of illness and disease.

Here is the ultimate biblical point that brings home the case for both the precious nature of animals and the allowance for their use in saving human health and life. Think about our redemption from sin. Our salvation from our own sinful nature is necessary to preserve our eternal life with God. Without salvation from sin, we die one day physically and we die spiritually for an eternity. Our Creator thought our redemption so vital that He provided His own Son as the sacrifice to stand in our place. His death on the Cross and His blood that was shed appease the wrath of a holy God against our sin (Ephesians 1:7).

God sacrificed Himself in real flesh – and in real space and time – to save us. (No other religion’s god claims to have done this utterly unique and historically evidential act.) Our value is inestimable. Not only do we read of our worth in His Word, but we know of our value because the infinite Son of God gave His own life for ours. Two thousand years ago, Jesus began the restoration project of giving back to us our intended glory under the sovereignty of God. Made in His image to reign under Him, we will see that reality in the future. The cost was the very life of the Son of God.

Now think about this. Before Jesus came to earth to die and do the most pivotal thing God could do to demonstrate our human value and His love for us, how did He instruct humans to look forward by faith to that coming promise? The answer is critical: He told humans to make animal sacrifices. Innumerable animals were continuously slain so that their precious blood could point to the perfect blood of Jesus. As Scott Langston and E. Ray Clendenen note, “Leviticus 1-7 gives the most detailed description of Israel’s sacrificial system, including five types of sacrifices.” (3) As a matter of fact, when Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves after the shame of their sin, God quickly demonstrated the inadequacy of such an attempt, and made them garments of skin (Genesis 3:7, 21). Skin clothing requires the death of an animal. And from then on, humans were instructed to deal with their sins by shedding animal blood to look forward to the final answer in the blood of Jesus (Genesis 4:3-5).

Sacrificial animals were precious enough (having been made by God) to foreshadow the work of Jesus. But they were not as valuable as the people for whom their blood would temporarily point to redemption by Jesus. God Himself makes clear both animal value and the limits of that value when compared to humanity. To God, our spiritual hope is worth animal sacrifice. Most assuredly, then, our physical health is worth it, too.

God cares for the animals. “He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry” (Psalm 147:9, ESV). Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Matthew 6:26a, ESV). But then He directly adds, “Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26b) This rhetorical question Jesus asks, which follows an affirmation of His care for little birds, drives home the point. Animals are important. God sees all that happens with them. But people are more important, and one of the ways God has certainly provided for humans is by animal life.

We rejoice in the New Heavens and New Earth God that God is creating, because the sin curse will be erased and all disease eradicated (Revelation 22:3). People and animals will live without the hindrance of sin’s nasty effects. For now, we thank God for His calling on us to take dominion of this world under His sovereignty. Above all, we thank Him for the unimaginable price He paid for our entrance to the new world – foreshadowed at great cost by precious animals – and fulfilled in His Son. As I Peter 1:18-21 (ESV) tells us:

    Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

All of us who value animals and what they provide by way of medical help and emotional help rejoice in this promise about the millennial reign of Christ in the beginning of that new world (Isaiah 11:6-9, ESV):

    The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

References:

(1) Erika Gebel. “Making Insulin: A behind-the-scenes look at producing a lifesaving medication.” Diabetes Forecast. July 2013. Web. Jan. 27 2015.

(2) William A. Dembski, The End of Christianity (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2009), 143-44.

(3) Scott Langston & E. Ray Clendenen, Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1429.

47th Greatest Invention . . .

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Though the printing press was deemed the number one innovation since the invention of the wheel by The Atlantic magazine’s group of scientists, historians, and technologists; it was number 47 on the list that caught my eye. Don’t get me wrong, we as Christians understand God’s hand in the development of the printing press, for God chose to reveal Himself through a book! However, check out the succinct description of the 47th greatest breakthrough since the wheel according to The Atlantic: “The nail, second millennium B.C. ‘Extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.’ -Leslie Berlin”

Wow. The nail enabled people to have shelter. Though Leslie Berlin was probably thinking of the physical shelter nails help to provide when they are pounded into wood and concrete, my mind went immediately to the spiritual shelter we find because of the three nails used by Roman soldiers two thousand years ago. And actually, those three nails were in the “hands” of God the Father, who willingly sacrificed His Son so you and I might find shelter from the justly deserved wrath of a Holy God. The ultimate effect of my own sin cannot rain down upon me, because I am under the shelter of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that old, rugged Cross.

The Atlantic says that nails “extended lives by enabling people to have shelter.” Again – no doubt – the extension refers to earthly years. Physical life could go on longer because our bodies were better protected from the elements, wild animals, and enemies. But we as children of God apprehend the measureless value of spiritual life. No matter the year or day of our physical demise, salvation ensures eternal life. As Peter so beautifully records, “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable” (I Peter 1:23, ESV). The nails that pierced the body of Jesus on Mount Calvary have brought to us an endlessly extended life!

Just as those nails of long ago punctured the physical body of Jesus, they will also help bring to our physical bodies the new and glorified existence we shall enjoy forever and ever. I Thessalonians 3:20b-21 (ESV) proclaims, “We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” The crucifixion of Jesus – aided by nails – ensures our safety in an incalculable and everlasting sense.

A thank you to The Atlantic for reminding us of the importance of nails. We take much for granted. And the biggest thank you to our God who gave humans the capacity to invent the nail, which He knew would be used to crucify His own Son. No doubt, God was thinking of sheltering us when He created trees and inspired the invention of nails.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'” (Psalm 91:1-2, ESV)

Reference: Fallows, James. “The 50 Greatest Breakthroughs Since the Wheel.” The Atlantic. Nov 2013. 56-58.

The Swaying Roller Coaster’s Lesson In Trust

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Click, click, click, click, click. I stood in line for the roller coaster, hearing the steady beat of the large, oily chain that pulls the carts up the first hill of the track. As one cart slowly carried its excited riders to the apex, another cart zoomed around the sharp turns. As people flew down hills and around curves, I heard screams of thrill. I also carefully observed the vibrating beams and swaying poles of the ride. Of course, a coaster of such motions and speed must be designed to have “give.” The entire structure must be resilient – allowing for all the wild dynamics of the roller coaster experience.

As I waited beside the coaster for my own adventure – watching all these movements – I began to think of the extensive planning and calculation required to build such an edifice. No doubt, engineers work with necessary precision, being careful to employ the timeless truths of mathematics and physics. In fact, a visit to a website, library.thinkquest.org, highlighted what I had been pondering:

    Complicated engineering goes into construction of a modern roller coaster. A single coaster may cause its engineers and designers to produce thousands of layouts, plans and blueprints. Then, scale models are built from materials such as wood and Styrofoam. Designers must check and re-check the forces that are exerted on the cars, tracks, and most importantly, the passengers.

What amazes me about the whole concept of roller coasters is our willingness to ride them. Despite the screams of the people, the shaking of the beams, the swaying of the cables, the velocity of the carts, the steepness of the hills, the fallibility of human operators, the decay of metal and wood, or the room for human error in design and maintenance; we still wait in line for the thrill of the coaster! (Well, at least many of us do!)

For years and years we have trusted the mechanics of these monstrous structures. We place our well-being and our lives on the line each time we ride. We trust the designers and maintainers of the coasters. We believe they know what they are doing and do it well.

How much more should we trust the One who designed and maintains the world! Yes, there are times I step back and observe the swaying beams of life. I watch important parts of my world seem to shake. Oh, but these things are only part of the “give” God has built in for a universe tainted by sinfulness. The swaying is proof that He built our lives to last; God can handle our travels through the complicated “ups and downs” and “twists and turns” of life.

Do you hear the “click, click, click” of the old and oily chain about to pull you up a steep hill? Is the wind blowing through your hair as you descend at a speed that makes your stomach tingle? Do the sharp turns give the sensation you might careen off the track? It’s okay. Our sovereign God is the Ultimate Mind. He knows exactly how to build everything – and just as perfectly manage it. The world He created and your life that He so carefully designed have always been in His able hands.

We trust human ingenuity and mortal constancy every time we ride a roller coaster, automobile, or even an elevator. How much more should we trust divine design and God’s faithfulness as we ride through life?

Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness: I will take you by the hand and keep you . . .” (Isaiah 42:5-6a, ESV)

For by him all things were created, . . . and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16a-17b, ESV)

Autumn Reminders of an Eternal Kind

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‘For “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.”‘ – I Peter 1:24 (NIV – 1984)

Fall. It is a season that reminds us of endings. Once thriving leaves now drop from their branches bursting with color, but dying. Beautiful summer flowers have lost their grandeur and now succumb to hues of brown and gray. Colder temperatures flow in and bright, long days full of sunshine move out. We are inundated with change. We are regularly reminded of our helplessness to stop the flow of God’s creation. We are caught between summer and winter in the fleeting uniqueness of autumn. Though the season brings its own joy with fabulous scents and colors of orange, yellow, and red; we know it is the end of summer and the start of a period of dormancy and cold.

As we enjoy the changes of fall, let it remind us of a vital truth. I believe God intends for us to see with physical eyes something that points to a lasting, spiritual truth. When you look at a fallen leaf or disintegrating, summer flower; think this thought:

    “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” (I Peter 1:24, NIV, 1984)

Let crinkling leaves and fallen blossoms remind us of something God wants always at the base of our thinking – we are finite and fallen and soon to pass. Any glory we claim to have is as transitory as summer leaves. We live and we die. We seek to accomplish much, but in the end we disappear from this earth. We cannot prevent our own demise. We stand helpless before our “fall.” Except for one thing!

Notice the severe difference God highlights between people and His Word. People wither and fall as the grass. God’s Word stands forever! God’s Word never bends, stoops, or loses its glory. Its beauty never fades; it’s “color” never wanes. No season comes that stops God’s Word. It endures, and endures with full dignity – “standing,” as it were! No weather pattern knocks God’s Word down. No disease causes His Word to waste away. No disaster or tragedy causes His Word to twist or weaken. Through every change, through every heart break, through every earth-shattering event, through death itself; the Word of God stands!

I believe God purposefully showed us the drastic difference between our glory and His Word here in I Peter to remind us to stay focused on Him and not our own selves. I believe one of the reasons for autumn is to demonstrate through His creation an important reminder about human nature when compared to God. Our Lord graciously desires us to live with a constant awareness of our impermanent nature and His eternal nature. Of our failing attempts and His trustworthy ways. Of our sinfulness and His holiness. Of our dependence and His self-sufficiency. Of our need for His Word at the deepest and broadest levels.

You see, God reminds us at the end of I Peter 1:25 (NIV, 1984), “And this is the word that was preached to you.” This is no small or incidental statement! The Word that stands forever can be accepted into your own heart! The seed of God’s Word can be planted in your soul so that the death of you is certainly not the end of you!

God expresses this hope very succinctly in I Peter 1:22 (NIV, 1984), “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” Do you see it? We can be born again of an imperishable seed through God’s Word! When I put my hope for forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ, I am born of a seed that cannot be abolished – a seed that lasts forever and ever. The enduring Word of God gives me eternal, unbending life. Come seasons, winds, storms, difficulties, even death itself; but I will survive and live forever because the everlasting Word of God has been preached to me. And I have gladly and humbly accepted!

Deep Waters of the Heart

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The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration reports that 95% of the seas remain unexplored and unseen by human eyes. Yet, Psalm 104:24-29 tells us that our God is currently sustaining every creature of the ocean. Psalm 139:1-4 also proclaims that God has searched each one of us and knows us intimately. What does this mean for our own lives? I pray this poem helps us realize:

Deep and murky waters
Yet largely unexplored
Holding strange and diverse creatures
Skimming ocean floors.

No human eye has glimpsed
All your spaces, oh, so broad;
Your expanse while truly finite
Is largely left untrod.

The seas contain such creatures
As small as plankton all adrift,
As large as whales whose tails
Above the waves do lift.

Ocean, you are vast
Containing mystery profound,
An environment so odd to us
Who traverse mainly solid ground.

Yet God is ever-watchful
Down in the depths obscure;
He feeds each curious creature
That swims below, beyond the shore.

Though humans stand mainly unaware
Of sundry species in the seas,
God sustains through each second
Every single one of these.

Numbered and known by their Creator
All swimming creatures are fed
By He who told the very oceans
How far their boundaries could spread.

As life above the sea goes on
And we grasp so little of what’s below,
So life outside our heart goes on
And our depths we do not show.

How glorious a thought, then,
That God, who feeds the creatures of the deep,
Searches out this heart of mine
Though the crags inside be steep.

Even I do not understand
The depths of my own heart;
But God is down where I cannot see
Sustaining every part.

Sea creatures thrive far down below
Without human intervention;
My soul goes on despite confusion
For my life is God’s intention.

Swim on, beautiful creature
In the deep waters of the sea;
For God sees every move you make
And sustains you constantly.

Live on, beautiful child of God
Though you do not understand;
For God sees every part of you
And still holds tightly to your hand.

What Fallen Bridges Tell Us About God

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On August 1, 2007, the I-35W Bridge in Minnesota collapsed into the Mississippi River, killing thirteen people and injuring 145 others. This human tragedy is devastating, with consequences of death. Research points to miscalculation of gusset plate width as the reason the bridge collapsed.

Gusset plates are thick sheets of steel that provide strength at the intersection of beams. Apparently, the gusset plates used on the I-35W Bridge were not thick enough to support the added weight of construction vehicles and concrete that would come with time and use. It is essential for engineers to use exact calculations and mathematical formulas when building bridges. The physical universe only accepts true and accurate work; otherwise, disaster ensues. In medicine as well as construction, precision is necessary. Diabetics suffer physically and may die with a miscalculation of insulin dose, for example. The Creator of the universe has chosen to have the physical world operate according to mathematical and physical laws; this situation reflects His unchanging, reliable disposition.

Supernatural God runs the natural world with serious precision. Proper functioning requires uncompromised accuracy. If God has made this true of the natural realm, how much more is it true of the supernatural realm; for, the supernatural is more real than the physical! God Himself is supernatural, and the One from Whom all reality flows. His spiritual working requires exactitude to the same or greater degree than His tangible working. Certainly, the consequences of spiritual errors are infinitely graver than even the catastrophe of inaccuracy in the physical world. Injury and death are horrors, for sure; but the calamity of a lost soul in eternity trumps all earthly afflictions.

And so, with an urgent heart, the Apostle Paul calls to us in Philippians 1:9 (NASB), “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment.” Do you see the connection here between love and knowledge? To Paul – and to God – love is not a feeling. Love grows in real knowledge. The building of a spiritual life requires unequivocal accuracy. If we think bridge building requires right engineering processes, how much more does soul building require right spiritual processes?

Our relationship to God must be built on truth! We need to study His Word as an engineer studies math and science to ensure design and construction according to reality. Our spiritual lives must be built on right knowledge. This will require sacrifice of time and effort. The risk is not physical injury or death, but spiritual injury and eternal death. The stakes are high, and it is time for Christians to take seriously the call for our love to abound in real knowledge and all discernment.

The church of Jesus Christ seems to be missing the call to methodical, intentional, and precise training in spiritual knowledge. Dean (2010) comments on the problems presented in the National Study of Youth and Religion,

    We “teach” young people baseball, but we “expose” them to faith. We provide coaching and opportunities for youth to develop and improve their pitches and SAT scores, but we blithely assume that religious identity will happen by osmosis, emerging “when youth are ready” (a confidence we generally lack when it comes to, say, algebra). (15)

We would not allow our loved ones to drive over bridges that we knew were designed without proper knowledge of or regard for mathematical principles. We trust that bridges are designed by professionals who have invested much time and effort into a solid education in the field of engineering. Here are some pivotal questions: Are we allowing our loved ones to drive over spiritual bridges designed and built on patchwork theology? Are we truly investing in a serious understanding of God as revealed in His Word? How much time do we spend intentionally growing in real knowledge? Do our children know sports better than the revelation of God Almighty? Do we require they know algebra well, but settle for a haphazard understanding of the things of God?

Jesus once said to an earnest inquirer named Nicodemus, “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” (John 3:12, NASB) In other words, the earthly points to the heavenly, which is far deeper and greater. Think bridges – fallen bridges. What is God saying to us through the physical, mathematical knowledge required for safety? He is telling us to get serious about biblical knowledge. Fallen souls are far more costly than fallen bridges.

Reference: Dean, K. C. (2010) Almost Christian: What the Faith of our Teenagers Is Telling the American Church. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

The Cup and this Pitiful Creature

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After sharing the Passover meal, Jesus instituted with His disciples the Lord’s Supper. Toward the end of that event – after sharing the cup – Jesus proclaimed, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29, ESV). The following poem is based on that profound and comforting statement of Jesus Christ.

Your promise to them
Is Your promise to me;
We will dine together
When my sorrow does flee.

Though burdened so greatly
With the task just ahead,
You demonstrated by simple cup
I have nothing to dread.

The fruit of the vine
You drank on that day
Is a weighty reminder –
God gets His way.

For though you would leave
Soon after the cup,
You said you’d come back
As I keep looking up.

And Your loving heart realized
What I needed to know:
This special communion
Would not end, but grow.

So as you started down
Your dark road to Calvary,
You spoke words I treasure
In the deepest part of me:

“I won’t drink again
Of this fruit of the vine
Until the day we sup together
And your hand is in mine.”

Jesus, how I love you
For saving the purest wine
For the day without suffering
When together we dine.

In the Father’s kingdom
So exceeding mortal comprehension,
We will talk and share together
When of sin there is no mention.

Surely we will have joy and life
And eating and friendship beyond the veil,
For your promises are true
And your plan can never fail.

The banquet of the Messiah;
How I long for that day!
When I will get to hug you
For the life you gave away.

Why are you waiting
To drink again the cup with me?
Oh, how special to you, Jesus,
This pitiful creature must be!

Leaving Space

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“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” – Leviticus 19:9-10 (ESV)

Leave a margin. Do not hold on with a tight fist to every last bit of resource. Strive to give room for the needs of others. Do not depend on every last minute of time or ounce of strength just to make it through the day. God would have us live in such a way that others can glean from the surplus of our lives.

Even in the Old Testament book of Leviticus, we see clearly the heart of God. The biblical principle behind this command given to an agricultural people 3,500 years ago is timeless. The Lord made clear that when His people harvested their own crops, they were to leave the edges or the corners for the poor and the sojourners. In other words, His people should insure that a margin of their intake was available to those who needed food due to poverty or lack of residency. One implication is clear: the Israelite family should be able to live on the main portion of the harvest, without having to cling to the edges of it.

Similarly, our God’s desire is that we thrive beneath our means if possible – on less than we need financially, physically, emotionally, and in regards to time. When we are able to function on just a portion of the harvest, we are joyfully able to contribute to the well-being of others. In all societies, poor people and sojourners will exist; God wants His people to be part of the provision for them. In the same way, people deficient in hope and those wandering in emotional deserts exist with us always. God’s will is that His people are living in such a way as that we can give to them.

The question becomes, “Have I stripped my vineyard bare?” Is there currently no room in my life to give to the spiritual, emotional, or physical needs of others? Have I given in to the cultural lie that grabbing everything I possibly can for myself is a critical element in the pursuit of “happiness”? Perhaps we do not need to be involved in every activity or have all the latest gadgets. Perhaps we should leave grapes in our vineyard for others. Do I have strength to concentrate and hear the hurts of others? Do I have the emotional resources to stretch beyond my own needs? Do I have money with which to bless someone for whom a blessing will demonstrate the love of Christ?

Crystal clear is the reason behind God’s directive of margin: “I am the LORD your God.” Let us make absolutely sure we understand this precept – God is the only reason I have anything. Providing a portion of my crop for others reminds me that whatever I possess comes from God through grace. The book of Exodus precedes Leviticus, and God proclaimed in Exodus 6:8 (ESV), “I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.” Here we realize that our possessions are really God’s possessions, granted to us by an all-powerful God of grace. When I share of my joy, my physical presence, my wisdom, or my money, I am only sharing what ultimately belongs to God. He kindly allows us to manage these belongings for the glory of His name and the growth of His kingdom. When I have “room to give,” God is exalted and I am blessed because I am following His design for life.

Inherent also in God’s directive for margin is the recognition – even under the Old Testament law – that people will be needy in a world currently operating in anticipation of God’s future redemption of all things. This cosmos simply is not right. At times, we will harvest a crop, and at times we will need someone’s crop shared with us. Our loving God understands this, and He is not ashamed to require His people to be givers; for that is what He is! God is the greatest Giver! When we are called to create a buffer of resources, time, and energy for others; we ought to recall the sacrifice of God. Owing to no one – and answering to not a soul – God gave His own Son for our redemption and future inheritance of all the unimaginable wonder of Heaven.

Wonderfully, we recall that Ruth, the great-grandmother of King David and ancestor of Jesus Christ, was a woman who benefitted from the margin of a good man named Boaz (Ruth 2:2-3). Imagine, Ruth is in the lineage of Jesus, and she found provision because of the righteous perimeters of another person.

God asks us to leave space so that we may help others. Since both the core and the margin of all we have come from Him, freely giving the edges makes sense.

Riding the Updraft

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As I stepped out of my car and onto my driveway, I looked up into the clear, blue sky and spotted a beautiful, large bird of prey. This hawk was sailing in the expanse above, in that familiar circular motion. Without flapping its large wings at all, the bird floated in a large circle a few times. Soon, the hawk gracefully made its way to yet another area of spherical pattern; it did so seamlessly. One second the creature sailed in one circle, and the next second it veered slightly to begin rotating around the next pattern. At no point in the transfer did the bird ever beat its wings. Amazingly, I watched as the creature continued in this endeavor for more than five minutes, riding from one circle to another, until the bird was on the other side of the sky and nearly out of sight. Not once did it flap its wings!

“How graceful,” I thought. As a bird lover, I recognized what was happening. The hawk was engaged in thermal soaring. This flight technique depends on thermal updrafts, which are defined well by Perrins and Elphick (2003), “As the ground warms up in the morning sun, more energy is absorbed by some features than others. This causes the air locally to heat up, forming an invisible, rising bubble. As it rises, more air is sucked in and heats up, and it too rises” (p. 18). The bird I observed that day was literally soaring from updraft to updraft. The hawk migrated by gliding from warm air bubble to warm air bubble – and nearly effortlessly. I cannot even estimate the area it covered without ever flapping its large wings.

This hawk is a bird of prey, as is the eagle. These birds of prey – with long, broad wings – are often known for thermal soaring, an efficient way to travel. As I watched that winged creature in the sky at my home, God struck my heart with thoughts of security. He reminded me of Isaiah 40:31 (NIV), “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” Why did God mention the eagle here? Perhaps because God means for us to realize we need not frantically flap our own wings as smaller birds do!

The thermal updraft on which we are to securely glide is the warm strength of the Holy Spirit. His power and love are what fills our hearts and provides our way to ride from experience to experience in this life. We need not rapidly or desperately beat our wings to make things happen; our Lord carries us by His own presence. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, fully God. He remains with us here on this earth to guide, comfort, and provide. No matter what “circle” we transition to, it is the Holy Spirit who carries us. Our responsibility is to stay close to Him, listening to Him as He shows us where to glide next. We can take time to hear Him and fellowship with Him, because our energy is not wasted in frenzied movement. We are still, and we know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). We spread our wings and ride on God’s strength, and we wait for the day the sphere to which we transfer will be on the updraft to our heavenly home. He will take us there, too.

Reference: Christopher M. Perrins & Jonathan Elphick. The Complete Encyclopedia of Birds and Bird Migration. (Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books)

God of the Means and the Extremes

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Did you realize that the God who created the earth also created the ends of the earth? Isaiah 40:28 (NASB) says, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.”

If you are just an “average” person in “average” circumstances of life, God’s presence and sovereignty at and over the extremes may not matter much to you. But if, like me, you find yourself at least at times needing God in the extreme and difficult places, His identification as the “Creator of the ends of the earth” bears comforting significance.

God understands the extremes of existence. He is not shocked by problems and sins of all depth and descriptions. No remote or hopeless case exists as far as God is concerned. He fashioned with His own hands not only the earth, but the ends of the earth. The Hebrew root for “ends” means extremity or end. It comes from another word which includes the notion of the border, the outskirts, or the margin. Do you ever feel you are on the margin of the page, instead of inside the story? No fears! God is present even there, for no location exists – physically or emotionally – where the Creator is not the moment-by-moment Sustainer. He is there at the margin.

When I think of the Ark of the Covenant*, that powerful image of the work of Jesus Christ to blot out the power of sin in our lives, I have to think of our God of the extremes. The same Hebrew word used in the aforementioned Isaiah phrase is the term used in Exodus 25:18 (NASB, emphasis mine), “You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat.” God intended the image of these magnificent, angelic creatures to loom over the mercy seat from the very edges. God does not tell us the reason, but I wonder if He is beautifully picturing for our simple minds the fact of His merciful covering from one end or extreme of existence to the other. There is no place His mercy cannot go, and even the angels are privy to this compassion and long to see all God does for pitiful humans.

Psalm 139:7-8 (NASB) affirms that God is with us at the highest height (Heaven) and the lowest depth (Sheol or the nether world). Surely, these positions are the extremes. As if to solidify the miracle of His inexhaustible, merciful presence, the Psalmist adds in verse nine, “If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me.” I have never plunged the depths of the sea, but I know it can be very dark, cold, and strange in that world, with odd creatures all about. Have you ever been in a dark and cold place, spiritually and emotionally speaking? God is not only in average situations with average people (if any truly exist!); He is in the depths.

Mathematically speaking, a mean is an average. When I take a list of numbers, add them together, and divide by the total number of numbers, I derive an average (or a mean). So, for example, the average of 0, 5, 10, 50, and 10,000 is 2,013. This seems strange, because 2,013 does not reflect well the extreme numbers of zero and ten thousand. Averages – or means – are funny things. Often, in mathematics, they give us little information. Therefore, statisticians prefer more complicated calculations such as variances and standard deviations. The point, however, is simple; average is sometimes an elusive concept and does not always represent the extremes. Do not think it strange if you do not feel average; rather thank the God of the extremes! He is with you at “0” and at “10,000”!

God accounted for the extremities in His plan for the world. I Peter 1:20 (NIV) says of Jesus, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” Jesus agreed to come to this world and die for our sins before He ever laid the foundation of this universe (see also Revelation 13:8). The Creator of the ends of the earth knew He was coming because He “so loved the world” (John 3:16, NIV). Our God saw all the world’s best and worst. He looked down through the annals of time and recognized all the extremes of sin and difficulty, and He still came! Why? Peter boldly declares, “for your sake.”

All of us who have feared that the extremities of our life are too “out of bounds” for God’s help need to pray today and call on the Creator of the ends of the earth.

* For more understanding of the Ark of the Covenant, please visit: www.hopeandpassion.org/?p=759/

Equipped

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Does God give us what we need to fulfill our calling? Most Christians answer, “Yes.” However, would you like a very precise passage of Scripture to build your godly confidence? Oddly enough, we find the unique and inspiring verses in the Old Testament book of Exodus. The setting is God’s directive to the Israelites to build the tabernacle and make all its furniture. Recall the serious nature and glory of this task. Each craftsman and builder is charged with the construction of God’s dwelling place! Exodus 36:1-2 (ESV) says, “Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded. And Moses called Bazalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.”

May I promptly call to your attention two phrases? The first is “in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence,” and the second is “in whose mind the LORD put skill.” Way back in the Old Testament era – more than 3,500 years ago – we see God interacting directly with the minds of men to equip them for the specific task at hand. I simply marvel at the fact that the Creator of this universe cares enough for His servants to touch our minds with His Spirit in order that we may work skillfully and intelligently. When it comes to the work of your hands and – simultaneously – the work of your mind, never allow the enemy to steal from you confidence that is found in your relationship with God. Similarly, never allow the enemy to tempt you toward the sin of conceit, believing your skill comes from anywhere or anyone other than God.

On a broad level, God intended humans to harness the creation He made in order to fill and subdue the earth (Genesis 1:28). He, of course, meant for this to happen in accordance with His will as people walked in right relationship with Him. Though sin has complicated things, God’s will continues to prevail. In this day of grace, the Lord allows people to carry on in the moment-by-moment work of interacting with and taking dominion over creation. Though some human beings refuse even to acknowledge their Creator, still God permits them to function, providing their minds and their lives to them.

As we examine Exodus 36:1-2 again, we notice that true success is found as God’s people determine to “work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded” (verse 1). The tabernacle was a most elaborate and beautiful edifice. A brief study of it provokes thoughts of color, detail, majesty, and care. God ordained the details of the construction, as this work would be the location for the heart of worship. The skilled men and women who labored at the task committed to follow God’s plan down to the minutest of details.

Additionally, we realize that each of God’s people worked precisely because his “heart stirred him up to come to do the work” (Exodus 36:2, ESV). In other words, the Lord is pleased to provide the intelligence and skill necessary for our labor as we rejoice deep inside to serve Him. The stirring of the human heart to work for God is a treasured concept. How overjoyed the Lord must be to see a heart that wants to serve and to equip that same heart, mind, and body with all things necessary to go forward.

God is your Maker. No matter your IQ or socioeconomic status, He can give to you the skill and intelligence necessary to do what He has called you to do. The keys are obedience and a willing heart. We see obedience reiterated in II Timothy 3:17 (ESV), where Paul instructs us to immerse ourselves in the Scripture so that we may be “competent [and] equipped for every good work.” Whereas God commanded specifics in the building of His tabernacle in the aforementioned part of the book of Exodus, His commands for all of life are found throughout the Bible. Every word of it is critical for faith and obedience. We observe a willing heart emphasized at the close of God’s revelation: “whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17, NIV).

My friends, your equipping by your Creator is both free and nearly unbelievable. His grace gives you all you need to do all He asks, and His own Spirit touches your mind and your hands. Go to it!

God of the Lilies

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As a person fascinated by nature, I love that the Father tells us to “lift up [our] eyes on high and see who has created these stars” (Isaiah 40:26, NASB); and the Son tells us, “Observe how the lilies of the field grow” (Matthew 6:28). Clearly, our Creator uses His creation to teach us things about Himself. Romans 1:20 assures us that God is intimating His eternality and divinity through the created order. In other words, the astounding and detailed workings of this world on both a microscopic and telescopic level point to a being who is both infinitely greater than me ontologically speaking and whose length of existence I cannot fathom.

Yet, let us go back to the lilies. Jesus spoke to His followers and said, “Why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these” (Matthew 26:28-29). Jesus asks us to observe a component of nature – flowers – in order to understand a deeper truth. Jesus will employ the gladiolus or the iris to shake our world on a spiritual level, so that we come to grips with reality as it truly is – defined by the God of Genesis.

Christ directs us to a specific part of creation in order to affect us in the soul. While Psalm 19:1-4 assures us that the glory of creation speaks to all humans at some level about God’s qualities, Psalm 19:7-9 declares that it is the direct Word of God that can restore a soul and give a heart reason to rejoice. Only a radical fear of the Lord is pure, lasts forever, and can make a man or woman fit for everlasting existence. So we ought to heed Jesus’ admonition to observe the lily and digest the eternal truth of His verbal instruction.

Jesus tells us that the flower does not toil or spin in order to be made so beautiful. The flower simply exists as God called it to exist. Plants do not have a spirit inside with which to rebel against their Maker, and so they simply do as He directs. In being what God called them to be, the flowers find themselves clothed spectacularly. Who of us has not marveled at the living color, majesty, and intricacy of a wild flower? Jesus reminds us that no human – not even the wildly rich and powerful King Solomon – could ever adorn himself or herself in such a genuine and fitting way. We could attempt to use every monetary and material resource available – wasting time and energy – and still we could not look as splendid as a simple flower clothed by its Creator.

In fact, Jesus goes on to tell us that it is the Gentiles (pagans) who eagerly seek clothing and food (Matthew 6:32). The root word for the pagan search implies “to crave, demand, or clamor for.” In other words, the godless go about loudly, continuously, and vehemently seeking to fulfill material needs. However, they seem never to actually be fulfilled. It reminds me of Philippians 3:19, where the enemies of Jesus are described as having their god be their stomach. No sooner is their desire satisfied, than they are empty again and need more.

Are we this way? Do we spend much time and effort trying to “look good”? Do we use too much of our resources trying to accumulate the “right” clothes or the “right” look? How much of our being is absorbed in outward appearances? How much of our thoughts? How much of our disappointment stems from this kind of preoccupation?

Jesus contrasts the clamoring of the Gentiles to the trust of God’s children. Christ says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (Matthew 6:32). Our Father is heavenly; He stands above and beyond this universe and can make things happen for us on an entirely different level! If we honestly “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be added to [us]” (Matthew 6:33).

The key is that my heart’s desire for God’s kingdom must be at the forefront, and then the supply of the needs of life will automatically follow. Clothing, food, and external appearances are secondary to what is eternal and right – the kingdom of God. He actually reigns supreme! His kingdom has no end! If I make His rule my aim, I have no justified anxieties. If I make His will my goal, I have purpose to live that is grounded in reality and eternality.

All human toiling and wealth cannot do for a person what God can do. He clothes the grass of the field in beauty 24/7. He can provide not only for the physical needs of His own people, but He can supernaturally grant an inner beauty that shines forth on the darkest of days. Money can buy designer clothes and manicures, but only God can restore a soul and fill it with the hope of His kingdom. Where His righteousness prevails, all things necessary to live are granted as a by-product. Do you need a beautiful smile today? Seek His kingdom.