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The Exo-Eso Effect
The concept of an inverse relationship is rather easy to understand: as one quantity increases, the other decreases. For example, as the price of a product increases, the quantity sold decreases. This simple mathematical relationship is brought to light in a wonderful piece of Scripture.
Do you realize that we are to avoid discouragement by recognizing a spiritual, inverse relationship? The apostle Paul tells us not to lose heart because “our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (II Corinthians 4:16, NASB) That’s right, for every moment that our physical bodies are decaying, our inner spirit is being renewed and becoming more like Jesus!
I like to call this concept the “Exo-Eso Effect.” The Greek root behind “outer man” is exo and the Greek root behind “inner man” is eso. What a hopeful, invigorating thought to know that as the outer shell of me wears away because of age and disease and hardship, the inner me is gaining new strength.
When Paul speaks of the outer man decaying, he is referring to the ruination of the body’s vigor and strength; he is targeting the second law of thermodynamics as it applies to the wearing down of our physical bodies with age and affliction. None of us can avoid this process in this life, but we have proof positive that our condition will change in the next life. Residing within this body is a spirit that is growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our spirit’s growth and renewal day by day reminds us that our bodies that are in process of dying will one day suddenly change too.
The Exo-Eso Effect is so plain to us, the people of God. Our bodies become tired, they ache, and they wear down. But, even as they do, we grow closer and closer to God. In fact, sometimes it is because we suffer tribulation in this physical body that we grow closer to God and are made more like Jesus! The inverse relationship is strong.
Paul went on to say that “momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” (II Corinthians 4:17, NASB) There it is again – the mysterious, inverse workings. My affliction is momentary and light. The glory produced is eternal and weighty! Hold onto that truth for dear life. We suffer now, and it can seem so heavy. However, compared to the eternal glory we shall enjoy, our affliction is nearly weightless. God promises that the good He is achieving through our commitment to Him is the heaviest of matters and lasts forever – literally. We simply cannot imagine how the trial of now could be so small compared to the glory of later, but that is because we have not experienced the vastness of eternity and perfection. We have to trust the One who holds eternity and perfection in the palm of His hand.
As we trust Him, we observe the Exo-Eso Effect in daily operation. My outer self is going downhill, but my inner self is growing in strength. This is not a problem for me, but an encouragement. My relationship with God through Jesus Christ is my hope. It is okay for this body to wear down and die, as long as my heart loves Jesus more and more. “Why,” you ask? Because we know that “He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus.” (II Corinthians 4:14, NASB) In other words, even when the outer self finally does succumb to physical death, the inner relationship to the living God will overcome. The eso will overtake the exo on that glorious day when “death is swallowed up in victory.” (I Corinthians 15:54, NASB)
For now, the Exo-Eso Effect is the outer self fading and the inner self growing. One day, the Exo-Eso Effect will culminate in a “new exo” that never wears away, never gets sick, and never grows tired. I’ll take that hope while I make sure my “eso” is growing in Jesus.
“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” – II Corinthians 4:16-17
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How Much Is Enough?
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)
In a culture of greed and reckless spending, each one of us must ask, “How much is enough?” A resounding answer comes directly from God’s own Word, “Whatever you have right now is enough.”
That’s right. Whatever we have at the moment shall be enough for us. Our hearts shall be at rest in this instant. Another car, a larger home, a stylish new outfit, one more of the latest electronic gadgets, a larger television screen, more expensive furniture – none of these things should increase our fulfillment one bit. The blessings in our possession at this moment should be enough to keep us content.
Why? How can we actually be satisfied, before we obtain something just a little better than what we have right now? This is how. This is why. God is with us and He will not walk away.
One way to know if I am in obedience to the first and greatest commandment as stated by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-38, is to ask myself if I am contented right now. Is there a joy in my heart and deepest satisfaction in my soul even though I do not currently possess things I might like to possess? Or is my mind often drifting to thoughts of what I could have? My mind should be focused on my Savior because He fills my heart so fully that joy overflows no matter the status of my list of material possessions.
God has commanded us to keep our character free from the love of money. He goes on to demand that we be content with what we have. But God does not ask this difficult thing of His people without informing us of the way to accomplish it. He says we ought to be satisfied with what we have because He will never leave us or forsake us.
As one great hymn proclaims, God is the fountain of all blessing. If I have God, I have everything that is possible for a human being to have. The One who made everything and owns everything is my Lord. He alone brings the joy that properly accompanies any blessing He gives. Even the wing of a butterfly or the petal of a flower or a beam of the sunlight can stir my heart with unspeakable joy and mystery. Just the bite of an apple or a gulp of cold water brings amazing satisfaction. The smile of a child or the hug of a friend is an experience never to be traded. I find I do not need more; I need Jesus to make what I have more than I could ever imagine.
Since God promises to never abandon me, I know that He will provide for me what is necessary in the next moment, next day, next year, or next decade. He is the Source of all existence, and He is the one responsible for His own children. If I am solely responsible to provide for myself, I know my devices and best efforts can fail; and – even if they don’t – someday I will finally fail when this body gives out in death. But, if I trust my God, He can bring to pass anything in any instant while I traverse this world. And, when I go to the next world, my eternal God will provide everything there!
We need not be worried about what we do not have. In fact, we are commanded by God to protect our hearts from the love of money and discontentment. We are admonished, rather, to focus on God’s presence with us. Let us make a commitment to refuse to sin against our God by a discontented, greedy heart. Let us make a commitment to focus on Him and His faithfulness. For, He is the Provider.
Tracing God’s Heart through Geography and History: The Mount of Olives
Today in the Middle East, just to the right of Jerusalem, stands the Mount of Olives. This mountain is separated from the great city by a narrow area called the Kidron Valley. The Mount of Olives is approximately one mile long and rises to 2,680 feet above sea level. This mountain tells us much about the heart of God. For, God is the God of geography and history. Too many people today think the true God is “spiritual only,” but He is God over every realm! He is Lord over geography because He made this terrestrial ball and the entire universe (Psalm 121:2), and He is Lord over history because He stands outside of time as the “Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13).
What does this actual, geographical location reveal to us about the heart of God? Let’s look at three things:
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1) In Luke 21:37, we learn that Jesus would actually rest on the Mount of Olives following long days of teaching disciples. Our Savior would close His eyes and sleep on the mount at night. This amazes me, because Matthew 26:38 reveals that at this same place – the Mount of Olives – Jesus was nearly overwhelmed by the weight of the sacrifice He would make for the sins of the world. You see, the Garden of Gethsemane – where Jesus prayed right before His arrest and crucifixion – lies on the western slope of the Mount of Olives. Our Savior commenced His unimaginable suffering at the very place He rested so many other days before. I am ashamed to say that there have been times I can hardly sleep at night if I know I have an impending difficult time ahead; yet, Jesus rested in the very place He knew He would carry the weight of human sin. Jesus Christ could rest because He knew that His plan would prevail in the end, no matter how dark the time at hand.
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The Mount of Olives reminds us that we can rest in the midst of difficult circumstances and while facing an unknown future because God is in control.
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2) The words of Acts 1:9-12 tell us that Jesus Christ left this earth from the Mount of Olives. After instructing the disciples that they should concentrate on spending their lives as a testimony to God by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, Jesus was taken up into a cloud and was drawn out of sight. The disciples no doubt stood dumbfounded. They had finally wrapped their minds around His divinity because He had risen from the dead just as the Scripture promised, and He had walked on the earth for forty days following His resurrection. Now, after those seemingly short forty days, He was leaving! Their mouths probably hung open as they watched Him go. Perhaps they were thinking, “Why is He leaving us after rising from the dead?” and “Why is He not fixing this world system right now; why is He allowing the Romans to continue in their plot?” and “When will we see Him again?” As those disciples stood there, two angels informed them that “this Jesus” will come back the same way He left.
I love it! “This Jesus”! Not another Jesus, but the very same One who walked with them, hugged them, ate with them, was nailed to a cross for them, resurrected for them, walked with them again in His new, glorified body; and ate fish with them in His new, glorified body – this Jesus would return to this earth! The Jesus that was put in the tomb is the Jesus that came out of the tomb and is the Jesus who will return on day. Similarly, the same me that dies physically is the same me that will rise physically and enjoy what Jesus prepares one day. Because of Him, we live too!
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The Mount of Olives reminds us that a very real Jesus is coming back to this earth to make a home of righteousness for us to enjoy with Him in very real, glorified bodies.
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3) The prophet Zechariah declares in Zechariah 14:4 that one future day the feet of Jesus will stand again on the Mount of Olives. At some point before the second coming of Christ, great armies will go to battle against Jerusalem. The city will be captured, and the end of Jerusalem and its inhabitants will seem inevitable. But, just when things seem hopeless – and not before – Jesus will descend on that mount. His feet will cause the Mount of Olives to split in half, producing a valley between the newly formed northern and southern halves of the mountain. That valley will be the way of escape for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Zechariah goes on to explain that the inauguration of the millennial reign of Christ will mean the people of Jerusalem will dwell securely, with no more curse (Zechariah 14:11).
Just as God provided a way of escape for His people when they were caught between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptians, so He will provide a way of escape when the Antichrist and all the godless armies seek to destroy God’s remnant of people. Nothing stops God’s plan. In a real and tangible way, Jesus will once again be seen on the Mount of Olives.
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The Mount of Olives reminds us that Jesus is in charge of this world and all of history. He will provide the way of escape for His people and usher in the beginning of His, perfect kingdom.
Allow the God of all history and geography to strengthen your heart with the truths about one, particular location in the Middle East. The Mount of Olives is very important to Jesus, and it should be very important to us, too.
Jesus Can’t Be Your Example Until He’s Your Savior
Recently I perused some children’s books that had been labeled as “Christian.” While reviewing these works, I was reminded of how subtly the truth can be undermined.
One of the children’s books was a survey of major stories of the Bible. Each two-page summary of a Biblical event was accompanied by colorful drawings and a quick prayer to summarize the heart of the message. Most unfortunately, the author missed the main point of many of the Biblical accounts.
As I read through the pages dealing with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, I was gravely disappointed to realize that the book did not refer to Jesus’ work as our Savior. It recommended that children look to Jesus as an example about how to forgive others and how to reach out to others, but it did not mention the fact that Jesus died on the Cross for our sins. In fact – to the best of my examination – the book never mentioned the word “sin.”
How tragic. What would be even more catastrophic is if adults reading the book did not realize that sin was not mentioned. This inconspicuous removal of anything related to the sinful nature of humans and our need for redemption is eternally harmful.
The message the powers of darkness would like us to believe is that we can simply follow the example of Christ and other “holy” people. The lie is that Jesus is only the role model that all of us should employ when making decisions. To naturalists, He is mistakenly a fully self-actualized human, to new age believers He is wrongly assumed to be a person genuinely in touch with His divinity and having reached the higher plane; but – in truth – He is God come to earth in flesh to save humans from sin.
Weary people – who are bound by sin, and burdened by the wrong thoughts and behaviors that we cannot escape on our own – need a Savior! We do not require a fine example – or even a perfect example – of how to live; we need a God who can enable us to live. Once the Savior delivers us from our sin nature, then – and only then – can we begin to live rightly.
The apostle Paul said it wonderfully in I Timothy 1:15 (NIV), “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.” This, my friends, is why Jesus came. He came to endure the wrath of God for our sins that we might be free from the sin curse.
It may not be fashionable in today’s culture to seemingly downgrade the human condition this way, but it is certainly the truth. And every person who feels the weight of sin knows another example of goodness is not what they need.
Jesus simply cannot be my example until He is my Savior! To be bound by sin is to be spiritually dead. Dead people cannot follow examples. Dead people need life. God – through Jesus – gives dead people life. After He does, then these people can do right.
The crux of the matter is spelled out simply in Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV), “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.”
My prayer is that weary sinners find new life in Jesus as the Savior. I also pray that God will cause us to see where truth is lacking, or only half-proclaimed. People’s lives depend on it. God, please help us.
With a Single Breath
A pesky cold, a serious disease, an overheated engine, a family crisis, a preparation oversight, someone else’s mistake, my own failure, a selfish plot, a jealous scheme, even death – all of these are just some of the things that can thwart the best of human plans. In an instant, the best of intentions can be brought to nothing.
How diametrically different are the eternal plans of God Almighty! Not one iota of a single plan of God can ever be stopped. Not one. For God, there are no unexpected illnesses, no mechanical failures, no tragedies, no storms, no lack of preparation, no episodes of exhaustion, no encounters with death, and no human sins that could ever challenge His power. With a single breath, He can blow any circumstance in the direction that fulfills His plan.
Amazingly, the man we most often identify as one who suffered the widest range of human tragedy, Job, said of His Lord, “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2, NASB)
For those of us who posit the existence of the God of the Bible, we must also acknowledge His ability to accomplish exactly what He wills; for the God of the Bible is all-powerful, present everywhere, and all-knowing. As the Creator, He stands infinitely far above His creation. Commanding natural things do His bidding without question, not even willful, human rebellion against Him ever stood a chance; for, God Himself came down to earth and suffered His own wrath as the cure for sin.
God can do all things. Hear those words, “God can do all things.” He can take every single moment of time – and every single circumstance of the combined lives of all people – and command these moments and these circumstances to stand at attention and accomplish His ultimate design.
So, let them come. Let the surprising, disappointing, maddening, ridiculous, heartbreaking, and gravely annoying circumstances of life come. No plan of God’s will be thwarted.
My responsibility is to be sure – unmistakably sure – that my plans are wrapped in the plans of God. “Lord, let me think your thoughts, abide by your Word, have your heart, renounce all pride, and keep my eyes fixed on You; for anything I plan outside of You will be stopped. But, Your plans go on into eternity completely unscathed. Amen.”
The Scent of Autumn
Sitting in my backyard on a gorgeous autumn afternoon, I reached down and picked up a handful of leaves from the ground. As the brown and yellow leaves crackled in my hands, I remembered days of my childhood. I would rake a pile of autumn leaves and carve out a hole in the center. I would then sit there, delightfully surrounded by the leaves as I read book after book. Days seemed simple then, and my memory of reading in the leaves is amazingly vivid. As I lay in the pile of leaves consuming my books, my heart would leap as my imagination ran wild with all the possibilities of life.
Now a grown adult, I was tempted to smell the crackling autumn leaves in my hand. Knowing that our sense of smell is greatly related to memory, I took time to hold those leaves close to my face and breathe deeply. Ah . . . the comfort of childhood days came rushing back.
What amazed me was the constancy of the smell of the autumn leaves. Though my childhood reading in the fallen leaves occurred decades earlier, the scent of those leaves is exactly the same. I know not much of the biology and chemistry behind dying leaves, but I know this: they smell the same today as they did then.
Much else has changed in the decades between my experiences, but the scent of autumn is constant. God promised in Genesis 8:22 (NASB), “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
The changing of seasons and all the accompanying details continue on unhindered because God is a God of constancy.
He is a Savior on whom we can fully rely. The God who said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation, plants, and trees” is a God we can trust. His way of cycling the leaves through life and death – and all the reactions producing the smell of autumn – will continue on as long as the earth endures.
And when earth no longer does endure – when this broken planet has to flee from the presence of a righteous God (Revelation 20:11) – our Savior will still be reliable. He is the one constant in all of life. He will re-make this earth into a home of righteousness for the redeemed.
As the earth and its current regularity remind us of God’s constancy, so the return of Jesus and His re-making of this old earth remind us that only God is unchanging. Though the scent of autumn goes on and on in this life, the God who created autumn will outlast this world.
He alone is the One on whom we can depend to usher in the next world, and carry us there.
This is (Not?) Too Much for Me
I know the tribulation of life can feel this way, but – for the Christian – it cannot accurately be said that a trial is simply “too much for me.” Oh, I have surely felt at my literal wit’s end in deep places of despair and struggle, but the Word of God stands true forever. Paul said triumphantly in I Corinthians 10:13 (NASB), “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
Either we believe in the God of the Bible or we do not. As a Christian who trusts God for my salvation, I must certainly also trust Him for my survival through difficulty. How can I claim the miracle of Him saving me from the wrath my sin deserves, but I cannot also believe the miracle that He provides my way to escape the temptation to sin or to give up?
I Corinthians 10:13 outlines five important facts to remember:
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1) Every trial we undergo is common to the human race. Despite our tendency to think we are the only ones who have ever felt the way we do, God ensures that our trials are not out of the realm of human experience or toleration.
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2) God is faithful even though we are not. Too often we view God the way we view ourselves or other people. We tend to think that God will act with us the way we might act with others. We imagine that He could possibly give up on His own people. Yet, God is transcendent – completely different than us. He has promised to remain faithful to those who desire Him. He promises that – despite our unfaithfulness – He will never let us down in the midst of greatest difficulty. No matter the trial, He will stay with us to provide a way to obedience and victory.
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3) God will not give to us more than we can endure. The God who created our physical bodies and our emotional, mental, and spiritual make-up certainly ascertains and measures precisely the trials we go through. He knows far better than we do just exactly what we can handle.
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4) God always provides a way of escape. In other words, God will surely give to us what we need to flee the temptation to disobey and cave to Satan’s tactics. God does this by making clear to us a route of escape. Remember the Israelites stuck between the approaching Egyptian chariots and the waters of the Red Sea? God made a route of escape through the sea. God did it. The Israelites simply followed the way God provided. So it is in our current trial. God provides the way for us to make it through, though our minds may see only trouble behind and before.
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5) God’s plan is that we endure, not be destroyed. I know it feels as though this will be the end of you, but that is not God’s plan. He provides a way of escape that you may be able to endure. He wants you to press forward in your walk with Him, and finally – one blessed day – make it to your heavenly home.
Yes, our hearts break under the weight of anguish and difficulties of many kinds. However, let’s take God at His Word. Let’s memorize and ponder and live out the truth of I Corinthians 10:13. Then we can say, “This is not too much for me, for my God is faithful.”
Magnanimous Mercy
One of the saddest sentences in the Bible is this one: “Then all the disciples left Him and fled.” (Matthew 26:56b, NASB) Wow. Just as Jesus was being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, His closest friends and followers abandoned Him.
Jesus had faithfully kept His word for three earthly years, serving alongside His disciples. Now, at this time of deepest despair – right when Jesus was about to begin this period of unimaginable suffering – His followers walk away. Shame on them! Should not they have realized what was happening? Should not they have understood that Jesus had predicted this event and its outcome? Should not they have stood by Him because of their love for Him? Should not their own fear and selfishness have been set aside for the sake of the Savior?
No, I cannot say, “Shame on them.” For each one of them is me. I walk away at times. I am faithless more often than I like to count. I abandon my Lord at various times of difficulty. I forget His promises. I am much like each disciple; I often fail my Jesus, though I hate the thought.
Thank God that “He Himself knows our frame; he is mindful that we are but dust” (Psalm 103:14). For though the disciples fled right before His crucifixion, Jesus still died for them.
Jesus did not choose to go back on His promise of redemption even though His closest friends abandoned Him right as He was about to embark on the darkest moments of His earthly life. We can barely understand that kind of love. However, finite understanding does not negate this love’s reality.
Forty days after His Resurrection, Jesus looked at the same disciples who had forsaken Him and boldly proclaimed, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
A second “wow” is fitting here. The ones who had been faithless were now entrusted with the greatest task imaginable: being a witness to the world by the power of the living God inside of them.
God, may we, too – though we have failed you at times – be entrusted with Your calling. May we grasp the depths of your magnanimous mercy.
Those disciples went out more invigorated than ever because they experienced the profound forgiveness of Jesus. The ones who had fled the scene in fear now gave their own lives away for Jesus’ sake.
His mercy changes things – for the better.
Does Everything End with Us?
Genuine Christianity results in a radically countercultural worldview. There is no way around this fact. The heart of Biblical Christianity is “God first.” The heart of today’s culture is “me first.” One need not be a philosophy scholar to recognize the law of non-contradiction at play here. Either it is God first or me first, but it cannot be both at the same time.
I recently fell into the cultural trap when I found myself praying that God would reveal to me what His plan for my life was in reference to certain circumstances swirling about me. I basically kept begging God to show me what he has for me. Feeling stressed and at times sorry for myself, I wanted to know how God would help me. This seems innocent at the surface, but the truth hit me like a brick after many months of praying in this general way and not receiving peace. The Lord then showed me, “Shelli, it’s not about what I have for you, but what you have for me,” He seemed to say. I realized that God was impressing on me this thought, “My life is to be spent for His sake – no matter the cost. The answer is not in finding how God fits into my plan and my life, but how I fit into God’s plan!”
Stepping back from my own encounter with the false worldview of self-centeredness, I began to ponder what has happened in recent times. Most of the marketing to which we are constantly exposed urges us to buy what will help us feel better about ourselves and give us a sense of fulfillment of our self-determined needs. We are prodded to buy gadgets that can be customized to our lifestyle and our personality, and that can satisfy our every whim. As Christians, we need to discern the empty philosophy behind this strategy, and boldly determine to think as God will have us think – even if that means dismantling in our own lives the pull of the marketplace. I know it can be difficult to imagine that the general marketplace could be wrong, but remember that we do not use the world as our compass. God’s unchanging Word is our standard.
What is the source of the “me first” culture in which we find ourselves? I believe it can be traced back to a pantheistic view that followed the period of modernism. A New Age type of thinking recently invaded our culture. The crux of this pantheism is explained well by Dean Halverson (2003, 177),
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As the existence of a transcendent God who created all things is denied, which is what the New Age movement does, then the objectivity – the solidness, the otherness – of external reality is diminished. When that happens, then the role of the individual in shaping reality increases in importance.
Pantheism is a belief that everything is God. Divinity is one, and people are an emanation of that “oneness.” Pantheism dangerously says that God is not “other than us” or “outside of us,” but that He is the same as us. Since we are divine (of course, it takes much contemplative meditation and striving to realize this), we have much to do with reality. In fact, Pantheists believe that we – in essence – create our own reality.
A pantheistic framework flowed easily into the idea of hyperindividualism that is so prevalent today. Matthew Vos (2010/2011, 22) explains,
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Another social change influencing schools and students hails from the hyperindividualism saturating the Western world. Television advertisements promote products that can be created, customized, and ordered to reflect the “real you.” Cars, iPods, computers, and pizzas can all be fashioned to your image and to your liking.
The culture’s worldview shifted easily from a general paradigm of pantheism to the specific problem of hyperindividualism. We humans have a much too inflated sense of ourselves and our role in reality when compared to God and His role in reality.
People in general have largely come to believe that the stuff of life is supposed to reflect us and be what we want it to be. We have come to feel that everything ends with us. Actually, we are not the end of the line. We are designed to point to God; the purpose of our lives is to glorify Him. Though we are yet sinners, we were created in His image (Genesis 1:26). The point of living is to make God the most important thing. It follows that the stuff of life is to reflect Him, too. Romans 1:20 declares that the entire creation tells us things about God.
Do we see the difference in thinking presented to us? It is not that the stuff of life points to us, but that we point to God. In turn, we harness this creation and use all He has given to bring glory to Him.
I realize now that the purpose of my life is to be used by God for His renown. My purpose is not to conform my experiences and circumstances to fit what I deem as a good or comfortable life (hyperindividualism streaming from pantheistic thought). The culture can present to me whatever slick marketing messages it wants, but I know that the Maker of Reality is my Maker. I am not an emanation from God; I am a creation of God. My life will be spent bringing glory to Him for as long as He gives me the strength to do so in this world, and then He will supply the strength for me to do so forever in the world to come! May we quit trying to manipulate circumstances to “create the reality” we desire, and –instead – gratefully endure all things as God is exalted.
References:
Halverson, Dean. 2003. The Illustrated Guide to World Religions. Bloomington, MN: Bethany House Publishers.
Voss, Matthew (2010/2011). “Kids These Days” in a World of Change. Christian School Education, 14 (1), 21-23.
A Teacher’s Reflection
The job of a teacher is mysteriously all-pervasive. A real educator touches not only things academic, but things emotional, psychological, and spiritual. A teacher has a profound task as he demonstrates his life – not simply his brain – to all his students each and every day. Successful teachers are simply amazing, and their work’s difficulty is commensurate with its importance.
Perseverance is a hallmark attribute of the world’s best educators. A dedicated teacher considers the daily sacrifice required to give of oneself on so many levels, and the dedicated teacher decides the sacrifice is well worth it.
God told us in His Word that He is a “God of faithfulness” (Deuteronomy 32:4, NASB). I believe true teachers – in the right and Biblical sense of the word – beautifully reflect this critical attribute of God, His faithfulness.
To those among us who diligently plan lessons into the wee hours of the morning, who rise early to meet tired faces, who stay late to tutor the confused, who stand on their feet many hours in front of a myriad young minds, whose fingers are stained by day’s end with ink and dry erase markers, whose homes are filled with textbooks and notebooks, whose many evening hours are spent reviewing the work of the day, whose mouths are dry before lunchtime ever arrives, whose brains ache for being pulled in so many directions at once, whose heads are filled with plans to improve, and whose hearts overflow with love for those who are tomorrow’s hope; know this: you reflect the faithfulness of our God.
Though your days are both rewarding and wearisome, rejoice that you have been called to be as God is, faithful. Our Creator stands by His people through thick and thin, with patience unending. Our Creator does not abandon His people when they fail. Our Creator sees the best in His own. He strives and strives with His children at unimaginable cost.
Teacher, hold on to the high calling that is yours. Your own resources are limited, but your God’s resources are not. Our faithfulness falls short, but His is perfect. You exhibit His tenacity in your daily work. And when you grow weary, remember that you not only reflect His faithfulness; you have His faithfulness on which to depend.
Sweet Waters, Sweet Life
Following the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, God’s people travelled into the wilderness. After three long days, they had still found no water. The only refreshment discovered had been the waters of Marah, which were bitter – too bitter to drink. As thirsty people would, the Israelites complained and asked their leader, Moses, how their thirst might now possibly be quenched. Moses knew exactly what to do; he cried out to God. After all, the Savior who divided the sea that his people might cross on dry ground could surely now lead them to water.
And God did provide. However, the Lord did not take them to a new place for sustenance. Rather, he transformed the old place. God showed Moses a tree. Moses threw that tree into the bitter waters of Marah. Suddenly, the formerly unpalatable water became sweet. Thirst was quenched, and life could be lived.
The peculiar fashion in which our timeless God worked for His thirsty people thousands of years ago indicates the way in which He now works for us. When we find life bitter and intolerable, God points to a tree to make life sweet and livable.
Who of us can swallow the distress of a guilty conscience? Who of us can live vigorously while dying of thirst for peace with a holy God? Who of us can tolerate the difficulty and disaster of life without assurance that we will someday know joy unhindered? Who of us can find the sweetness of life while the bitterness of guilt gnaws at our core? None can. Not one.
God points to the tree, the tree of Calvary. He bids us throw that tree into the mess and anguish of our sin. When that tree touches my soul, the dilemma is solved because the anguish of my sin is placed square on Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 9:14 (NASB) proclaims, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” The blood of Jesus shed on the tree of Calvary is placed into my life to make all things well. With a clean conscience is the only way to live a sweet life.
Our lives can be transformed so that we may live in peace, just as the water of Marah could be made right to drink. God transformed the water by throwing a tree into the mix. He transforms our lives by presenting the tree of Calvary to the horror of our sin, thereby neutralizing sin’s effect with the sacrifice of His Son. What formerly seemed intolerable – our guilt-ridden life – is now a true delight.
“When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Then he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.” – Exodus 15:23-25a