As You Go...

“Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here.”—Matthew 10:7

There’s an interesting phrase in some translations of this commissioning by Jesus to His non-seminary, just-regular-folks-like-us disciples: Not just “go” but “As you go…” It implies looking for opportunity to share the Hope that is within us while we’re going about our day.

To ditch the “church talk” that only insiders understand.

To listen. To listen a lot and be slow to speak.

To think “others” before “self” (which always sounds so noble but is incredibly difficult to pull off).

To show the Way, the Truth and the Life in a relatable way through the way that God made each of us think, talk and move, and not try to copy someone else, or feel constrained by a “how to do it” manual, or worrying about all the ways Christ’s name and mission are being hijacked lately by people who have no clue and who are living just the opposite of that Name and mission.

“As you go” means you be you, with Him working through you. Practicing eyes wide open, and praying to see beyond what is Captain Obvious.

Because when you do, some of those opportunities will take you by surprise...

Like when you were on your way to doing something else “important” and just so happened to stop to say hi to your neighbor across the street who was out picking up sticks and other winter debris. And when that neighbor across the street starts a friendly chat and then suddenly shifts gears and announces a series of health issues for him and his wife, you realize that this is a Divine “as you go” moment.

And you could say, “gosh, I’m sorry to hear that,” and leave it there, and keep going on to your “important” task. Or, you could continue with: “I will be lifting you and your wife up in prayer,” or better still, “Can I pray with you?” Very few, no matter what their religious views, will say no to that, especially in a year-plus where just about everyone is starving for any kind of hope. And remembering that we carry the Real Thing.

Some “as you go” missions work better with a phone call, or a note or a text, or doing a favor without being asked. All we need is open eyes to see them—to see Jesus in them, and not to just be nice but to bring Hope with us “as we go.” To follow the words of the song…

“Give me Your eyes for just one second

Give me Your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give Your love for humanity

Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted

The ones that are far beyond my reach

Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten

Give me Your eyes so I can see…”—Brandon Heath

“A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do.”

—Dallas Willard

The Power of a Three-letter Word

"Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father and then we will be satisfied.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not know Me yet, Philip, nor recognize clearly who I am?'"—John 14:9, Amplified

The more I read the gospels the more I realize I’m a lot like Philip—I think I get Jesus, but I don’t really get Jesus. It's not unlike walking a favorite woodland trail and seeing the sun through the maze of obstacles and yet not really seeing the sun.

If I had been Philip or one of the 12, I’m sure I would have been as clueless, blind, fearful, thick-skulled, and puzzled at times as they were by Jesus’ parables on life, His way of life... His life, period. Yet like them, even though never totally getting it, you realize there is something extraordinary about Jesus that keeps drawing you in closer and closer and with greater resolve, sometimes against all odds, pulling you along to see what’s next on this crazy Journey.

I like how God made sure Philip got included in the gospels. I think He wanted to let us know that He gets us.

Philip's honest, "I-can't-believe-I'm-saying-this-but-I'm-going-to-say-it-anyway" question is hope for us all— that this Walk is a lifetime of knowing and being with Jesus more than ever and yet never fully knowing Him; of being at times surprisingly filled with Heaven-sent discernment and yet at times being earthbound clueless; of walking through seasons of unshakable belief as well as ones of dizzying doubt. 

Perhaps it is akin to the real-life parable of the new contact prescription: A man with two new lenses on his eyeballs was driving down the highway one day, and while he could see everything right in front of him as plain as day, peering into the depths was another story because only one lens brought clarity. The other lens was fuzzy and needed correcting.

Maybe, just maybe, this is what knowing Jesus more and more in both a cognitive and experiential way is supposed to look like. The thing that needs correcting is that never really knowing and seeing Jesus clearly every day is not only normal or OK, it's all part of The Plan of faith and trust. It means staying steady in all our Philip moments, and maybe not always running as we'd like but rather simply putting one foot in front of the other. It means to keep drawing near even in the fog and, like those first disciples, keep being pulled along like a magnet by Someone more powerful and profound and wonderful and all-consumingly attractive, and eternally satisfying than anything or anyone this world has ever seen...

“For now, we can only see a dim and blurry picture of things, as when we stare into polished metal. I realize that everything I know is only part of the big picture. But one day, when Jesus arrives, we will see clearly, face-to-face. In that day, I will fully know just as I have been wholly known by God.”

—1 Corinthians 13:12, Voice

And all along the woodland paths and the highway of holiness, even with one-eyed clarity at times, it's a reminder in a lot of areas of life that faith is both “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”…and therefore, to keep praying for what you don't see clearly now: the impossible when that seems like a nutty thing to do, “Thy kingdom come” in friends, loved ones, and messy situations of life when you wonder how on earth that’s all going to work, and staying faithful and steadfast when you wonder what’s the point of it all.

And most of all, to turn “I’m not seeing it” on its head by adding one simple three-letter word at the end…

“Yet.”

“I give You back today the prayers I’ve prayed that are not answered—yet.  

The seeds I’ve sown that haven’t borne harvest—yet.

Restore the years, the prayers, the trust that the locusts have eaten. Remember me, Lord, redeem my life, and answer my oldest, truest, prayers. Amen.”

—Pete Greig, from “Dirty Glory—Go Where Your Best Prayers Take You”

Buckets of Life

(Photo: diapicard@pixabay.com)

Faith, it says in the Gospels, is like a mustard seed.

Trust is like the beautifully-clothed lilies of the field and God's accounting of every hair of a sparrow.

Integrity and Christ-likeness are like the healthy fruit borne of a fig tree.

Those who are in right standing with God will shine like the sun.

The glory of the Lord is like lightning.

Jesus often taught deep, unshakeable truths about God and living well by using simple illustrations from nature. Everyday things all around us. Reach-out-and-touch examples of all that God has created that can turn sometimes hard-to-grasp concepts into something eye-opening practical and fuel for life.

In fact, of a world in great need of a people who will lovingly live out such truths, Jesus told His first followers:

“I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you.”

—John 4:35, Message

In New England, the welcoming "right in front of you" evidence of turning that long, seemingly-endless corner from late winter into early spring looks like the sun rising earlier and staying up longer, brave crocus shoots beginning to emerge from retreating south-facing snow packs, the early birds of spring beginning their familiar songs even on see-your-breath mornings, and — perhaps most symbolic and iconic of all — milder days and cold nights signaling the time to tap maple trees to make syrup (the real thing, not that wannabe brown substance in tall plastic bottles).

It all seems so "right in front of you" obvious. And yet what we take for granted with our natural eyes — things like mustard seeds, lilies, sparrows, lightning, even maple sugaring season — God has created to continually reveal a greater glimpse of Himself, if only we will choose to look beyond "right in front of you" and into the buckets of Life that know no season. About those iconic sap buckets, for example...

…“Filled with nutrients and minerals, sap is the blood of a tree. It carries energy out into the branches…as much-needed food during the growth period.” It is sweet and with natural antioxidants…

...“I am the sprouting vine and you’re My branches. As you live in union with Me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you — but, when you live separated from Me. you are powerless…when your lives bear abundant fruit, you demonstrate that you are My mature disciples who glorify My Father!” — John 15: 5, 8, Passion 

Sometimes, where we are and where we want to be in this Walk can feel like turning that long, seemingly-endless corner from late winter to early spring. Not much seems to be happening, or at least not as fast as we'd like. The sap bucket is a "right in front of you" reminder that God is still powerfully at work in all who stay in His grip in every growth-period season, one sweet and beautiful drop at a time...

“There are periods that we forget that in the pursuit of fruit, that if we just abide in Him, then fruitfulness is a guarantee.”

—Francis Chan