Gen. 28

Bob Weniger

Once when I was in seminary I had one of those experiences where the presence of God was so real it was almost as if I could reach out and touch God. Even though it happened many years ago I still remember it like it was yesterday. A group of about twenty of us went on a weekend camping trip to the mountains several hours away. That first night I have to admit I felt a bit detached from the group. They were all laughing, telling stories, and just having a great time. I just wasn’t up for having a great time. In fact, I was feeling pretty low.

During the previous few months I had developed feelings for one of my female classmates. (This was before I met Daniela.) We had done a few things together and had a really good time. I really liked her and wanted to take the relationship beyond just friendship. I shared that with her, but she told me she wanted to remain just friends. That was hard. What made that camping trip especially difficult was that she was there also, so I had this inner battle going on within me. Compounding all this was another failed relationship. Just a short while before a girl I had become quite serious with told me she wanted to break things off. So as I said, at this time of my life I was feeling pretty low.

By nature I’m an early riser. So that next morning I awoke as the sun came up. Since everyone else was still asleep, I decided to go for an early morning hike. I had never been to this place before so I didn’t head out in any particular direction. I just followed a nearby trail farther up the mountain. After I had hiked for 30 minutes or so I came to a rock ledge on the side of the mountain. The view was breathtaking so I just sat on the ledge to take it all in. The mountain dropped off before me into a deep and wide valley, and on the other side was another range of mountain peaks.

I had no agenda in taking that hike other than to do something for an hour or so until the others began to wake up. I didn’t go off to have some time alone with God. The fact is, God had been feeling rather distant to me during that time. But as I sat on that ledge just taking in the beauty of God’s creation, God came to me. It was something that is hard to put into words. It was simply this overwhelming sense of the presence of God, of His greatness and His majesty. This profound sense of His love enveloped me and I had the assurance that His purposes for me were good.

What made this experience so life-changing was not only that I had this overwhelming sense of God’s presence as I basked in the beauty of His creation. What made it so real was that God in that moment also healed my heart. The pain and discouragement I had been feeling in light of these two failed relationships was instantly lifted. And as I said, I had no agenda. I didn’t hike up that mountain with the intention of praying about this and asking God to free me from the hurt. I was just sitting on the mountainside and God, in His grace, came to me and touched and healed my heart. All the pain I had been feeling, all the desires I had were instantly gone.

There was no way I could have worked that up on my own. God somehow worked in my own spirit healing me, setting me free, letting me know that He was with me, and that in spite of how neither of these two relationships had worked out as I had hoped, He still had exciting plans for my life. I walked down that mountainside a new person, filled with joy, confident about the future, and with the deep awareness that God was with me – not only on that mountainside but always. And just a couple months later I met Daniela!

Have you ever had a similar experience? Has God ever come to you in such a clear and powerful way that you knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that God was real and that He was with you – in that moment and always? Jacob had an experience like that. As we continue our study of the life of Jacob we come today to Gen. 28.

Recall from last week that Jacob had deceived and lied to his father Isaac, pretending to be his brother Esau. Isaac was blind by then, so the deception worked. The result was that Jacob received the blessing of Isaac that ordinarily would have gone to the oldest son, Esau. Esau was infuriated and was determined to kill Jacob. Their mother, Rebekah, learned of Esau’s plan and so decided to send Jacob, her favorite son, away. So she told Isaac that she would despair if Jacob was to marry a local Hittite woman. So Isaac called Jacob to come to him, and Isaac then commanded Jacob to go to Padan Aram where Rebekah was from. He further told Jacob that he was to take a wife from among the daughters of Rebekah’s brother Laban. We then pick up the story in Gen. 28:10, we read:

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

So Jacob, having been warned by his mother of Esau’s plan to kill him, left home. Following his father’s instructions, he set off on a long journey to where Laban lived to find a wife from among his daughters.

Up until this point, Jacob had lived serving only one god – himself. He certainly knew of the encounter his grandfather Abraham had with God, and that his father Isaac also served the true God. But Jacob wasn’t interested. That’s why when God spoke to him in the dream He said he was the God of Abraham and Isaac, but He wasn’t the God of Jacob yet. For Jacob wanted to live life his own way. But you always reap what you sow, and now he was paying the price for living life his way. He was running for his life!

He would have traveled about 55 miles from his home to the place where this incident occurred. It was certainly a scary time for Jacob. Traveling alone, through dangerous territory, much of which was desert, would have been challenging for anyone. But it was especially so for Jacob, for as it says earlier in the account of Jacob, he liked to stay by the tents of his family. He didn’t venture out into the unknown. His brother Esau was the hunter. He would go off by himself. But not Jacob. Now, however, Jacob is all alone in the wilderness. But much to his surprise, Jacob discovers he is not alone.

The text says Jacob stopped “when he reached a certain place.” In other words, he wasn’t at any place special. It was just a certain place. It could have been anyplace. Being tired, he lay down to sleep outdoors, with only a stone for a pillow. Not exactly five-star comfort! As he was sleeping he had this dream of a stairway between earth and heaven. Angels were going back and forth on the stairway, and God remained at the top.

God had a very important message for Jacob. God repeated the promise of blessing that He had given previously to Abraham and Isaac. From this family, and from Jacob now in particular, would come a great nation of innumerable descendants. This nation would be a source of blessing to the rest of the world. And God promised Jacob that He would be with him, watch over him, and one day bring him back to the land of Canaan.

Alone in the wilderness, running for his life, in the darkness of night, Jacob encountered God. Why did God appear in the dream to Jacob then and there? Probably Jacob had to be stripped of all that was familiar to him, all that he had previously placed his confidence in, such as his own conniving ability, before he would be receptive to a message from God. No doubt we all have had dark, lonely experiences when it seems that all that has been familiar to us and all that we have depended on is stripped away from us. Maybe some of us are enduring such a time right now. And while it is easy in those times to feel that we are all alone, that we have been abandoned by God, this account of Jacob reminds us that we are never alone. Not during times of suffering or trials, and not during all the ordinary days that drag on when our lives are consumed with work, kids, errands, meetings, and so forth. God is always with us, and always available to us.

This is confirmed not only by the dream Jacob had in which he saw the Lord, but more importantly by his response when he woke up. For the text says that “when Jacob woke up, he thought, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’” During and after his dream Jacob was obviously aware of the Lord’s presence. So he isn’t referring to his dream. Rather the Lord was there before Jacob went to sleep, as well as when he awoke. His vision of the Lord during his dream made Jacob realize once he awoke that God had been there all along. He just wasn’t aware of God’s presence until he had the dream. “Surely the Lord is in this place,” said Jacob, “and I was not – before my dream – aware of it.’”

God was there, with Jacob, before he lay down. But Jacob wasn’t alert to God’s presence, primarily because Jacob wasn’t really interested in God at all. In fact, that’s the way Jacob lived his entire life up until he had this dream. Jacob was interested only in fulfilling his own selfish desires, and if he had to cheat and lie to others to get what he wanted he was perfectly content doing that. With such an outlook on life, he had no room, nor desire for God in his life.

But when Jacob awoke from his dream things began to change. For he not only awoke from his sleep of that night, but he awoke from his false and misguided way of living. It was as if he had been living in a fog, unable to see clearly regarding what is truly important in life, because his focus was only on himself and fulfilling his self-centered desires. But now the fog begins to lift. He begins to understand there is more to life than his own ego and selfish desires. He begins to realize that the God of his fathers also wants to be his God, and that this God in His grace has a purpose for him. This wasn’t an instant and total conversion. Jacob still had a long ways to go in his relationship with God, in the formation of his character and the quality of his obedience. But this was the beginning of a reorientation of his life.

We see this in the vow Jacob made. He said that if God would be with him, watch over him on his journey, provide for his basic needs, and help him to one day return to his father’s house, then the Lord would be his God. He wasn’t yet able to accept God simply for who God is. Jacob, ever the crafty one, was trying to cut a deal with God, setting conditions under which he would surrender to God. “If you do these things for me, God,” said Jacob, “then I’ll follow you.” That’s not the best approach to God, for a true disciple gives himself or herself to God without conditions and without reservations. Jacob wasn’t there yet, but at least he made a start. And that’s how it is for all of us. It’s always a process of growth.

I think the most important lesson for us in this account is centered in what Jacob thought to himself when he awoke from his dream: “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” The fact is, God is always with us; we’re just not always aware of it. God was always with Jacob, although until he had the dream he was not aware of that nor really interested in that. Even though God had seemed distant from me for those several months prior to our camping trip, He had always been with me, working in unseen ways. My experience on the mountaintop only confirmed what had always been true. God is always available to us to offer us His guidance, His comfort, His strength, His encouragement, His love, His assurance.

Several times in Scripture God promises us: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5; Dt. 31:6). In fact, one of the most frequently repeated promises of God in Scripture is: “I will be with you.” We can live each day with the assurance of God’s presence and provision. Each day we can experience a deep sense of fellowship with God, for God is always there.

The question is: are we aware of it? Jacob had no interest in God. He only wanted to live life his way. He was consumed with his own desires and goals. And thus he wasn’t aware of God’s presence with him. How easily that can happen to us. We would probably never say that we have no interest in God, but we can easily push God to the distant background of our lives. We get too busy in this fast-paced world so we have no time for God. We become preoccupied with work or other pressing matters. When problems or trials strike we easily turn our focus only on ourself and our circumstances and perhaps wallow in self-pity. When everything is going well for us we often are oblivious to God and our need for Him. Sometimes we go through long periods in which we are stuck in a boring routine and that dulls our receptivity to the presence of God’s Spirit. For a variety of reasons we can be blind to God’s presence and deaf to His voice. And when that happens, we miss out on the joy of experiencing the presence of God Almighty with us. We forfeit the assurance that God is working our lives and circumstances.

What we need to take with us from this account is the assurance that God is always “in this place,” as Jacob realized, and “this place” is whatever place we happen to be in. It may be a geographical place, but it’s also more than that. It may be the place we are in emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. For you, “this place” might be a troubled marriage, because that is the place you find yourself in right now. That’s where you find yourself, and you wonder if God is there. “This place” could be a major illness. “This place” might be a challenging work situation where your colleagues are very difficult to get along with. “This place” could be enduring the loss of a loved one. “This place” might be a boring and uneventful season of life when we long for God to bring some exciting change to our lives. “This place” can relate to all kinds of experiences and situations. And the testimony of Jacob from this account is that God is in “this place.” He is always with us; we can be sure of that.

Sometimes we think if we could only change our circumstances, then we would have a better sense of God’s presence. If God would only get me out of this difficult situation, or out of this boring rut, then I would be able to cultivate my relationship with God. But we need to live with the expectation that God can break into any place, situation, or experience to bring hope, healing, comfort, encouragement, strength or direction to our lives. If we don’t live with that awareness, we will likely miss God’s presence, even though He is right there with us.

Our goal should be to grow in our walk with God to such an extent that we would never say, “Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it,” because we are always aware of God’s presence. Sometimes we might sense God’s presence more clearly than at other times, but our goal should be to live each day with the awareness and assurance the God is with us, whether we feel His presence or not. When we live with that kind of expectancy, knowing that God has promised to be with us always and that God keeps His word, we will be more sensitive to the ways that God wants to make His presence known to us throughout the day. And God can make His presence known in a variety of ways – if we are sensitive to it. It could come as we take in the beauty of God’s creation, as we share a tender moment with one of our children, as we meditate on God’s word, as we respond to a friend in need, as we share a deep conversation with a close brother or sister in the faith, as we show God’s love in some practical way to a hurting person, as we move out in faith and take a risky step of obedience. We can experience God’s presence in lots of ways.

When that happens not only will we be refreshed by the awareness of God’s presence with us, but we will also be more sensitive to God’s leading in our lives. Our faith will be deepened and we will be more aware of the opportunities God gives us each day to participate with Him in what He is doing. And as we follow God’s leading in whatever steps of obedience He calls us to, that will lead to an even greater awareness of God’s presence with us.

The sad truth that this account reveals is that God can be present with us and we can be unaware of it, blind to it. But the encouraging news is, first of all, that God is with us whether we are aware of it or not, working out His good purposes for us. And secondly, like Jacob, we can awake from our sleep, or our sleepwalking – walking through life blind to the presence of God. And when we awake, our relationship with God takes on a whole new depth and quality. It can happen at any time, in any place, in any circumstance.

In a very ordinary place, a barren dessert, God revealed His presence to Jacob. So we should be confident that God is always with us. When Jacob was at his lowest, fleeing for his life and now with little prospect of claiming the inheritance he had connived to get, he encountered the living God. And when Jacob awoke from his dream, he not only awoke from his sleep. He also awoke from his misdirected way of living in which he was totally focused on himself and thus blind to the presence and purposes of God. He now was not only aware of God’s presence with Him, but he began his journey of walking with God.

Sleepwalking our way though life with our eyes closed, unaware and oblivious to God’s presence, or walking with God; that is the choice before us. John Ortberg writes, “Each moment we live outside the awareness of God’s presence is a kind of sleepwalking, which is why Paul wrote, ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. (Eph. 5:14)’”

Christ wants to shine on us so we can live in the light of His presence. Let’s make sure we are awake to His presence with us, and thus experience – in each moment – all God has for us.

Gen. 27

Bob Weniger

Couples who want to be cute and show their affection for each other sometimes do so by having “his and hers” things. I went on-line to Google and just typed in “his and hers gifts” and all kinds of sites popped up. You can buy his and hers bathrobes or towels. If you like jewelry you may get a his and hers ring set. You can get his and hers pillow cases, coffee mugs, and T-shirts. If you enjoy cooking together you can but his and hers aprons. Sometimes all these are matching items and other times they feature slightly different designs that complete each other. Today when tattoos are popular you can even get his and hers tattoos. For couples who really want to identify with each other and so buy his and hers things, I guess that’s all okay.

But there is one instance when it is not good to have “his and hers.” And that’s when it involves your children. When parents favor one child over another, and especially when the mother has her favorite and the father has his favorite, there will be major problems.

As we began to see last week, such was the case with Isaac and Rebekah and their twin sons Jacob and Esau. Isaac favored Esau, who was born first. Rebekah favored Jacob. In fact, they each favored the one son so much that it was as if Isaac had his own son – Esau – and Rebekah had her own son – Jacob. And because of that, the problems only escalated. We see that in our text for today – Gen. 27:1-10.

1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” he answered. 2 Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death. 3 Now then, get your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”

5 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you: 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.”

I’ll just summarize the rest of the chapter. Jacob and Rebekah carried out their plot, with the result that Isaac gave his blessing to Jacob. Jacob pretended to be Esau, and since Isaac was blind, he didn’t notice and gave his blessing to Jacob. The tradition of that time, of course, was that the blessing should go to the oldest son, which in this case was Esau. The blessing was somewhat similar to the birthright, which we examined last week. The birthright gave to the oldest son a double portion of the inheritance and the status of being head of the family when the father passed away. The oldest son would have spiritual authority and would also have the final say in all matters related to the family. That was the oldest son’s right by virtue of being the firstborn. Esau was the oldest son and so the custom dictated it should have went to him. But Jacob schemed and took advantage of the short-sighted Esau by essentially trading a bowl of stew for Esau’s birthright when Esau came in from the countryside and was famished.

The blessing also went to the oldest son. The blessing from the father passed on to the son a kind of spiritual power of goodness and well-being that once given, could not be taken back. Specifically, the blessing that Isaac gave to Jacob is found in vs. 28-29, where he said to Jacob:

28 May God give you of heaven’s dew and of earth’s richness – an abundance of grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.”

When Jacob deceived his father, Isaac blessed him with the promise of richness and abundance, as well as the place of honor and supremacy within the family and among the surrounding nations. It was an exalted status bestowed upon Jacob. Although Jacob claimed it by deception, once given it could not be taken back, even though Esau later pleaded for it. The result was that Esau held a grudge against his brother Jacob and vowed to kill him once their father died.

And you thought your family had problems! This family was as divided as any family could be. And that division was rooted in the attitudes of favoritism that Isaac and Rebekah displayed. In vs. 5 it says that Isaac spoke to his son, Esau. And in vs. 6 it says that Rebekah spoke to her son Jacob. That pretty much says it all; they had “his and hers” children. It was as if they each had their own son. Of course, their favoring of one son over the other then pitted Isaac and Rebekah against each other. This was a divided family, and while all four of these characters contributed to that division, it was the parents, Isaac and Rebekah, who bear the brunt of the responsibility. They acted selfishly themselves, and they failed to instill in their boys the qualities, values, and beliefs they should have.

There are different things we could talk about based on this passage, but today I want to focus on just one of them and that is parenting. Now, I know that some of you are not yet parents, but some day you will be, so it will be good to learn these principles even now. And some of you have passed through the stage of parenting. Oh, you still have your children, but they are grown and on their own. But there are numerous ways these lessons still apply. First of all, just because your children are grown, that doesn’t mean you can no longer influence their lives. Second, as grandparents, which many of you are, these lessons can be applied to your grandchildren. True, you are not the primary care-giver, and you ought not overstep the authority and position your children have as parents to your grandchildren. But still, you have a role to play in the lives and development of your grandchildren. And what I am going to share can apply to other relationships, such as if you help teach Sunday School. Again, not that you are to try and usurp the role of the parents of these kids, but nevertheless the message today can be applied to those relationships as well.

There are different ways Scripture teaches us. One is by putting forth a positive ideal or faithful person, so we can try to follow their example. Another is by portraying a negative example, so we can learn by their mistakes. We’ll try to make use of both of these ways of learning today. The negative example is obviously that of Isaac and Rebekah; we can learn from their failures as parents so we don’t make the same mistakes. The positive instruction comes from a very well-known verse, Prov 22:6, which reads: “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

The first think to note about this proverb is that it is just that, a proverb. People, with good intentions to be sure, often mistake a proverb for a promise, but by definition a proverb is not a promise. A proverb is an observation of life that is generally true, though not always. For instance, in the previous chapter, Prov. 21:17, it says, “He who loves pleasure will become poor.” That’s an observation of life that is generally true: those who love pleasure often do end up poor because they spend all their money on experiencing pleasure. But it’s not always true. You could go to Hollywood or Las Vegas and find people who are practically addicted to pleasure but have done quite well financially; they have not become poor. It’s generally true, but not always.

So it is with Prov. 22:6; it’s an observation of life that is generally true – when you train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not turn from it. Often things work out this way, but not always. This is not a promise, it is not a guarantee. This verse doesn’t come from the Book of Promises but the Book of Proverbs. I’m sure we all can think of examples, maybe even from within your own family, where this has not worked out, where a child was brought up in a Christian home with godly influences, but at some point that person turned from all that was instilled in them.

But even though this is not a promise, we still should strive to live it out, for it is a proverb; it is generally true. Beyond this, if we love our children we will surely try to give this a solid spiritual foundation. We will want to instill in our children a knowledge of God and His love and strive to help our children develop godly character. And certainly this is how God wants us to approach parenting, or even these other relationships I alluded to.

So let’s examine this proverb, and compare it to the approach taken by Isaac and Rebekah, and see what we can learn from it. The key to understanding this proverb is really found in the opening two phrases.

First, we need to look at the opening three words: “train a child.” The meaning here is not simply to teach the child right from wrong, what to do versus what not to do, along with some Bible stories. Yes, we do that, but it’s much deeper and more creative than that. In the original Hebrew, the root of the word translated as “train” actually has to do with the palate or roof of the mouth. In biblical times, right after a child was born the midwife would place a bit of a tart substance made from dates on her finger and then rub it on the roof of the newborn’s mouth. This would initiate a sucking response in the baby, so the baby could then immediately begin sucking from its mother’s breast, and thus be nourished with that which would give the baby life. (Swindoll. You and Your Child.)

That is a picture of what we are to do as parents. We are to help develop a thirst within our children, a thirst for the right things, a thirst for that which will sustain life for them. Ultimately, we want to help them develop a thirst for God and the things of God.

How do we do that? Well, it begins of course by modeling that for them. If we don’t have a thirst for God and the things of God ourselves, we won’t be very successful in creating that in our children. And when I say we must model a thirst for God, I don’t simply mean we ought to be religious and do religious things. Rather we are to have a thirst for God Himself, a desire to know God deeply, to be surrendered to God so God can transform us and use us. As has often been noted, values are caught more than they are taught. We can tell our children to believe this and do that, but it will have far greater impact if they see that in our lives. So we must live it out, for valued are absorbed, especially by children. This doesn’t mean we have to model perfection, for only Jesus was perfect. But we do need to model transformation. We need to demonstrate to our children that our hearts are yielded to God and by His grace and power we are being changed. Our children must see in us a desire for God – to know God, love God, obey God, and serve God.

Then we want to make sure our children have the opportunity to meet and interact with others who also are passionate about God. They may be friends or relatives. They may be people in the church. It could be by encouraging our children to read biographies or watch movies of people who lived authentically for Jesus. We need to make sure our children have the opportunity to be influenced by others who by their faith and example will leave our children thirsting for what they have.

One other thing I will mention is that we must strive to give our children opportunities to deepen their faith and grow in their understanding of God’s call upon their lives through taking part in various activities or events. It may be sending them to youth camp or a big Christian youth event with dynamic speakers and musicians. It could be by enabling them to go on a mission trip so they can experience first hand what it is to serve others in the name of Christ. Such experiences can increase our children’s thirst for God and God’s purposes for their lives.

In essence what we want to do is to surround our children with opportunities to know God, to be touched by His love and grace, and then to love God themselves. And that takes time and commitment. It is something we must be intentional about. And much of this we can do with other young people – our grandchildren or the kids who come to Sunday School. We can strive to help them develop a thirst for God as they see in us the reality of the living God, His goodness, grace faithfulness, and how He alone satisifies.

And you know how it is when you are thirsty. If you have been working outside on a hot day, or you played a round of golf on a day when you break a sweat simply by stepping outside, you don’t have to make yourself drink. If someone brings you a tall glass of ice water, you don’t say to yourself, “Well, I don’t really want to but I suppose I should drink that glass of ice water because it will probably be good for me.” Not at all. You desire that water. You even crave that water, because you are thirsty and you know that the water will satisfy your thirst.

That’s what we want to instill in our children – a thirst, a desire for God so they pursue God not just because they think they are supposed to, and not simply to please their parents, but because they have come to genuinely crave God and they know that nothing else will satisfy them. So as parents we must model that for our children, and then we must give them ample opportunities to be surrounded by others who share that same passion – not in a pushy way but in an inviting way.

Unfortunately, this is something we don’t see much of from Isaac and Rebekah. They both had their strengths, but this was not one of them. In their selfishness and attitudes of favoritism, they certainly were not modeling for Jacob and Esau a truly godly life. And thus as young men, we don’t see Jacob and Esau pursuing God, desiring God. Jacob was manipulating to take things from Esau, and Esau was set on revenge against Jacob. As I said, we can learn from the mistakes of others just as we can learn from their successes. So seeing how Isaac and Rebekah failed, let us strive to create a thirst for God in our children and the other young people in our lives.

The second key phrase is: “In the way he should go.” “Train a child in the way he should go…” The literal meaning of this phrase is “in keeping with their bent,” or “according to their way.” For each child has their own bent, their own characteristics, their own tendencies, their own way of learning. So we must take time to understand who they are, the nature of their personality, and so forth. In other words, there is no set pattern that will work for all children. In fact, if you have two children you have probably discovered that there is no set pattern even for just two children.

This applies to many areas. For example, children respond to discipline in different ways. For some children, just a look of disapproval from one of their parents is enough to make them realize they did something wrong and they will want to stop. For other children you must be way more assertive in your discipline methods. You must know your children and what works for them. When it comes to providing opportunities for children to be influenced by others in their faith, some children would jump at the chance to go to a big youth event with 10,000 other youth where there is lots of energy and excitement. But another child would not be at all comfortable in such a setting, but they would really profit by being mentored one-on-one by an adult with an authentic Christian faith and lifestyle.

A wise parent will train their children according to their bent. They will seek to create a thirst in their child for the things of God in a way that fits with their personality. They will not simply try to cram things down their child’s throat, which in the end will just make the child rebel. Unfortunately, that is how this verse has often been applied: try to force things on our kids. That is not what it means to train a child in the way he should go. Rather we seek to find ways to help our children thirst for God, desire God. And again, you can also do this with your grandchildren or other children you are in contact with. Seek to understand them, so you can help them thirst for God.

How did Isaac and Rebekah do in this regard? Well, it seems that because they each had their favorite child, they basically ignored the other child. The account gives no evidence that Isaac was helping Jacob thirst for God, nor that Rebekah was trying to help Esau desire God. And in fact, because they both were selfishly favoring a child, even in those relationships they failed to nurture a hunger for God.

Just think what could have happened if Isaac and Rebekah first would have loved each son equally, and then would have made the effort to know the bent of each of their sons while trying to create in Jacob and Esau a thirst for God and His ways. Just think of what could have happened if they would have prepared their sons accordingly for their different roles. Think of the strife that could have been avoided, and the character development that could have taken place in their sons if Isaac and Rebekah would have instructed them about God’s sovereign purposes for them, and then guided them toward fulfilling those purposes. If they would have prepared their sons for their respective destinies, the lying, scheming, and betrayal perhaps could have been avoided. The feelings of hatred and the long separation between the brothers that we will read about later perhaps could have been averted.

That’s a good word to those of us who are parents, or who one day will be parents. It’s not likely we will receive such a clear statement regarding the destiny of our children as Rebekah did, who was told by God that the older son would serve the younger. But Scripture does give us an abundance of wisdom regarding our children in a general sense. We are to instruct our children about God (Deut. 6), about His love for them, about His gift of life through Jesus Christ, and about His rightful place as Lord of their lives. We are to teach our children – through our words as well as our lifestyle – what it means to live as a follower of Jesus and to have a meaningful personal relationship with Jesus. We are to both tell our children and encourage them in the development of godly character. In all of this we are seeking to create a thirst in our children for God so they will desire God and seek His plans for their life.

We probably won’t know the specific details about God’s plan for our children. But if we can help create a thirst within them for God and then nurture them in the more general things Scripture makes clear are God’s purposes for all of us, that will go a long way in helping them to become the people God created them to be. And that can also help them avoid a lot of the hardship and pain that Esau and Jacob had to go through because their parents did not prepare them for their God-given callings.

Whether you are a parent, a grandparent, a friend, a teacher or a mentor, God has a high calling for each of us. For God has entrusted to us the opportunity to help our children know God, experience His love, be transformed by His power, and live out His good purposes. With God’s help, let us commit ourselves to doing just this.

Pr Richard Tok

1 Peter 1:13-16

Introduction

A young girl visited her uncle’s farm and was brought to the pig sty. She saw how dirty they were wallowing in the dirt and mud. Her uncle turned on the pipe and directed a jet of water on the pigs and soon they were clean and pinky. She saw the little piglets and fell in love with them. Just before going home she asked her uncle for one of the piglets. He handed her a pink piglet tied with a pink ribbon.

Happily she brought the piglet home. Soon after she took it into her room and left it on her bed. It was so cute. After spending some time with “pinky piggy” she left it and went off to play with other things. When she came back later “pinky piggy” was missing. She went all over the house from room to room and to every nook and corner, but could not find her. She saw the main door slightly ajar. So she opened the door and went out to the yard. She looked at the front garden and found nothing. She ran round to the back and there she found her piglet dirty and muddy in a little wet patch.

She couldn’t understand why little pinky piggy became so dirty when it had been bathed and dressed with a ribbon. Her mother explained to her that animals have a nature. The pig’s nature is to enjoy being dirty. They will never change. Some of us have a bad nature and misbehave. Unlike animals such as pigs, cats or dogs, humans, boys and girls, men and women, can change if they want to. It begins with being obedient to instruction.

Addressing Christians scattered in small communities in Asia Minor or Turkey today, Apostle Peter reminded them that they should behave like their heavenly Father. Children inherit the nature of their parents – like father like son or being the chip of the old block! God is holy. Hence his children should show holiness in their living. Peter described Christians as “partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). It is only natural that godly living or holiness characterizes the way Christians live and behave. Christians are different from others because they submit to the authority of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Word. Holiness and godliness is a new nature that makes them different from others.

Ancient or modern readers of this letter from Peter would remember that they had a different nature before believing and accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. They were described as “children of disobedience.” The reminder is to tell them not to be children of disobedience anymore. This comes out very clearly in Ephesians 2:1-3:

1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of the sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature the objects of wrath.

Christians, those who trust and submit to the authority of Jesus Christ, have been transformed and become “children of obedience.” They must make every effort to live that way, obedient to God by obeying the teaching of Christ.

“To God’s elect, strangers in the world…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood.” (1 Peter 1:1-2)

Being holy or godly is a subject even Christians want to avoid. For some reasons people are embarrassed and uncomfortable when the subject of holiness is raised. To place holiness on God is no issue at all. We even sing “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” in worship of God.

It is possible that people avoid this subject so as not to appear hypocritical like the Scribes and Pharisees. They do not want to appear more holy than others. Moreover it is risky to be holy. You are easily noticed when you make a mistake or commit a wrong. This is why and what people are shy about.

Think of it, God wants us to live a life of genuine holiness. The Christians the Apostle Peter addressed understood this message. The Jews were a “chosen people.” They were called to be holy and a light to other people to bring them to worship Yahweh. There is a need in our society today for people young and old, men and women to live holy lives to point them to the living God, Jesus Christ. Being holy and godly make Christians different from others. Let us be different not indifferent. Peter suggests three steps for us to take so that we can live a holy life.

1. Be Prepared

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (v13)

a) To be holy is to be active not passive. It begins with the mind. Proper preparation of the mind is necessary. Peter said, “prepare your mind for action.” In its original wording it means “gird up the loins of your mind.”

This gives a picture of people wearing long flowing robes. In order to run or do physical work they would lift up the robe and tighten them up around the waist. This gives them freedom of movement for the legs.

For us here in Southeast Asia it is easy to understand. Indians and Southeast Asian native people wear sarongs. They lift up the sarong between the legs and tighten it around the waist. Mongolian and Japanese Sumo wrestlers wear special loin cloths to fight. In fact the tightened loin cloth is used for grip to throw and push the opponent.

So, to prepare our minds or “gird up the loins of your minds” means to “roll up the sleeves” or “brass tacks,” as the westerners would say! Get ready for action. In other words “get started” or “take the initiative” to prepare your mind and perhaps your heart for a life of holiness.

b) The next thing is to have self-control. The original word carries the meaning “be sober or steady.” This suggests a decision not to take or take just a little liquor or strong alcoholic drink. “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18).”

We have to vet what we read, see or think. Behavioral scientists claim that our behavior is controlled by the subconscious mind. Computer language describes this as “garbage in, garbage out.” We conclude here that holy living is determined by a holy mind. When our mind is holy our lives would be holy. We are what we read, see, think and eat.

We are challenged to break away from the pattern of this world: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

We are instructed to consider “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, what ever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

For the modern person he has to decide whether “self-control” is total abstinence or selection for him. Godly wisdom and maturity will guide in making this decision. Fundamentally our minds need to be under the control of the Holy Spirit not intoxicated by any other spirit. To be successful in self-control we have to be God-controlled.

c) Then Peter points to hope. Part of our preparation for holy or godly living is to live a life of hope. Hope is not wishful thinking – “I hope so” kind of hope. When your Harley Davidson motorcycle is crushed in an accident you cannot hope for a good price in a resale. It can only be sold or thrown away as scrap iron. Hope has certainty in the future. When you are caught in a storm you can hope to be rescued because the storm will blow over. Peter points us to a certain future – optimistic. Christian attitude is not negative, pessimistic, judgemental or even fatalistic.

The Christian’s fundamental hope rests on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have a living hope in the living Christ. Then it is followed by the promise of his revelation in the future. It means that Jesus Christ will appear again in power and great glory. He is coming again. Everyday is another day of hope for the Christian.

People who have no hope live in despair. Their thinking and feeling are all twisted up and warped. They cannot trust people and do not believe in God. They are cynical. “I can never trust any one to help me. I don’t think God has time for a person like me! I’ve always lived without God anyway!” Such people not only have no God, they have no friends.

Peter in writing to suffering Christians in trials and troubles was teaching and encouraging them. The fact is that “Jesus lives, we shall live also.” Hope that overcomes suffering and belief that suffering will come to an end lifts the spirit of men. Such people will live at a higher level of human dignity. They will not fight over a piece of bread but share it. Each believer will inspire another to love and good deeds. With Christ is a life of hopefulness; without Christ is a life of hopelessness. Hopeful living is holy living. Be different Christian, not indifferent.

2. Be Obedient

“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” (v14)

Our Christian life is founded on obedience to Christ. You will surely remember His call to the first disciples. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23).” We, the modern day disciples have to take Jesus’ words seriously. In fact following Jesus is watching Him closely, listening to Him intently, walk in His steps and imitate Him. He even said that our true love for Him would be proven by obedience to Him – “If you love me, you will obey what I command…Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me (John 14:15 & 21).”

Peter addressed the early Jewish Christians and modern ones like us as “obedient children.” The Christian lifestyle is a life of holiness and it is an active one. Remember – “prepare your mind for action!” He warned us not to conform to the evil desires we once did, before knowing Jesus as Lord. It was at the time we lived in ignorance that God is holy and now we should be holy like Him.

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

One way to understand this word “conform” is to think of being fashionable and trendy with clothes. Some people go with the times and change their clothes, shoes and spectacles with the seasons. What’s the effect upon their lives?

Another way to understand the word “conform” is to think of being moulded or cast. There are jelly moulds in the shape of fish, bird or butterfly. Today car models keep changing. Metal plates are pressed into a mould that is pre-cast. So we have hundreds and thousands of look-alike cars in the streets in a few months.

Our philosophy or perspective of life can be shaped like clothes or cars. It is the economic, social or political systems that mould us to think and behave like many other people around us. We may not think about why we behave that way, not even consider whether it is right or wrong. For example think of this statement: “Love people, use things or Use people, love things.” Acting one way or the other according to your philosophy of life, you will reap the consequences.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies , and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

We are warned not to go back to our evil desires. Christian, be different not indifferent.

3. Be Holy

“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (v15-16)

The first thing we must know is that God called us. The Omnipotent, the Omniscience and the Omnipresent One considered us worthy to be called. He is also the Holy and Righteous One. Anyone, sinful like us cannot come into His Holy presence. We would be destroyed by His consuming fire. In calling us it means He has shown favour to us. It means we do not deserve to come to Him but he showed favor to receive and welcome us. That is grace. We should be destroyed by His holiness but he let us live. That is mercy.

Then understand that that He called us to be holy. He did not call us to be rich or healthy or powerful. He called us to be like Him. That is to be holy. He might give us wealth, health and power. That is secondary. Primarily, God called us to be holy, pure, righteous and just, like Him. Imagine God wants us to be like Him. It is very difficult to be like God. Little by little, day by day we should become more and more Christ-like. Jesus said when He comes again, when we see Him, we will be like Him!

We need to understand that apart from God there is no one holy. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the earth is full of His glory (Isaiah 6:3).” God is holy and He is the source of holiness. If we want to be holy we must recognize Him and accept Him as the source of holiness. Spend time to be with Him in order to know Him. The more time we spend with God the greater the opportunity for Him to influence us and make us like Him.

“Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy (Lev.19:2).” God spoke to Moses these words. He declared that He is holy. Then He instructed the children of Israel to be holy as He is holy. Peter picked this up and directed God’s declaration to us as God’s children. Like Moses, Peter instructs us to be holy like God.

To be holy basically means to be set apart for God to use exclusively and for His own pleasure. This involves separation from that which is unclean and common. Then it is surrendered for complete devotion to God. Things used in the temple are holy. They may appear like common items but they are no longer for common use. Prophets, priests and rulers are to be holy. They are anointed and set apart. So are all God’s people set apart for His glory.

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said” “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)

So Christians are to be holy in all manner of behaviour so that everything we do reflects the holiness of God. Our natural inclinations towards evil desires or lustful appetites need to be displaced by a new character of holiness.

To a genuine believer or a dedicated Christian life is not separated between the “secular” and the “sacred.” Every area of his life is holy, lived out to glorify God. Even eating and drinking, seen as everyday activities, can be carried out to make God’s name great. In other words, whatever cannot be done to the glory of God is certainly out of the will of God.

“Actions speak louder than words,” as the saying goes. When our Christian life communicates the holiness of God, we do not need to shout it out to any one. It is better to live a holy life than to talk about it. Christians are like lighthouses. We do not have to ring bells, fire crackers, light fireworks to draw attention to our light – we just shine.

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

How would you live a holy life? How would people know you are showing the holiness of God? Christian, be different not indifferent. Imitate Christ: follow His words and His ways.

Gen. 25:19-34

Bob Weniger

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” So states the opening line of the novel Anna Karenina by the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.

That’s a very interesting statement to ponder. Literary critics, scholars, and others have debated just what Tolstoy meant by that as well as whether or not it’s true. Are happy families all alike? I suppose it may seem that way to some, at least on the surface. Others may wonder whether or not there really are any truly happy families. But the second half of that statement probably is true: each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. While there may be some similarities and common problems, in the end each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. For every family is unique as every member of the family is unique. Each family has its own dynamics.

In Scripture we meet a family that was anything but happy. That’s one of the great things about the Bible. Something that adds to its credibility is the fact that it never sugarcoats anything. The biblical writers never try to make the central characters or their families appear better than they really were. They describe people, even those at the center of God’s plans, just the way they were.

That should be encouraging for us, not only because it testifies to the reliability of Scripture, but also because it tells us that God does not require perfect people. Sometimes we may be tempted to look at our lives – either our past or our present – and conclude that God could never use us in any meaningful way. There is just too much crud, too much sin, too many problems in our lives. We have disqualified ourselves from being used of God in any significant way.

But that way of thinking is simply not consistent with Scripture. Not that we should take our character, our lifestyle, or our obedience to God lightly. Obviously not, for God has wonderful plans for us in these areas. So of course we need to surrender totally to God. But the record of Scripture is that of God taking flawed and sinful people, even obstinate people, and by His grace transforming them into something new. And through that process, which may take many years, God could use them. And so God can also use any of us in amazing ways.

So in Scripture we have this unhappy, very dysfunctional family. And much to our surprise, this flawed family is the most important family in all the Old Testament. It’s a family in which several generations play a central role in God’s plan for the human family. For from this family would come the nation of Israel, called to be a light to the surrounding nations regarding the identity of the true God. And from this nation eventually would come the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

It began with Abraham, whom God called to leave his pagan country and travel hundreds of miles to a new land. In faith and obedience Abraham answered God’s call. But as we read the story of Abraham we see he was a work in progress. He sometimes doubted God and His faithfulness. Because he feared for his life among the inhabitants of this new land, several times he passed his wife Sarah off as his sister, even though that put her virtue at risk. God promised them a son, but after a period of time Abraham and Sarah decided they needed to help God out a little. So Abraham had a son with Sarah’s maidservant Hagar. That obviously led to some severe tension within the family.

Abraham and Sarah eventually had the son God promised, Isaac. He married a woman named Rebekah. For twenty years they were not able to have children. Finally, God answered their prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant. In fact, they would be doubly blessed, for she would give birth to twins. But along with the joy of bearing twins, Rebekah and Isaac would also experience double the pain, double the hardship, and double the tension within their family, for the two boys were at each other from the beginning. They had very different personalities. Instead of encouraging and training the brothers how to get along, Isaac and Rebekah made one of the worst mistakes parents can ever make – they each favored one of the sons. That led to all kinds of problems for their family. So let’s read about this in Gen. 25:19-34.

This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I am famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom [red].)

Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

“Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

Two sons tangling with each other even from the womb. Their opposite personalities inevitably led to ongoing conflict. Each parent had their favorite. Isaac loved Esau – a kind of “man’s man,” who loved the outdoors, hunting, and probably pro football! He lived for the moment and didn’t bother to think through his actions to see what long-term consequences they might bring.

Jacob could not have been more different from Esau. He didn’t have the adventuresome spirit that Esau had. He preferred to stay close to home, close to the tent, close to his mother – who loved Jacob more than she loved Esau. But he knew what he wanted out of life. He could look ahead and see what would be in his best interest for the long haul. Unfortunately, he was willing to manipulate and deceive in order to get what he wanted. That he was grasping his older brother’s heal as they were born symbolized Jacob’s assertive nature and how he would do anything to overtake and triumph over anyone standing in his way.

Talk about a recipe for disaster! Twin boys so different from each other, each favored by one parent. You can just imagine the arguments and fights that took place within this family. Yet this is the family God chose to work through. It almost seems that God delights in choosing the people with the least potential, then patiently works in them over a period of years until they are refined in character, yielded to God, and obedient to His ways.

In fact, this account of Jacob and his family, as is really true of all of Scripture, is all about God’s grace. Isaac and Rebekah were far from model parents. While they had faith in God, they were hesitant to truly trust God. Jacob was scheming and deceitful, selfishly trying to get his way and unconcerned about how his actions would negatively affect others. In the life of Jacob we see how God can take even the most unlikely candidate for spiritual development and accomplishment, and transform such a person from the inside out so they reflect something of the character of God and help bring about God’s purposes for the world. It’s all about God’s grace, which gives hope to all of us.

So in the coming weeks we are going to look at the life of Jacob with the goal of seeing the transformation that took place in his life by God’s grace, wisdom, and power, and then what that can mean for us. For the life of Jacob is a kind of window through which we can see the transforming power of God’s grace.

The first evidence of God’s grace toward Jacob is foretold when Rebekah inquired of the Lord why there was such turmoil in her womb. God informed her that two nations would come forth from her two sons, and that the older would serve the younger. That had to seem very strange to Rebekah, for it went totally against the cultural norms of the day. The oldest son had the position of honor and prestige. Upon the death of the father, it was the oldest son who would assume responsibility for the family. That included both spiritual and material responsibility. Along with that, the oldest son received a double portion of the inheritance. That is the birthright – a double inheritance and leadership within the family – that Esau traded for nothing more than a meal. Just think – a position of leadership in the family and a double portion of the inheritance, and Esau gave it all away for a bowl of stew. As I said, Esau was not one to plan or think ahead.

But despite the local custom, God told Rebekah that the younger son would have the privileged position. It wasn’t because Jacob earned that honor. Jacob’s selfish character and deceitful behavior makes it clear that He was not chosen by God for this special honor because he was deserving of it. No, it was simply a gift of God’s grace. Sometimes we may want to argue with God because of whom He extends His grace to. Surely not them, we think. There are more deserving people. But that is the nature of grace. It is granted to those who are not deserving of it. If they were deserving of it, it would not be grace.

And that’s good news for all of us. We all have our flaws and weaknesses. We all struggle with particular sins. We all have things in our past we regret. None of us are deserving of God’s kindness. But that doesn’t disqualify us from being chosen, blessed, and used of God. God is a gracious God who accepts us as we are. And then by His grace He works in our lives transforming our hearts. God leads us into situations – sometimes difficult situations – that have the result of producing growth into Christ-likeness. God will bring people into our lives that help facilitate change and development – either because they encourage us or because they challenge us.

The calling of God is not dependent on our qualifications. It depends only on God’s grace. This we will see throughout our study of Jacob. And as we yield our hearts and lives to God and His gracious working in our lives, we will experience how God can make us into new people in Christ, and we will have opportunities to live lives of significance as we respond to the opportunities God gives us.

But while this all by God’s grace, still we must yield to God, for He will not force us to become something we don’t want to become. We must surrender our lives, including intentionally offering to God particular areas of our lives that are out of sync with His purposes for us. If we are easily angered, or we delight in spreading gossip, or we struggle with greed, but must give those habits to God so by His grace and power He can change us.

But the question comes up: isn’t there something unfair about this? I mean, it’s great for Jacob, who even though he was a liar and a schemer, at least he received far more than he ever deserved. But what about Esau? He wasn’t the chosen one. He should have had the privileged position as the older brother, but it was taken from him. Well, first we must acknowledge that while we may not always understand God’s ways, His wisdom far exceeds ours. There is a wise and loving purpose in all God does. Secondly, God’s choosing of Jacob over Esau did not relate to eternal salvation. It only had to do with their particular calling in this life. And third, God did not withhold something from Esau that Esau truly wanted. Esau traded his very valuable birthright simply for some stew. Esau did not value what was in reality so valuable. In fact, the text says that Esau despised his birthright. So God’s choice of Jacob over Esau was not unfair, for God took from Esau something that Esau did not even value, even though it was very valuable.

This should lead us to ask ourselves: how greatly do we value that which is truly and eternally valuable? Do we rightly value the things of God? The calling of God? The gifts of God? The truth of God and His ways? Some years ago Tony Campolo wrote a book entitled Who Switched the Price Tags? The premise of the book is that the world has switched the price tags, taking things that are of great value – such as character, integrity, morality, service to others, and so on and declared they are of little value. So there’s no real point in pursuing such things. At the same time, the world has elevated things that really are of limited value, such as immediate gratification, financial riches, material possessions, popularity, fashion, pleasure, etc., and pronounced these things to be of great value, things to seek after with all you’ve got. The world has switched the price tags.

We all can easily fall into the same trap of valuing the wrong things as Esau did, who valued a simple meal more highly than his esteemed birthright. This can happen so easily to us because of both our own desires as well as the enticing messages of the world. So we need to examine ourselves from time to time – maybe even enlisting the help and insight of others – so we can see ourselves truly. It would be good for all of us to spend some time even this week considering our life and what we truly value – not in theory but in reality. What are the things we give our time to, our energy to? What are our goals? What do we value as it relates to the kind of person we are, our character. What are we doing with our life? For if we value things wrongly, we will live lives marked by poor choices, regrettable decisions, and missed opportunities, as was true for Esau. But again, the good news is that by His grace, God can transform our hearts and our desires, so we come to value that which is truly valuable and give ourselves to that which is truly meaningful

This account also calls us to trust God fully. Jacob was chosen by God to be the one through whom God would work out His purposes for the nation of Israel which would lead to the coming of the Savior. God had revealed that to Rebekah, and no doubt Rebekah shared that with Jacob. But Jacob was unwilling to let God work that out in His way. Instead, Jacob manipulated and deceived and forced things to get his way. He took advantage of Esau’s weakness to lay hold of the birthright, and as we’ll see later, he deceived his own father to claim the blessing that also belonged to Esau. Because of that, Jacob would spend many years separated from his family, living in fear of his brother and being the victim of deceit himself by his future father-in-law, all because he was trying to force things to work out the way he wanted.

And so we need to make sure we don’t try to take matters into our hands. Of course, there is a time to act in response to the will of God; we don’t just sit and do nothing, waiting for God to move us around like pieces on a chessboard. But we need to seek God’s direction, and He will make it clear what we are to do, and when and how we are to do it.

If like Jacob, we try to force things to work out the way we want when we want, if we plot and scheme and manipulate to get our way, then like Jacob we will have to learn some lessons the hard way. But even there, as was true for Jacob, we can experience God’s grace, for He will be with us to help us learn those lessons and to enable us to come to the point where we can trust God fully.

And so today, if you feel inadequate, take heart. Paul writes that God uses simple clay pots to store an incredible treasure – the presence of the living Christ. And we are the pots. There’s nothing special about the pot, but only the treasure inside the pot. But in spite of how plain, fragile, and chipped the clay pot might be, God makes His grace and glory radiate from seemingly insignificant and flawed people. For His strength is made perfect in our weakness (II Cor. 4:7). God’s purposes for our lives and for the world are not brought about through our might or cleverness, but by God’s unlimited grace, which is abundantly available to all of us.

Consider again Paul. He referred to himself as the chief of all sinners, but he was also the greatest missionary in the history of the church and wrote much of the New Testament. How did that turnaround occur? Paul wrote, “By the grace of God I am what is am (I Cor. 15:9-10).” And so there are no limits as to what we can become and what we can accomplish if we open ourselves fully to God’s grace and transforming power. So let’s do just that. Let’s open our hearts to the fullness of God’s grace and His transforming power, and then see what God does in and through us.

Pr Richard Tok

1 Peter 1:1-9

Introduction:

Last Sunday 22^nd January was my 68^th birthday. According to the Lunar Calendar I was born on Chinese New Year’s Eve. So this year my two birthdays fell on the same day!

I have another birthday. In 1958 when I was already 14 years old I believed in Jesus Christ and accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour. Fourteen years earlier I was born of my father and mother’s decision. In surrendering my life to Jesus Christ I became a child of God. I was born again by the power and authority of God through the Holy Spirit. Since then I have lived and grown as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ.

Are you aware that when you become a Christian and follow Jesus Christ, you have been born again! How many of you here have new life in Christ and are born again?

Those of us who are born again have a living hope through the living Christ. Living the Christian life is not easy. The challenges we face indicates we are alive. We are like the salmon swimming against the current. A dead one would drift with the current. The vagaries of life do not deter us as Christians. It is our hope in Christ that helps us steer our course. We are led and directed by the light and life of Christ. What is this hope we are talking about today?

Hope: to wish and expect for the better when confronted with doubts.

We are hoping for some wind and rain to clear the haze.

There is a difference between hope and wish in English usage:

You can wish for impossible things but you hope only when the thing you want is possible.

I wish I were thirty years younger. I hope you get better soon.

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Hope can also mean a thing or a person that seems likely to bring success.

Please help me. You are my one and only hope.

O Lord, can you hear me? Help me. You are my one and only hope.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become the high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.

(Hebrews 6:19-20)

1. The Reason for the Message of Hope

Our key verse reads: Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

The title of the message got its idea from this verse. Apostle Peter addressed Christians who were in an area we call Turkey today. There were Jewish converts from Jerusalem. People from different parts of the Roman Empire during the Day of Pentecost had returned to their home country. There were also slaves who found freedom and became Christians. These were the “diaspora,” scattered followers of Christ. He told them that they had been born again into a living hope because they believed in the living Christ.

Why did he have to give them such a hopeful message?

The hint is in verse 6: In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Peter realized that something very serious was going to happen in the Roman Empire. The Christians needed to be prepared for the change in circumstances. Trials and troubles were coming. The emperor was going to persecute Christians.

Today we may not face persecution but we do “suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” The message is applicable to us because God’s word is contemporary. It speaks to all people in all countries and of all generations.

What grief and sorrow do you carry? Health, relationship, employment, lost or setback? What trials and troubles are met by Christians today here and in other parts of the world? What troubles may be brewing in our country or your home country? Political turmoil have led to insecurity in livelihood, threat to personal life, seizure of property, unlawful detention, anxiety when gathering for worship, lost of rights and privileges, etc.

The apostle Peter was given specific instruction to do his apostolic and pastoral duty to prepare his followers for times of testing and troubles:

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me.” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:15-17

So Pastors, Elders and leaders, like the apostle we need to prepare our people for hard and troublesome times ahead. Folks from different countries who worship here need to encourage each other as you think of your families and home country. When you should return to where you come from remember to strengthen your brothers.

2. What the Message of Hope Holds

“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…” (v.3)

i. Christians are born again. New birth leads to new life. In the old life under Adam, all are classified as sinners. All sinners die a spiritual and physical death. People are gripped by the fear of death. Note that if you are born once you die twice but born twice you die once!

The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

The message to Christians and to all is that new birth comes by believing and trusting in Jesus Christ to be their Saviour from sin, death, hell and the devil.

For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that who ever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) Have you been born again?

ii. Christians have a living hope. Those who trust in Jesus, follow His ways and His words, are confident that what Jesus promised is true. What He said he will do. He is the promise keeper. The Christian’s hope is real and alive. We share an inheritance with Christ in heaven. What is this inheritance? It is eternal life and all the blessings that heaven has for all believers. We are heaven-bound and we are going to enjoy eternity in heaven with Christ and other believers.

Do you remember the thief who hung on the cross beside Jesus? He asked not to be forsaken but remembered by Jesus. And our Lord told him he would take him to paradise with him. When our time on earth is over we have a home in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ. We will never be a lonely wandering homeless spirit. This is one of the fears of the Chinese in their traditional belief during the Seventh Month of the Lunar Year.

This living hope – inheritance – eternal life will not perish! Ask the Christian, “Are you sure of your future? Are you sure of life after death?” His answer is not, “I hope so.”

The Christian’s hope is not the “I hope so,” kind of hope. Look at John 14:

Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (v. 1-3)

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” (v. 6)

“Because I live, you also will live.” (v.19) It is the hope that comes from this verse that we sing “Because He lives I can face tomorrow.” The Christian has certainty – “I know whom I have believed.”

iii. Christians have a living Saviour.

The apostle Peter stressed that Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead. This is an essential aspect of our belief in Christ. He is not dead and buried in the ground where his bones remained. No, Jesus Christ conquered the grave. He became alive and came out of the tomb! He has ascended to heaven and is coming back again!

In other words our Lord is unlike any other religious leader who died and was buried. None of them claimed that they would overcome death. Today all other religious movement do not teach that their leader is still alive over the centuries and their followers can overcome death. Jesus Christ is the only one who made this claim. His followers, Christians can share this hope: “Because I live, you also will live!”

Jesus said to her (Martha), “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe in this?”

Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, who was to come into the world.” (John 11:25-27)

George Beverly Shea, renown for his deep baritone voice could have made a name for himself in Hollywood or made his money by cutting records at Nashville, Tennessee. But he did not. He rather joined Cliff Barrows and sang for the Billy Graham Crusade. His love and commitment to His Saviour was captured in a song written by Rhea Miller:

I rather have Jesus than sliver or gold;

I rather be His than have riches untold;

I rather have Jesus than houses or lands;

I rather be led by His nail-pierced hands.

Than to be a king of a vast domain

Or be held in sin’s dread sway.

I rather have Jesus than anything

This world affords today.

3. Hope in God keeps our Minds under Control (v13, 21)

Therefore, prepare you minds for action, be self-controlled, set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (v.13)

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him and so your faith and hope are in God. (v.27)

Christians may not have control over the events and environment around him. But they can have control over their own hearts and minds. They can be prepared for changing circumstances that may disrupt their lives. From what they know and understand about their future they prepare their hearts and minds to meet the challenges.

The worse that can happen is death and the body is destroyed. To the Christian the body is only a shell made of clay. It returns to the ground but his soul and spirit return to God his maker. In the time of Emperor Nero, Christians were cast into amphitheatres to be devoured by lions as entertainment for the Romans. They died praying and singing. Others burned at the stakes for their beliefs were seen to be praising not cursing.

When he comes face to face with challenges in life he is not alone. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ lives in him. His body is the temple or the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. It does not matter whether his mood changes or the environment threatens, God is always with him.

Conclusion

According to apostle Peter Christians must never forget three things about their new life in Christ. They have new birth, a living hope and a living Savior – Jesus Christ who died and is risen from the dead. These three things equip them to face a threatening and dangerous future. It is these three things that make them live differently from non-believers. They are without hope in this life and the next. When they ask for an explanation, the Christian must be ready to explain his hope in Christ to them.

Apostle Peter reminded the Christians that their life was empty just like their forefathers. Jesus made their lives different when he redeemed them with his precious blood. In those days many Roman slaves became Christians. Many slaves had been set free by good men who bought them with money. Then set them free. They understood what it is to be redeemed. Jesus died for them like the lamb that died at the Passover in Egypt. Pharaoh let the Jewish slaves go free. Jews who became Christians can appreciate their past. Thank God for the present and trust Him for the future. Are we appreciative and thankful to God and trusting Him day after day?

We are all like the grass of the field. When grass is fresh and green people like them. They are useful, beautiful and soft to lie on. When they are dry, dead they are discarded and burned. The life span of grass is very short. Our life is like that of grass. We may be appreciated, needed and sort for now but not for very long. Our usefulness and charm have their life span. Soon we will become a discarded item to be ignored. Our glory will fade away.

The difference life will make is whether we have Christ. Where there is Christ there is hope. Where Jesus is, it is heaven there. Make sure our hope is in Christ. May we live a life that shows that we have hope! Perhaps your life can speak about Jesus. Always be ready to say a few good words to people about Jesus: have faith and hope in God through Jesus Christ.

Are you aware that God is watching over you? Be clear in you conviction – you are a born again Christian, you have a living hope and have a living Saviour. Our Lord Jesus Christ is protecting, preserving and providing for each of us. We are kept by the power of God in Christ Jesus!

Pr Bob Weniger

John 11:1-16

If you follow bicycle racing, you are probably with the Tour de France. For those of you who do not follow bicycle racing, the Tour de France is the most grueling of all bicycle races. The race lasts for three weeks and the competitors must ride more than 2,000 miles, or 3,000 kilometers. Six or seven days of the race are packed with excruciatingly difficult mountain climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees. The winner of the Tour de France is rightly considered the best rider in the world.

Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France seven consecutive times. In the more than 100-year history of the race only a couple other riders won the race five times and never more than that. So it was an incredible feat Armstrong to win it seven times, but it is especially astounding that Lance Armstrong should be the one to do that. For in 1996, at the age of 25 and just as his career was beginning to take off, it came to a screeching halt. Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer. The cancer had spread to several parts of his body, including his brain and lung. It appeared to be the end of his promising racing career, and maybe even the end of his life, as he was given less that a 50% chance of surviving.

Yet amazingly Armstrong beat the cancer and within a couple years was alone at the very top of the bicycle racing profession. And what is even more amazing is that if it were not for the cancer Armstrong perhaps would not have met with such success. For in an interview Armstrong commented on how his training and attitude changed following the cancer treatment. He said:

“When I came back, I said if I ever get a chance to do this, I’m going to give it everything. I’m going to train correctly, eat right. I’m not going to mess up. That why I say all the time that the illness is the best thing that ever happened to me. I would never have won one Tour de France if I hadn’t had it (cancer). No doubt.”

So in a rather paradoxical way the cancer that almost killed Armstrong ultimately helped him to be the best rider in the world.

Sometimes that’s the way life is. What at first seems to be a tragedy in the end leads to a greater victory. Suffering paves the way for renewed strength. Sorrow is turned into joy. As it relates specifically to our spiritual life, we at times have experiences where we wonder where is God. Why has He deserted us? How can He allow us to go through this horrible experience. And yet sometimes it’s those very experiences that God works through to mold us, shape us, and strengthen us so that our faith is deepened and God can use us in more profound ways.

Today we’ll look at an event recorded in the Gospel of John that illustrates this truth. It’s an event in which things certainly were not as they first appeared to be. It is found in Jn. 11:1-16.

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”

When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

“But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”

After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

You may know the rest of the story. Jesus arrived and encountered Martha. Jesus assured her that He is the resurrection and the life, and then He raised Lazarus from the dead.

Let me highlight a few lessons we can learn from this account. First of all, as I have alluded to, things are not always what they seem.

Lazarus was dying. Mary and Martha sent word to their friend Jesus that their brother was sick. But they knew he wasn’t merely sick. He didn’t just have a cold or the flu. He was very sick. They would not have sent for Jesus to come and heal their brother unless he was very sick, for Jesus was several days journey away. Vs. 6 stated that Jesus stayed where he was for two more days before leaving. And when he arrived Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. So Jesus was at least a two-day journey away, maybe more depending on how long after Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus Lazarus actually died.

When the message came that Lazarus was sick, Jesus responded, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Two days later, when Jesus decided to go the Bethany, He told His disciples, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

In both of these verses we see an important principle: as bad as things seemed, God was doing something good. What could be worse than the death of a dear friend. Nothing is as final as that. Sometimes we receive bad news, but we know with the passage of time things will get better. But when someone has died, that’s it! That’s as bad as it gets.

But not so with God. With God things are not always as they appear, and that means there is always hope. Sometimes we can’t see beyond the crushing present circumstances, but all the while God has a higher purpose, a greater good in mind. And in His perfect timing God will bring that about. Consider these examples from Scripture.

Paul writes in Rom. 5:3-5, “We…rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Paul affirmed he rejoiced in his experiences of suffering because his vision was not limited to the present suffering he had to endure. He was able to see beyond it to what would result from it. He saw that suffering produces perseverance and perseverance develops character. In other words, he knew that as a result of his suffering he would be a stronger, more mature person and disciple of Jesus.

So what may appear to be an experience of conflict, suffering, or trials in reality is an opportunity for growth in character. So often when we’re in tough situations like that, our first instinct it to find the nearest exit. We want to get out of the situation as soon as possible, and that’s understandable. But things aren’t always what they appear. Sometimes we need to go through difficult circumstances in order to learn lessons and be changed in terms of our character, and the only way for such transformation to occur is through difficulty. That’s when we are forced to ask questions of ourselves and examine ourselves in ways we would not do if everything was going our way. When we are enduring a serious illness, or we lost our job, or we suffered a broken relationship, that’s when we’re more likely to ask questions of ourselves such as: What direction is my life heading? What is the foundation of my life? What kind of person am I? Do my values and goals make sense when life is so unpredictable? Where am I in in relation to God? When everything is our life is going well we just enjoy the ride and typically don’t ask questions of ourselves that force us to seriously examine our lives. We are much more likely to do that when going through difficulty.

Or consider II Cor. 1:4. “(God) comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” When we are in the midst of troubles, often we can’t get our focus off ourselves. We ask, “Why me? Why do I have to go through this?” Not to make light of whatever troubles we may go through. Sometimes they strike at the core of who we are and the pain of the situation penetrates to the very depths of our being. But things aren’t always what they appear. Sometimes God wants to use such situations to help us help others. Only when we have gone through pain and sorrow can we know what it is like for others to go through pain and sorrow. God promises He will comfort us during those times, and we then are to pass that comfort on to others who are struggling. So what we call a trouble, God calls a chance to develop empathy for others.

Or again from II Cor. 1, this time vs. 8-9: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” Paul doesn’t describe the particular hardships he and his companions were under, but whatever they were they were so severe that they despaired even of life. It was so bad they didn’t want to go on living. It was beyond their ability to endure and they just couldn’t take it any longer. Death would have been easier than going on in their circumstances.

But there was more to what was going on than met the eye. God was using these horrible circumstances to deepen their faith. As Paul said, they were learning to rely on God instead of themselves. That’s a lesson we all need to learn, and the only way we learn is by going through situations for which our own strength and ability is simply inadequate. Only then do we fully rely on God and in the process we learn that God truly is faithful.

In Philippians 1 Paul writes of being in prison. That’s not a pleasant experience. But he also shares how he rejoiced in this because his circumstances really served to advance the gospel, with the result that the whole palace guard and everyone else there had the opportunity to hear the Good News. (vs. 12-14) On the surface, Paul was suffering in prison. At a deeper level he was an evangelist who had the opportunity to share the gospel with those who would not have heard it unless he were there.

There are many examples of this in Scripture. What we need to do is learn to trust God at all times and in all circumstances. For God is faithful, and often He is doing something that cannot be seen at first. But if we are open and yielded during those times, we will see how God is changing us and using us even when things don’t make sense to our understanding.

So it was with Lazarus. He was sick even unto death. On the surface, what could be worse? But God was in control, and He had a purpose in it. As we read later in that chapter, Jesus would raise Lazarus to life, with the result that God would be glorified and the disciples, having witnessed this incredible miracle, would come to believe in a deeper way than before that Jesus really was God the Son.

Secondly, and related to all this, when God makes us wait, it is not meant to discourage us but develop us. It does seem strange to us as we read this account. Jesus hears that a dear friend is sick and needs him desperately. So what does Jesus do? He waits for two days before leaving. And then it takes two days to get there. To us that just doesn’t make sense. If we are desperate and need help right away, we would expect a good friend to come running, not to shrug it off for a few days.

It’s difficult to say the least when we have to wait on God. Sometimes we have to wait for a prayer to be answered. Sometimes we must wait for guidance and direction. Sometimes we wait for a need to be met. During those times it’s easy to get discouraged. We may conclude that our problems are insignificant to God. But if we think that way then we have missed an important truth, and that is that God’s delays are meant to develop us not discourage us. This can have several specific applications.

Sometimes it is out of His mercy that God delays answering us. God wants to do something amazing in our lives, but the timing must be right for that. If Jesus would have been there while Lazarus was still sick, everyone would have pressured Jesus to heal him. And if that would have happened, it would have been just another miracle of healing. But by waiting the disciples and the others witnessed the power and glory of God in a greater way than they could have imagined. Lazarus had been dead four days. His body was decomposing. But the power of God brought him back to life. The disciples knew that Jesus had power to heal the sick, but their faith grew even stronger when they saw he also had power over death. Because Jesus was not there in time to heal Lazarus, the disciples came to believe that Jesus really is the resurrection and the life. Sometimes God doesn’t answer our immediate request because He has something far better in mind, but the timing must be right.

Then there are delays of preparation. Sometimes we ask for things that we are not ready to receive or we ask for the opportunity to do something for which we are not yet prepared. Consider even the life of Jesus. He was here only 33 years, and He did not start His ministry until He was 30. Why so much wasted time? And even when He did start, He spent the first 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. Forty days is a lot when you have only three years.

Why the delay? We can only assume that Jesus was being prepared for His ministry, and the people were being prepared to receive it. Concerning specifically the 40 days of temptation, Jesus had to meet the devil head on, to face temptation in its cruelest and yet most appealing fashion, and still resist it before launching His ministry. Sometimes we must wait on God because He is still preparing us for what lies ahead.

And sometimes delays are for the purpose of developing our faith. That is why Jesus said we are not simply to ask, but to keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking (Mt. 7:7). Why doesn’t God answer after we have asked just once? It’s not that God is playing games with us. It’s just that faith is strengthened through perseverance, by holding on in times of waiting. God’s delays are meant to develop us not discourage us. It may be that God has something betting for us, or that we need to be prepared for what God wants to give us, or that God wants to strengthen our faith.

The third thing from this passage to make note of is that one of the pitfalls we must avoid when going through difficult or confusing times, or when God doesn’t seem to respond to us in as timely fashion as we desire is that of assuming the worst. This is what we see the disciples, and especially Thomas doing.

After waiting two days, Jesus said to the disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” That is where Lazarus was. But the disciples reminded Jesus, “Rabbi, a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?” We read of that event in the previous chapter – John 10:22f. There Jesus was teaching, and He claimed, “I and the Father are one.” The Jews interpreted that as blasphemy and picked up stones to stone Jesus. But Jesus eluded them.

With that fresh in their minds, there was no way the disciples wanted to go back to that place. That would just be asking for trouble. And when Jesus told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him,” the disciples thought, “Hey, there’s not even a need to go back there.” You know how if you’ve had the flu, by the next day you might be over the flu but you need a day just to sleep and rest to get your strength back. That’s what the disciples were thinking. If Lazarus is just sleeping, he’ll get his strength back shortly and be fine. So Jesus, there is no need to go, especially when there are people there who want to kill you.

So Jesus had to tell them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for you sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas said to the other disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Now on the one hand I suppose we should applaud Thomas for his willingness even to die with Christ, although it was probably more just talk than anything else. But the negative side of his statement he didn’t see the possibility of a miracle. He couldn’t see how God could do something great and mighty in this situation. All he could envision was the worst. He knew that the Jews had tried to kill Jesus just a short time before. Jesus was lucky to get away that time. It would be pushing His luck to go again. Surely this time they will kill Jesus. And along with his lack of faith a bit of heroism takes root in him. “Hey, why don’t we all go and we’ll all die together with Jesus. Let’s go out in style!” Thomas assumed the worst – that they would all die.

Are you ever like that – assuming the worst? Especially during the difficult times of life, when there is no immediate answer to your cries, do you assume that the worst is going to happen. The sickness will surely lead to death. The wayward teenager is forever lost. Having lost your job you will never find a decent job again. There is no way the troubled marriage cannot be restored. How easy it is to let the circumstances overpower us, and when that happens we lose sight of God and what He can do.

Jesus returned to Judea and this impossible situation and He did the impossible; He raised Lazarus from the dead. The disciples were just wasting time assuming the worst was going to happen. With God there is always the possibility of a miracle, of something we cannot foresee or bring about in our own ability.

So let me encourage you to remember these things. Things are not always what they appear. When we are going through trials, times of confusion or even suffering, God may have a purpose we just can’t see. So don’t cave into the sometimes dismal appearance of circumstances. Instead anticipate what God will do through those circumstances. Secondly, during those times don’t be discouraged when you have to wait for God to answer. His wisdom is perfect and so is His timing. He sees the whole picture when we see only a bit of it. Trust God that He has a purpose in the delay. And thirdly, don’t be one who always assumes the worst. Instead, try to see the possibility of what God can do, and be ready to embrace it when it comes.

God is in control. He loves us with an infinite, unconditional love. And He never makes a mistake. In short, we can trust God, even when we don’t understand everything.

Pr Bob Weniger

John 21:15-23

March 27, 1977 marks the day of the worst aviation accident in history. Some of you probably remember it. At Los Rodeos Airport in the Canary Islands two 747’s collided. One 747, operated by Pan Am, had been given instructions to taxi across a particular runway. The crew of the other 747, a KLM plane, believed they had been given takeoff clearance down that same runway. As the KLM plane picked up speed down the runway, the crew realized what had happened and tried to lift off before striking the Pan Am plane. But the plane didn’t have enough speed and distance to clear the Pan Am plane and it sheared the Pan Am plane in two. All 248 people on the KLM plane perished and 335 of the 396 passengers on the Pan Am plane died; only 61 survived.

I have a friend who is a pilot, and he once shared with me an article from one of his aviation magazines. In the article Dr. Daniel Johnson, a psychologist, wrote of his interviews with several survivors. This is an account of his interview with two of them:

“To Mr. and Mrs. Able, both around seventy years of age, the impact did not feel too severe. They remember being thrown against the seats in front, yet right after the impact they remembered ‘columns of fire’ dropping down inside the cabin.

“The Ables had not seen the other plane, nor did they know what had happened. After a moment, Mr. Able got up and started toward the exit. As he left his seat he told his wife, ‘Follow Me!’ At first Mrs. Able sat in her seat doing nothing. She later remembered thinking, ‘This is it.’

“She thought she was going to die but she was not afraid. And though religious, she did not pray. Nor did she have any thought of escaping. She says she was in a daze, but after Mr. Able yelled, ‘Follow me!’ she got out of her seat and moved into the aisle.

“As they headed toward the door they saw most of the other passengers sitting in their seats. Apparently many of the people, at least in this section of the aircraft were behaviorally inactive.

“Dr. Johnson explained, ‘The Ables said that many more people could have survived this accident had they simply moved from their seats and gone to the exits. Mrs. Able felt that she would have died had it not been for her husband telling her to follow.”

Two simple words: Follow me! Mrs. Able heard them as spoken by her husband, heeded them, and it saved her life.

If you have been around the church for any length of time you recognize those two words. Those are the words Jesus used to call His disciples. Those are the words Jesus still uses to call His disciples. And the call to follow Jesus is not something we respond to once and for all; it is a call we must heed daily. We see this in the life of Peter.

In Mark 1:16-18 we read of Peter’s first opportunity to respond to the call of Jesus to follow Him. Peter was fishing with his brother Andrew when Jesus came by and called to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And they left their nets and followed Jesus.

Some time later, after Jesus had just given some especially difficult and challenging teaching, we read in Jn. 6:66-68 that many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Jesus. Jesus than asked the twelve main disciples, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” And Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Jesus didn’t use the words, “Follow Me!” but the idea was the same. As many quit following Jesus, Jesus offered the twelve the chance to quit following Him, go back home and to return to their old ways of living. But Peter responded that having been with Jesus, such a course no longer had any attraction and so he and the others continued to follow Jesus.

Scripture tells of one more instance when Peter had to respond to the words, “Follow me!” We read of this in Jn. 21:15-22. Jesus by this time had been crucified and raised from the dead. He appeared to His disciples by the Sea of Galilee and John writes:

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he turned and said to him, “Follow me!”

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him.”

Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”

“Follow Me!” That is a costly command. The first time it meant Peter had to give up the life he knew and leave his family to physically follow Jesus. The second time it meant submitting to and following the difficult and challenging teaching of Jesus. The third time it meant committing himself to a way of life for the rest of his life that would ultimately bring about the end of his life. For in commanding Peter to feed His sheep, Jesus was appointing Peter to a role of leadership in the early church, a role that would eventually lead to his martyrdom. That’s what Jesus was referring to when he spoke of someone stretching out Peter’s hands; Peter would be stretched out on a cross just like Jesus was.

It’s a costly command, and it’s a continuous command. Not only do we have these three examples of Jesus calling Peter to follow, but the words “Follow me!” are in the present tense. So in the original Greek language of the New Testament the meaning is, “Follow me, and keep on following.” Everyday Peter, and all of us, must respond to the call of Jesus to follow Him.

Each day we are presented with the opportunity to either follow Jesus or not follow Jesus. Following Jesus begins when we open our hearts to Him for the first time, when we trust Him as our Savior. But just because we became a Christian and decided to follow Jesus 10 or 20 or 50 years ago does not make it automatic that we will follow Jesus today. I’m not talking about losing our salvation but about following Jesus daily. For when Jesus called people he did not say, “Believe in Me, and then go on living as you please,” but rather “Follow Me.” And each day has its own unique opportunities. Consider some examples of how we must choose whether or not to follow Jesus throughout the course of each and everyday.

As we encounter people at work or at school or in our neighborhoods, how do we treat them? Do we just rush right by them, not taking time for them, not showing any interest in them because we are obsessed with and even blinded by our own agenda? Or will we follow Jesus by following His example? As we read through the gospels we notice that Jesus always had time for people. Even when He was tired and wanted to rest, when people came to Him with their needs, He always had time for them. Not that we don’t have important and necessary things we need to do each day, but as we encounter others do we recognize there an opportunity to follow Jesus by showing the same interest, love, and compassion toward them that Jesus showed in His earthly ministry?

Do we take seriously our call to follow Jesus by growing in Christ-like character? We all have areas of our lives that don’t reflect the likeness of Christ. Maybe we are impatient. Perhaps we struggle with selfishness. Maybe our temper has a really short fuse. It could be that we tend to hold grudges against people. We may struggle with lust or greed. It could be any number of things. Do we take some time for a little self-inventory, considering what aspects of our lives are not in keeping with the character of the One we claim to follow, and then with God’s help, committing ourselves to change and grow in those areas? Following Jesus means becoming more like Jesus in terms of our character.

Or consider that God has given each one of us special gifts of the Holy Spirit as well as talents and abilities. Are we regularly using our gifts and abilities in the service of God and of others? Following Jesus means we consciously decide to employ what God has given us in His service.

Are there relationships in our lives that have been fractured or broken? They may be at home, at work, or even here in church. Do we harbor mistrust, anger or resentment toward another person? Scripture tells us that as much as it is within our power we are to live in peace with one another. To follow Jesus means we do what we can to live in right relationship with others.

How about your money? Now there’s a touchy subject, yet Scripture tells us that all we have comes from God and that we are to be good stewards of what He has given us, using a portion of what we have to help others and support the work of the church. Each time we get a paycheck we are presented with an opportunity to follow Jesus or go our own way.

What’s it like in your home? How do you treat your husband or wife, your children or parents? Scripture has a lot to say about family relationships. To follow Jesus means we deliberately try to be the kind of husbands, wives, parents or children that Jesus would have us be.

Following Jesus also relates to our use of time. If we are following Jesus there will be a difference between how we use our time and how those who are not following Jesus use their time – and that difference will extend beyond the hour or two we spend here on Sunday mornings. Do we take time to cultivate our relationship with Jesus, getting to know Him better by spending time in His word, in prayer, reading solid Christian books, being in a small group, and serving in some way. Following Jesus will be evident in our use of time.

There are all kinds of ways in which we have the opportunity to either follow Jesus or not to follow Jesus. For following Jesus, being His disciple, involves more than just what we believe. For to follow implies action, and so following Jesus involves what we do and how we live – everyday.

Well, the list could go on, but maybe that’s enough for now. Maybe for some of us this has been too much. Maybe some of us are thinking, “I don’t want to follow Jesus. It sounds like too much work, too much change, too much sacrifice.” And if you’re thinking that, you’re right. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross to follow Me.” (Mt. 16:24) That means dying to self, laying aside our selfish desires and self-centered interest.

Now the truth is we would like to water this down. It’s so easy to equate being a Christian with just adding a little something to the rest of our lives: go to church some, put a little money in the offering plate, be a nice person when convenient and so on, but basically just go on living as we choose. But that’s not what Jesus had in mind when He called people to follow. Jesus calls us to a whole new way of life that can only begin as we die to the old life where we are in charge and the goal is to fulfill our every desire, whether good or bad.

But here we see the other side of the coin. Yes, to follow Jesus means we must die to ourselves. We must surrender control of our lives to Jesus so that He can rule in our lives. But in doing so we come to experience a quality of life that only Jesus can grant, for He came to give us life in all its fullness. That is His goal for our lives – life in all its fullness. But that can only happen as we die to ourselves to follow Jesus and His ways. So yes, following Jesus means sacrifice and work and change and commitment and death to the old self. But it also means hope and purpose and joy and ultimately life.

Following Jesus gives us hope. You see, we can look at following Jesus as meaning I have to change. I have to become a different kind of person. Or we can see it as meaning I can change. As we surrender to Jesus wholeheartedly, the Holy Spirit has free reign in our lives. And His power is unlimited. He can accomplish in our lives what we never could on our own. And that means we no longer have to be controlled by anger. Resentment and bitterness no longer have to eat away at our insides. We no longer have to alienate people with our lack of patience. Destructive patterns don’t have to rule in our homes for we can become more understanding husbands and wives. We can be more gentle with our children. Following Jesus doesn’t mean so much that we have to change but rather by His grace we can change.

All this doesn’t happen instantly, but as we daily follow Jesus, surrendering to Him and asking Him to mold and transform us, over time we will become more and more like Jesus. We will not only because of His power at work within us but also because we always become like those we follow. Parents don’t want their children to get in with the wrong crowd for in following after that crowd, they fear their children will become like that crowd. We read in Jer. 2:5 of those who followed after worthless idols and became worthless themselves. Stated positively, Prov. 13:20 says, “He who walks with the wise grows wise.” We always become like those we follow. So following Jesus doesn’t so much mean we have to change but rather it offers us hope that we can change, we can be transformed into the kind of people God wants us to be, and which down deep we also want to be but we lack the power on our own to become. Following Jesus gives us hope – hope for our lives and the kind of people we can become.

And following Jesus gives us purpose. Jesus didn’t just beckon the disciples to follow Him and that was the end of it. No, he said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” He had a purpose for them. As they followed Jesus, He changed them and trained them to accomplish far greater things than they would have had they not followed Jesus. And He will do the same with us as we follow Him. We all want our lives to count for something. As we follow Jesus, growing in our relationship with Him and using the gifts and abilities He has given us, He leads us to people and into situations where we can make a difference.

The psychologist who interviewed the crash survivors described those on the plane who were alive and still in their seats as being behaviorally inactive. They were alive physically, but that was all. They weren’t able to think clearly about their circumstances and respond appropriately. Within a few minutes their inactivity caused their deaths for they didn’t get off the plane while there was time.

In a similar way we can be behaviorally inactive. True, we’re alive and our lives may be filled with lots of activity. But sometimes that is all it is – just activity we engage in to keep busy or to amuse ourselves for awhile so we don’t have to face the painful truth that our lives are meaningless and empty. It’s all just spinning our wheels, going through the motions of living. People life like that all the time. And that empty activity can blind us so that we do not see clearly and respond appropriately about what is truly of value and worth giving our lives to. But Jesus offers us the possibility of purposeful activity as we follow Him, obey Him, and commit ourselves to being a part of bringing about His eternal purpose for the world.

And as our lives are changed so we are more like Jesus, as we become the kind of people only God can help us become, and as we see that we really are making a difference in the world, that there is meaningful purpose to our lives, the result is a deep sense of joy and satisfaction. God wants us to be filled with joy. And that happens as we follow Jesus. For Jesus said in Jn. 15 that as we obey Him His joy will be in us and our joy will be complete.

People today will do anything to be happy, to find some sense of joy in their lives. But usually they go about it all wrong by seeking it in some self-centered way. And real joy never comes like that. True joy comes from following Jesus in complete surrender, for only when we do that do we experience the inner transformation we hope for and the purpose we long for.

So following Jesus give us up hope, purpose, joy, and finally, following Jesus leads to life – the fullness of life now and eternal life in the world to come. Just after Jesus said that whoever would come after him must deny himself, pick up his cross and follow, He went on to say (Mt. 16:25), “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

Following Jesus is not easy, for it means dying to self and surrendering our rights, our will to the will of God. But it is the only path that leads to life. Just as Mrs. Able’s life was saved as she followed her husband out of that burning aircraft, so we come to truly experience life in its fullness only as we follow Jesus out of our self-centeredness and away from the false gods of this world that cannot deliver.

So whom are you following? We all follow after someone or something. It may be a person, a cause, a dream, a lifestyle. Whom or what are you following? Each day we are presented with opportunities to follow Jesus and experience life in the fullest sense, or to follow someone or something else and thus wind up empty, confused, and disappointed.

By His grace Jesus comes to us, even right now, and says, “I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. Follow me!”

Lk. 15:11-32

Bob Weniger

As human beings it seems that we have this deep desire, almost a need to celebrate. When something good happens we celebrate. It may be over something as trivial as our favorite team winning the Super Bowl or the World Cup. Or it may have to do with something much more important, like the birth of a child or the marriage of a man and woman. We continue to celebrate those events every year on the birthday or anniversary. How dull life would be if we didn’t take time to celebrate!

Of all the things we celebrate, few things lead to more heartfelt celebration than the return of a wayward child. The child may actually have left home to not only live away from their parents but also to live in a way that goes against the values and morals of their parents. Or the child may not have physically left home but still lived in rebellion against their parents and all they stand for. When such a child returns home, returns to the ones who gave him or her life, there can’t help but be a celebration. Perhaps some of us here today have been that child who wandered but then returned home.

Jesus told a parable that probably all of us are familiar with. Perhaps we’re too familiar with it; having heard it so many times it has lost some of its power for us. But it’s a parable we need to hear afresh again and again. It’s the parable of the Prodigal Son.

What makes this parable so profound is that it is really the story of all of us, for we have all wandered from, even rebelled against our Heavenly Father. Some of us went through a period when we lived completely without God and our lifestyle was as ungodly as can be imagined. Then we had a dramatic conversion experience. Others of us perhaps grew up in the church and never strayed far from God and His ways, yet we still struggle with sin. Either way, as Scripture affirms, we all like sheep have gone astray. And we go astray every day. We all choose our own way over God’s. So the Prodigal Son represents all of us. And the father in the parable represents our Heavenly Father who responds to us in the most unexpected way. First, He welcomes us back, and then He throws a party to celebrate. Let’s read this parable from Luke 15:11-32.

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

We are at a disadvantage compared to the ones who originally heard Jesus tell this parable. For it must be interpreted in the context of their culture; we must try to hear it as the ones to whom Jesus told it heard it, and there are some things about ancient Middle Eastern culture that probably we are not familiar with. Because of that, we simply do not get the full impact Jesus intended. So let me touch on a few of these cultural differences.

First of all, the younger son’s request to receive his share of the inheritance while his father was still alive revealed not simply his desire for money; it also demonstrated his utter disrespect for his father. In traditional Middle Eastern culture, his words would have been interpreted as meaning, “Father, I am eager for you to die!” And the traditional Middle Eastern father, upon hearing words such as this, would strike his son across the face and throw him out of the house. That is how the original listeners of Jesus would have understood the son’s request, and that is how they would have expected the father to respond. So they would have been surprised to say the least when the father gave the son his share of the inheritance. And they must have wondered, “What kind of father is this that Jesus is describing? That is not how things are done!”

The inheritance the son received would have been quite substantial, for this was a wealthy family that Jesus was describing. They had fields and flocks. They had servants and hired men. As the younger son, he would have received one-third of the estate, with two-thirds going to the older son.

But giving the son his share of the inheritance cost the father far more than simply money or possessions. It also cost the father his honor and respect in the community. You know how it is today when the children make some regrettable choices. It’s talked about by others. It may be in the newspaper. Word spreads fast when children make some bad choices or take part in ill-advised behavior. And it causes great embarrassment to their parents.

So when the father gave his son the inheritance while he was still alive and then the son left his father, it brought public shame to the father. Everyone in the community would have known about this terrible failure within the family. And you can bet that there were all kinds of whispers, accusations, and gossip flourishing behind the father’s back.

The father could have avoided the shame by responding to his son as his culture would have anticipated – by striking his son and casting him out of the home. Then people probably would have talked about that no-good son, but at least the father would have upheld his honor but doing what the culture expected and saw as appropriate. But instead, because the father loved his son so much, he was willing to be the target of shame.

The son soon left home to live the life he thought would bring him joy, excitement, and fulfillment. As he leaves, in the back of his mind was the awareness that no matter what, he had better not lose all his money. Those listening to Jesus tell this parable would have picked up on this immediately, for it was an aspect of their culture.

We know from ancient Jewish writings that at the time of Jesus, the Jews had a way of punishing a Jewish young man who lost his family inheritance to Gentiles. And this son went to the land of the Gentiles, for it says he went to a distant country; he didn’t stay in the land of Israel. Furthermore, when he had lost everything he hired himself out to a citizen of that country to feed pigs. Obviously no Jewish person would own pigs since they considered pigs to be unclean. The son knew in going to a Gentile land that he’d better not lose his inheritance, or he would face severe punishment if he ever returned to his community. And if the son lost everything, what else could he do but return?

This form of punishment had to do with what they called the qetsatsah ceremony. If such a person dared return home after losing his inheritance to the Gentiles, the villagers would fill a large pottery jar with burned nuts and corn, and then they would break it in front of the guilty person. As they were doing this, the people would shout, “So-and-so is cut off from his people.” From that point on the people of the village would have absolutely nothing to do with the person. Even as the pottery jar was broken, so the relationship between the person and the community was broken, and could not be put back together. Of course, in that culture there was a much stronger sense of community than we are used to. It really defined your life.

So as the Prodigal Son leaves home, he knows that no matter what, he must not lose his money to the Gentiles. He’s in enough trouble as it is. But if he were to lose the money, his fate would be sealed for the rest of his life. He would be completely cut off from his family and his community. Then he would truly have nothing – no money, no possessions, no relationships.

Of course, the son does lose everything he had on wild living. He can’t go back home because he knows what he would face. He has no option but to try to find work – first to take care of his immediate needs and secondly, so he can try to replace what he lost so someday he can return home. But the only job he could find, taking care of pigs, did not provide him with anything.

So the son comes up with another idea, although it would require an unusual response from his father. He will go back, acknowledge his wrongdoing, and offer to work for his father. That way not only will he survive, but maybe over time he can earn enough to replace what he lost. Of course, the son is still completely self-centered. He hasn’t repented yet; it’s just that he’s starving. He’s simply reached the bottom of the barrel and he has to do something, so he came up with this plan. He doesn’t consider his father’s broken heart. He doesn’t think for a moment of the agony he caused his father by taking his inheritance early and leaving home or of the shame he brought upon his father in the community. He’s only thinking of himself and how he can get himself out of the mess he created, how he can get some food in his stomach. And he knows that he must reach his father and win his backing without the villagers seeing him or they would perform the qetsatsah ceremony and he would forever be cut off.

The father, of course, knows his son well. He has seen his son’s desire to live for the moment, to enjoy what he can while he can. That’s part of why the son wanted his inheritance early. The father knows his son lacks the discipline to plan ahead and make wise choices. In short, the father knows his son will fail and lose everything, and then will have no choice but to return home.

The father also knows all about the qetsatsah ceremony. He is fully aware that upon seeing his son, the villagers will carry out it, cutting off his son from the community. And once the ceremony was carried out, it could not be reversed. So the father comes up with a plan. He doesn’t know when the son will head back home, but he knows someday he will. And he knows he must reach his son before his son reaches the village. If he is able to do that and reconcile with his son, the qetsatsah ceremony can be avoided.

The question, of course, is why does the father feel compelled to reach his son and be reconciled to him before his son reaches the village, especially after the son showed such utter disrespect to him before. The answer is obvious. The father loves his son in such a deep and profound way that no action by the son can change that. The father loves his son with an unconditional love, with a sacrificial love. For the father has sacrificed his own pride and honor for the sake of his son.

And so the father watches for his son. He’s always on the lookout, knowing that someday he surely will return, having lost everything. Finally one day, while the son is still a long way off, the father sees him. And then the father again breaks the mold for Middle Eastern men. For at that time and in that part of the world it was considered humiliating for a man to run in public. No self-respecting man would do that. But the father doesn’t care about his reputation or what others might think or say about him. He ran to his son, for as it says, “(he) was filled with compassion for him.” The father’s love for his son welled up inside him and he couldn’t help but run to meet his son.

And this is pure, unconditional love. The son has already brought public shame and embarrassment to his father. He has hurt his father deeply, valuing his father’s money more than he valued his father himself. And when the father runs to meet him the son has not yet apologized or owned up to anything he did. But none of that matters to the father. The only thing that matters is having his son back. And the father wants his son to know that he has never stopped loving him.

So the father runs to his son, throws his arms around him and kisses him. When the son starts to apologize the father cuts him off and commands the servants, who must have accompanied the father, to bring the best robe for his son and to immediately start preparations for a feast. “Let’s have a feast and celebrate,” the father said. “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

This parable is all about the love of the father. Notice the father did not say his son was lost and came home. He said his son was lost and was found. The son was lost in his selfishness and his misguided search for a meaningful life. But then he was found. The point is not that the son came home. After all, the only reason he returned was that he was starving. No, the point is that the son was found. By whom? By the father. While the son was still a long way off, a long way off in the distance, a long way off in his selfishness and confusion, and a long way off in terms of his relationship with his father, the father found him. The father went out to seek and find him before the villagers found him and cut him off from the community.

That’s the same theme as the other two parables in this chapter. There are three parables in Luke 15 and they are all bunched together because they all have the same theme. Jesus began by telling the parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd didn’t wait for the sheep to come back on its own initiative but goes out to find the sheep that was lost. The woman who lost the coin searched carefully until she found it. And so the father went out everyday to search for his son. In all three parables something of value was lost but then was found by someone who valued it. The main point of this parable is not about the son returning home but rather about the father who loves his son so much he goes out to look for him, and he doesn’t stop until he finds him and restores him as his son, and then celebrates because he has his son back.

Of course, Jesus told this parable to illustrate the love God has for all of us. If we are to understand it in this light, it’s important to note how the chapter begins, for that sets the context for these three parables. The first two verses of this chapter state: “Now the tax collectors (traitors) and ‘sinners’ were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” The Pharisees and religious leaders found the practice of Jesus of welcoming and eating with sinners disgusting. How could He associate with such people? And so through these three parables in essence Jesus said to them, “Yes, I do eat with sinners. But it’s even worse than that. I search for them. I seek them out, and I don’t stop looking until I find them. I run down the road to meet them, and when I find them I shower them with kisses. And then not only do I eat with them but I feast with them. I celebrate because I have found these ones who matter so much to me and that I love so deeply.”

That is the love of God for us. For we are all sinners. We have all broken free from the arms of our Heavenly Father to go our own way. We do it all the time. But because God loves us so He doesn’t dismiss us or write us off as a lost cause. By sending His own son, Jesus Christ, He has found us in our wanderings and through the cross He has restored us to Himself.

And when we are united again with our Heavenly Father, whether that’s after a season of rebellion or simply a brief moment of turning away, there’s a celebration. It’s a celebration of the love of God in forgiving and restoring us as His children. And what’s amazing is that this celebration is initiated by God. It’s not initiated by us but by our Heavenly Father. In the parable it was the father who when he had his son back said, “Let’s have a feast and celebrate.” And later he said to his older son, “We had to celebrate and be glad.”

God’s love for us is so overwhelming, so profound that even though we choose to turn from Him, even though He is the one who finds us, He is the one that says, “We must celebrate, because I have found my wayward child.” That’s God’s love for us.

When we understand God’s love – that in spite of our rebellion against Him He searches for us, and when He finds us He forgives us and restores us, how can we not celebrate? Are you celebrating today and everyday, because of our Heavenly Father’s love for you? Are you celebrating because God values you so much that He searches for you until He finds you?

Of all people, Christians are the ones who should be filled with joy. We are the ones who truly have cause to celebrate. For no matter who we are, no matter our past, no matter our struggles or failures, we have a Heavenly Father who loves us more than we can ever know. When we stray He searches for us until He finds us, and then He restores our relationship with Him. He loves us with a sacrificial love, and with a love that will last throughout all eternity. So join the celebration, as you let the love of God fill your soul and the joy of the Lord fill your heart.

Today we are all doing special things which echo the story of Christmas. We share in the giving of gifts like the wise men, in the action of the Shepherds going to see Jesus, and in the rejoicing of believers then and now receiving the gift of God in Jesus himself.

We may also see ourselves represented in the story by particular people. We may like to be like the wise who still seek Jesus. We may identify with Mary and Joseph coping with a baby. At Christmas many of us also experience the kindness of strangers and the adventures of travel. We may see ourselves a bit like the Shepherds, often taken to represent sinners the marginalized and the smelly, but who are also those overcome by wonder when called into the presence of Christ. We may not realize they also represent the shepherd boy David who became a king, and point to Jesus himself the Good Shepherd. When we talk of pastoral care in any setting we are echoing their place and ours in this story.

But behind the joy of Christmas some will feel the lurking shadow of fears for themselves and for the world. There are fears in the story itself. Joseph had reason to fear Herod. His son was also a dangerous man to be avoided. Jesus’ life included suffering and a violent death before his resurrection and God’s vindication.

Nevertheless Christmas was and is still about rejoicing. None of the tellers of the stories of the first Christmas were blind to other things that were going on, yet the Angel said to the shepherds, as to us, “Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” Despite everything, Christmas is God saying to us in Jesus, “Do not be afraid.” “Rejoice!”

In the long story of salvation in the Scriptures and in the often fraught and sometimes murky history of the church, the word which has come to people caught up in complex and difficult events is a reassurance from God: “Do not be afraid!” ”Rejoice!”

This are words for us when problems must be faced and dangers avoided. Despite appearances God is ultimately in control. Whatever the immediate outcome, and what we have to go through, in the long run things will be resolved in his righteousness.

Such thoughts about fears are not intended to spoil Christmas, but to help us see that the coming of Jesus is about reasons to face whatever lies ahead. To do so it is part of God’s economy that we need days when we can put fears to one side. Christmas is also the gift of such a day. Being prepared for Christmas is being prepared for life.

If we look at how those in the Christmas story dealt with their concerns we see that Joseph and Herod responded differently in the face of their fears. Joseph knew fear, but he also knew what it was to obey God.

Herod did not see his kingly authority as a responsibility to be exercised with justice. He saw his power as a right. He did not fear God, but he was afraid of a baby. He did not rejoice at what God was doing. He used violence, even against innocent children and their parents, to try and keep his position of power. If Herod had been the sort of ruler God wanted him to be, he would have had no need to fear Jesus.

When God sent a word to Joseph, it was not a message saying that your concerns are unreal, it was a message indicating that God was in control. Joseph did not need to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. After Jesus is born there were other fears. He was warned to keep out of Herod’s way and to take his family to Egypt. When the time comes to return, Joseph is warned not to go to an area where Herod’s son was ruling.

There may be fears for this Christmas which easily intrude on the day. Fears for members of our families. Fears for ourselves – fear of loss, of being lost, or of being left out. Fears for the world economy. Fears for the future of the planet. Fears for the church.

How do we rejoice despite these shadows?

One thing we can do is ask “How does God want me to pray?”

For today we may want to do no more than ask God for the grace to let things go for this one day at least, to trust and welcome him at Christmas and focus on the needs of others. Tomorrow may be a better time to think, discuss and pray through, “What things does God want me to face sooner rather than later?” “What things does God actually want me to do something about?” “What things bothering me does God actually want me to leave to Him and to others?

Today is about rejoicing and about strength and space to deal with things in their time.

There are good reasons for saying this. If God took the risk of sharing this fragile and broken yet beautiful world, perhaps surely we can trust him for its future and ours? We can learn too from Jesus’ earthly parents as models of faith and wisdom in the face of threats and uncertainty. They had fears, they worked things through, and they dealt with circumstances in the faith that God would guide them through.

Jesus teaching and example are about life in God’s Kingdom on this earth where he has work for us to do. Yes, our life with him goes beyond death, but in the here and now Jesus is not only the helpless baby of perfection and hope who shares our vulnerability, he is the one sharing our growing up and coming to terms with our fears, and one sharing our adult life and its responsibilities. Jesus is the one calling us in humility and strength “Follow me!” He is the one whose life death and resurrection is the sign of God’s salvation in the present and for the future.

Paul in very dire circumstances, and no doubt addressing himself not just those he was writing to from prison, said “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

What makes this possible is the coming of Jesus we celebrate today.

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” Luke 2:10-14

John Roxborogh
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St Andrews Presbyterian Church Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 24 December 2011

Pr John Roxborogh

READINGS : Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 10:40-42

While they were in Bethlehem the time came for Mary to have her baby. She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manager, because there was no room for them to stay in the inn. Luke 2:6

Welcoming Jesus

Welcoming Jesus is both simple and difficult. Simple because we are welcoming Jesus just by being here. Difficult because what Jesus is about touches everything – we know that Jesus’ life became complex as he sought to do God’s will, and so does ours. Despite our common human experiences across the centuries, between Jesus’ lifetime and our own there are differences and complexities which have to be navigated. Difficult too because whatever our good intentions it is not always clear what welcoming Jesus actually means.

The challenge of this is not something to make us feel bad. The coming of Jesus is about God’s grace. Christmas is about finding hope. Welcoming Jesus is about the direction of our loyalties, about living by his values, and seeing his presence in and around our lives. The direction of our loyalty is something we grow into and discover through steps and actions large and small. Faith is a journey, and should also be seen as an adventure – one involving mystery, risk, and discovery and companions on the way.

At any time in history and in any culture welcoming Jesus involves welcoming his values and translating them into our world. We seek to take seriously the people Jesus took seriously –children, the marginalised, people of other cultures. We learn from his attitudes, his willingness to do the right thing in God’s sight, his patience with his followers and with people who did not understand. Jesus’ teaching about forgiveness may not be easy to live by consistently, but it is not difficult to understand. We note his presence with people in good times and bad.

There is also a welcome to Jesus in the prayer attributed to St Patrick of Ireland which invokes Jesus’ presence and protection.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger

We welcome Jesus in our loyalties, in our values, and in his presence as protector. We also welcome Jesus in other people.

Welcoming Friends

Jesus said (John 15:13)  “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

The welcome we give to friends and the commitment we have to our friends has a spiritual dimension which is sometimes undiscovered. Like the love of husband and wife, friendship is a gateway to the love of God and the nature of God. Friendship is a way in which others also share with us the love of Christ and give us time and space to grow in God.

There are three people whose writing on friendship can help us see welcoming friends as connecting us to welcoming Jesus, especially across cultures and in the emerging cultures of social media.

The Italian Matteo Ricci was a pioneer Jesuit missionary to China (1552-1610) who was accepted into the Chinese court because of his courtesy, respect for Chinese culture, and his scientific abilities, particularly in astronomy. In 1595 he wrote the first book in Chinese by a Westerner, On Friendship: 100 Maxims for a Chinese Prince.

Two examples:

My friend is not “another person”, my friend is my half, another I. So, I have to regard my friend as myself.

My friend and I, though we have two bodies, the two bodies have only one heart.

Ricci saw friendship as a bridge for the Gospel and a bridge for understanding across cultures. He lived by his own principles and his work stands today as a model of Christian faith, patient witness, and the use of all our talents in the service of Christ and humanity.

Bishop Azariah (1874-1945) was the first Indian Anglican bishop and the one who laid the foundations of the Church in South India and the Church in North India. In 1910, though not yet a bishop, he was invited to the World Missionary Conference held in the Presbyterian General Assembly Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland.

He was one of a handful of Asian delegates and encouraged to speak. It was an era in which a younger and more aristocratic generation of missionaries saw it their duty and burden to rule. They did some things very well, but the encouragement of local leadership was not always one of them. Azariah took used the occasion and its enormous audience to risk criticising missionaries for the lack of the very quality which Ricci had sought to demonstrate, friendship.

At the time his words were criticised, but today they are the most remembered from that conference: “You have given your goods to feed the poor. You have given your bodies to be burned. We also ask for love. Give us friends!”

Christian mission is tested by love, and Christian love both requires and makes possible the gift of friendship.

Lynne Baab is from Seattle and now lives in Dunedin New Zealand. She teaches in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University, and writes on very practical spiritual subjects. She is keen on media and Facebook and has just published Friending which explores friendship and how social media like Facebook makes a difference. She gathered many stories of how Facebook, for all its temptations to timewasting, also makes possible the growth of friendships as a Christian blessing.

Welcoming Strangers

Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

We know that hospitality is a gospel imperative, but it too is not a simple issue. An international congregation faces this challenge, as do many of us personally, whether we are the stranger seeking a welcome, or the welcomer not being sure how to do it. None of us get this right all the time, however great our needs or worthy our intentions. We have needs which are urgent. We have responsibilities in societies where there are laws.

Today national boundaries world-wide are managed strenuously. When fears are exploited and prejudices enflamed the difference between honoured guest and economic or social threat can seem arbitrary. Yet from the oldest stories in the Bible to the present day welcoming strangers has been about compassion and risk and the presence of God in unlikely people.

We should not pretend that answers are obvious, but our attitudes and values may be clear and we should not give up the search for better ways. Sometimes we can acknowledge that we are unhelpful because we are afraid. We are often naïve in our desire to help. Compassion without wisdom may cause harm. If we pray for both wisdom and compassion we are the more likely to be able to do good.

It is like the parable of the talents. To gain life we have to risk loss, not simply for ourselves, but also for others. There are traps, but that is how it is. Being of service to God and to others involves risk.

Perhaps we can learn from God’s welcome to us in Jesus this Christmas. God took a risk with creation, yet humanity began as something good which Jesus came to share.

Jesus risked criticism for making himself at home with unlikely people who welcomed him. Jesus is God’s welcome to us all.