He's Here

This week I attended a funeral service where the preacher spoke about evaluating our relationship or belief about God based on the outcomes in our life, and not the process he uses to get us there. It is a recurring theme in scripture but we continually lose our faith and belief in God based solely on our evaluation criteria. And recently, a lot of people have publicly denounced their faith based on what I consider to be their impatience with the process or dislike of the outcomes, and sometimes a misunderstanding of which is the process and which is the outcome.

A process is defined as a series of outcomes directed to some end. An outcome, in contrast, is the end result. We experience life in the span of processes and outcomes and it is these that help us draw up our individual philosophy of life, how we see things, what we believe about things and people, and eventually what we do or not do.

The preacher’s sermon was based on John chapter 11 and 12; the story of Lazarus’ death and resurrection. The highlights to consider are:

·         V.3 the sisters sent a message to Jesus that their brother was sick.

·         V.5 “Now, Jesus loved Martha, her sister and Lazarus.

·         V.6 . . .he [Jesus] stayed two more days in the place where he was.” [!!!]

·         V. 14 . . .Lazarus has died. . .

Jesus was only about 2 miles away when he got the message about Lazarus being ill. He delayed and by the time he got to Bethany, Lazarus had died, been dead and buried for 4 days; enough to begin the decomposition process. Yet, Jesus loved him! No wonder, Martha (v.21) and Mary (v.32) both greet Jesus with “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”

Many a times in our lives, we hear, understand and believe the truth that God loves us. We teach it to our children from an early age in songs such as ‘Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. . .” But, do we understand how he loves us? Do we seek to find out how he shows his love for us? Do we know him enough to distinguish between his process and his outcomes?

In chapter 12, verse 2 says “So they gave a dinner for him there; . . . and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him.” Despite the delay, Lazarus dying and being in the grave for 4 days, a miracle of resurrection was performed and a feast followed. Jesus used the process to show the world that he was indeed the life. The stories of Job, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Ruth, David, Esther and many others all point to the fact that God loves his people but his love is manifested through the processes of our lives. It’s not personal, his ways are just not your ways and neither are his thoughts your thoughts. (Paraphrase of Isaiah 55:8)

Questions for today – what process are you going through? What are you learning through it? Are you suffering through it or patiently observing, reflecting on and learning from the process?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On Pain

Image
  On Pain Kahlil Gibran, 1883 – 1931 And a woman spoke, saying, Tell us of Pain. And he said: Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain. And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy; And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields. And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief. Much of your pain is self-chosen. It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore, trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:   For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,   And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay whic...
Read more

Out for Service

Hi readers. Unfortunately the musings are at still at the garage and return date is still out in the clouds. I found a great quote that put this pause into perspective for me. As you hold out patiently, I'd love for you think about the things that look like unnecessary curve balls in your life today. Are they really?  Enjoy the archives, luckily they are rich in content as we wait for a return.  " The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own' or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life - the life God is sending one day by day. " ~ C.S. Lewis CG
Read more

Horse and Buggy Days

Image
  “ I am old enough to enjoy a bit of nostalgia, but wise enough to know that there haven’t been any “good ol’ days” since Eden (the garden, not the prime minister). ” ~ Ron Brackin During my devotion this week, I found myself reminiscing about the ‘good ol’ days’. One of the verses I’d read had put me in that frame of mind and I rested there a while before reality called me back. The verse was from Habakkuk 3:2, which reads “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” (NIV) I had been reading a news article before I read my Bible that day, and it’s easy to see why that verse jumped out at me and sent me into the land of Nostalgia. Things are bad and so much is not working out. Time is moving but not much else is. Problems are mounting and solutions are few. So yes, I remember the days when prayers were answered; when miracles were popping all around me; when it was one...
Read more