April 27, 2012

Waiting for Marshmallow #2:

Life is a series of waiting “opportunities.”

We wait for Santa Claus to come

We wait for our front tooth to fall out

For our first cell phone

The driver’s license

The freedom of college

The first time to hear “Congratulations, you’ve been hired!”

The first mortgage payment.

And on and on….

In fact, a great synonym for life could be “The Waiting Game.”

We may not know what’s around the corner, but we can bet there’s waiting involved.

And if I want some biblical examples…well there is a plethora.  So I thought I might take a look at a few.  I’m not as focused on WHAT they were waiting for as much as HOW they waited and what they learned in the process.

First in line to consider:  Hannah

1 Samuel 1

Seven observations on Hannah’s “waiting game”:

1. Her waiting was worsened by her jealousy.  She was not merely tormented by her own anguish of wanting a child that seemingly was never going to come, but right in front of her was the other wife of her husband who had been blessed with sons and daughters.

2. Her waiting continued year after year.  Not a few days. A week. Or even a few months. Years.

3. She was most provoked by Peninnah (the other wife) on her way to the Lords’ house (verse 7)

4. The very thing that Hannah wanted so desperately was not being withheld by the devil’s scheme…it was the Lord’s doing (verse 5)

5. She had a husband who loved her…and tried to comfort her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons? ”

6. In her deep anguish and desire, she laid it out completely honestly before the Lord in the temple. So honestly that her expression to the Lord is mistaken for drunkenness.  Perhaps such an honest expression to the Lord was not a usual sight...

7. Hannah received the very desire of her heart: Samuel. 

And gave him right back to the Lord.

For years, Hannah waited. 

She never gave up.   

She did not try and make her own desire a reality.

She waited.

She was honest in her waiting.

And perhaps most importantly….she knelt in her waiting at the altar of the Lord.

Hannah’s infertility led to her pleading with the Lord and promising to give her cherished son to the Lord’s service.

Samuel’s ministry led to the anointing of David.

Without Hannah’s infertility, there would have been no vow to return Samuel to the house of the Lord.  Without being raised in the house of the Lord, Samuel would not have been in place to anoint David as king.  And the story continues...

My takeaway for today is simple:  God has a plan for the waiting.

How am I going to wait?

John Waller’s song “While I’m Waiting”

April 22, 2012

1 Marshmallow or 2?

I first saw this clip in one of my graduate courses. The experiment followed these four-year-old children into their teen years. The ones who waited to eat the marshmallow averaged 210 points higher on the SAT than the children who could not resist the one marshmallow while waiting for the second one.

Oh how the innocence of children reflects our adult human nature.

A tantalizing marshmallow set in front of me.  A promise that if I just wait…I won’t get just one marshmallow, but two.

Can I wait? Or sometimes I make the question, should I wait?

What’s the balance between SEIZING THE DAY and WAITING PATIENTLY for what’s been promised?

I mean after all, think of all the things that could happen in between now and the end of the waiting period.  What if this is my only chance to get just one marshmallow?  Shouldn’t I pounce on it?

More thoughts to come on the wrestling that ensues as we wait…

April 15, 2012

The Easter eggs have been found, but the tomb is still empty!

The Easter eggs have been found. The candy wrappers are now empty. The pastel colored bunnies have been tucked away for another year and the ham leftovers are a distant memory. All visible signs of the Easter celebration have disappeared.

But what about the heart of what that Sunday is all about?

After all, I was not really supposed to be looking for missing eggs, but instead considering the missing body from a tomb.

It's way too easy for me to think about Easter in respect to the cross and an empty tomb and then package the story up for the year. Rejoice in the Resurrection: Absolutely. Each year as I consider what the empty tomb really means. How easy it is though to leave that to Easter time.

But wait! That’s not the end of the story. 

It’s just the beginning.

It was AFTER the resurrection that:

Mary Magdalene, the very woman whom Jesus had freed from demons, was blessed to see His risen form first (Mark 16:9). She would begin telling others what had happened yet they would not believe.

Two more would meet them on the road…and as they went to report to others…more unbelief (Mark 16:12-13)

Peter ran to the tomb himself upon hearing the news, only to find just the linens. (Luke 24:12)

The eleven were admonished by the risen Lord for their unbelief. (Mark 16:14)

Doubting Thomas touched the Lord’s hands and side…and proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20: 28)

And Christ proclaimed: 

“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:46-48)

The disciples ate breakfast on the shore with Jesus. And Peter, who had denied the Lord three times prior to his death, now responded to Him three times, “You know that I love you.” (John 21: 15,16,17)

Peter who had denied Him would soon preach in Jerusalem. 120 believers gathered together in Jerusalem before Jesus’ death turned to 3000 after Peter preached.

Yes, God has a lot “around the corner” (after the empty tomb).

In fact, Jesus was fairly straightforward that there was more to do: 

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

And for some reason I still struggle to comprehend…that includes using me.

When I’m searching for what God to do with my life, how He wants to use me…I need to remember it starts with just following Mary’s example.

Recognizing the empty tomb and telling someone about it.

April 8, 2012

He endured the cross for me...

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

If only that were true. Words wound. Often deeply.

Before the Lord was nailed to the sticks of a cross that would hold Him dying before a taunting crowd, words were hurled His way.   Many of the words the week of the cross were anything but encouraging. They were meant to trap the Nazarene. To mock Him. To wound Him.

“By what authority are you doing these things and who gave You this authority?” (Chief priests and elders)

“Is it lawful to give a poll tax to Caesar?” (Pharisees)

“Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Pharisees)

“Tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” (High Priest)

“Are you the King of the Jews?” (Pilate)

“You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Crowd around the cross)

"He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross and we will believe in Him.  He trusts in God; Let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him, for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'" (Chief priests, scribes and elders)

Despite the mockery, despite the excruciating pain, Jesus did not get down from the cross.

Instead He called out His own words, “It is finished.”

Which were met by the silence of His Father.

Until Sunday that is…

Jesus endured all of it. Because He knew what was around the corner.

Not a cross. But an empty tomb.

“For the joy set before him he ENDURED THE CROSS, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Hebrews 12:2-3

April 4, 2012

Twas a busy week for Jesus...

Holy week. Palm Sunday. Maundy Thursday. Good Friday.

Whether I read the account in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, Jesus’ calendar was full His final week on earth:

A ride in on a donkey through a crowd who was begging for a king.

The righteous anger of the Son of God purging the temple of the Lord, claiming God’s temple as a house of prayer instead of a robber’s den.

An anointing with costly perfume.

A final meal with the men closest to him. A meal full of meaning as He shared bread and wine.

Prophetic statements of one of the man’s betrayal and another man's denial.

A night of lonely prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane as the disciples slept.

The reality of the betrayal…by one of His own.

An arrest.

Accusations. Hurried trials.

Within the city walls, while standing accused, denied by one of His own. Not once, but three times.

Mocked.

Scourged and beaten.

Then…with the very tools He had used as a carpenter…nails and wood….put to death. On a Cross.

Separated from His Father.

What a week.

(And I dare say my calendar is busy)

It wasn't just agonizing hours on a cross that week that He sacrificed for me.
It was a heartbreaking week for Jesus.

But one that He walked because God decided I’m worth it.

Makes me ponder…how am I devoting my time to Him this week???