Different Similarities

 Once again, back to my typical analytical approach to Scripture, I found something I think is cool. It may bore you to death (or stupor). It was during a sermon yesterday on spiritual gifting, and it was enlightening to me regarding the spiritual gift of "miracles" (as some refer to it). It begins with Paul's opening setup in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
(1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NASB)

Notice that, in the NASB translation, the word 'varieties' is repeated. That word in Greek is diairesis (Strong's G1243), which refers to distinctly different "distributions", or the idea that not everyone gets the same things or the same amount of the same things. Leave it to the Greeks to have a word for that.

Now notice the different words in each phrase, they are in sets of 2. In the NASB, they are "gifts" and "Spirit", "ministries" and "Lord", "effects" and "God". Notice that in each case, gifts, ministries, and effects are "different", while Spirit, Lord, and God are the same. Side note: if you want a nicely laid out Trinitarian passage, few are neater than this one. Same, same, same.

Don't miss Paul's point here: not everyone gets the same gift, ministry or effect, but the same God works in all of them regardless of differences. Let that be clear, up front, and on top.

"Under the hood", though, I found that "effects" in the NASB was tied to the Greek word, energema (Strong's G1755), where you can actually see our English word, "energy" right there inside it. So, essentially this is energy. But, think about this word for a second. What actually is energy? Well, to answer that, let's compare it where it's compared in Scripture (or, in this case coupled with another, similar, word).

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
(1 Corinthians 12:8-11 NASB, emphasis mine)

The bolded text is what I want to focus on, not that the other isn't important. In the NASB, word "effecting" is the Greek word, energema (a noun, not a verb), and in the Greek text it is plural. The word, 'miracles', in the NASB is the Greek word, dynamis (Strong's G1411), where you can see the English word, dynamo. This word is also plural in the Greek text. That Greek word is normally translated as "power" in English translation. So, together, energies of powers.

Back to my question, what is "energy"? So, let's compare "energy" to "power". Are they synonyms? Let me put it this way, what is the most powerful source of energy in our world today, and I mean in a practical sense, where we get electricity to power anything? Arguably, nuclear power is the most powerful. We harness atomic fission to produce electricity. But how? How does a contained nuclear explosion produce electrical current? 

It's produced in one of the earliest mechanical inventions, the water wheel. Think it through, water over a wheel produces motion harnessed to something else, usually stones grinding wheat or a saw cutting wood, or something. But that's not how a nuclear power plant  works, right? Well, not exactly, but similarly.

Later development of the "water wheel" made it "portable" in the form of a steam engine. Development from that led to the steam turbine, and suddenly we have a lot of power from boiling water, even using nuclear energy. Now, notice how I used those two words, power and energy above?

So, in a sense, power is the application, or harnessing, of energy. That's a gross oversimplification, but the idea relating the two is still expressed. Now to harness the energy of this passage to empower us.

The Spirit of God somehow uses human creatures to harness the energy of our Creator to accomplish powerful  things in this word He created. Let that statement rattle around a bit. Think of the nuclear power plant. Think of the person seated next to you at church. What's the connection?

We, frail, fault-ridden, imperfect creatures are used as "power plants" by our Creator. But for what? We're not producing electricity, and remember, it's not everyone. Different people get different distributions from the same God, Lord, Spirit. But it all is for the same purpose:

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
(1 Corinthians 12:7 NASB)

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
(1 Corinthians 12:11 NASB)

Once again, it's not about you. Of course it isn't. Why start now? The power is for our fellow disciples, those people in the pew next to you. Or, if they're the ones the Spirit uses as a "power plant", then it's for you. I suppose then, it would be about you - along with everyone else...

I always thought of this "gift" as something like "signs and wonders", and it may not be. It may be as dramatic as stopping the sun, or as simple as enabling a group of disciples to work through the night in a service project. Could the person delivering coffee at midnight be the "effects of power" person? I don't know, maybe that's "service". Or encouragement, or "helps" (whatever that is).

Or maybe we're looking at it too closely, and should step back. What does our congregation need to do what our Savior has called us to do? What has to happen to meet that need? Where will we find the power to see that happen? Does that make more sense? You may be able to think of better questions. Just ask our Creator and chances are good, He will answer. And answer with POWER.

Thursday Devotional - God is With Us When We're Frustrated

 After all the tragedies of Genesis 34, Jacob listened and turned to God. He recognized God had been with him all the time, through his frustrations, hardship and tragedies. He chose to turn towards God instead of further away.   

Genesis 35:2-3 ² So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. ³ Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.

Thankfully, I haven’t been through all that Jacob experienced. However, sometimes the small things in life can really frustrate or stress us. I wouldn’t say that’s often the case for me, but this week it was! After the first week of school, the kids snagged a terrible cold (definitely not COVID, with both testing negative). It meant being even more home-bound, than our new COVID normal. James also developed bad asthma, as he normally does with a cold. It meant numerous asthma treatments, horrible non-stop coughing, nightly wake-ups, etc. We also tried to keep the twins healthy, playing separately (and masked if in close quarters). I was praying each day for wisdom, but getting angry quickly about lots of “small” things.

Two nights ago, Joe and I just stopped and had a longer and more intentional time of prayer. God didn’t immediately remove all the frustration, but He did provide peace. We know He’s with us through it and will guide us as we listen. Yesterday, God gave me a better attitude, even though some things got worse and not better.   

God is always with us, available and ready to help.

What frustration or stress is wearing you down?

Will you take it to God and let Him walk through it with you?

Nothing is too big or too small for Him!

Alice

(a good moment in the midst of the illnesses...)

Lessons From a Wheelchair

 Yesterday, in our city, a couple of churches held a benefit for a young man in our town. He had been paralyzed in a surfing accident, and was now in a wheelchair. Yesterday, hundreds in our small town gathered to contribute to his care, and hear his testimony. We heard worship music, and the testimonies of his family, and finally from him. It was amazing, enlightening, and both difficult and beautiful to be there.

Many common verses and passages were brought up, although I was very pleased someone used John 9:1-3:

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
John 9:1-3 NASB

While much was said about God allowing rather than causing such an injury, Zac also spoke of it being part of God's plan. And this plan, as Zac understood it, was to glorify God. He had already witnessed how his injury had brought glory to God. 

Clearly, this young man has a rough road ahead of him, and he has barely started on that journey. Regardless, at this point in that journey, he is convinced that this is part of God's plan. If you continue to read the rest of John 9, you find this man-born-blind "schooling" the Pharisees, so confident in his perception of what God has done for him, they cannot shake him. In their frustration, the Pharisees put him out of the synagogue, and he is found by Jesus and worships Him. 

In the end, the man-born-blind sees more clearly than those born with sight. It's one of several rich ironies in the Gospel of John. And that irony is now part of Zac's life. Please join me in praying for this young guy, and all those who will be touched by his testimony. There is a link below to the website about the event and in support of his care.

http://zacshope.com/ 

Thursday Devotional - God is with us when we're doing "firsts"

Sarah often reminds us “God is with you.” In fact, it came up several times the past couple of weeks as many of us faced several “firsts.” We even spoke Sarah’s own words back to her!

The night before the first day of school, Sarah cried as we tucked her into bed. She was nervous to start 1^st grade, thinking it would be quite a bit more difficult than kindergarten. We had already prayed about the first day of school, but she was still nervous and needed the reminder that God was with her. We also reassured her that it would be review at first and then layers of new concepts with a gradual increase in difficulty. I admitted that I understood her apprehension, as I was always nervous for the first day of school!

The next morning we asked Sarah how she was feeling. She shared she was feeling better, especially after she had prayed more on her own in her bed. Then, after school, she said her day was “very very good!”

Later that same week, Sarah was nervous for a little competition she had. Alexis chimed in right away with Sarah’s own advice saying “you don’t need to be afraid, because God is with you and will protect you!” I did jump in to clarify that God doesn’t always protect us the way we expect or give us the outcome we want, but He is certainly always with us. We can always trust God to help us accomplish His purposes.

Psalm 73:23-26  Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.

What “firsts” are you facing this week, this month, or this year? I pray you not only know God is with you, but feel His strong presence as you embark on what He’s planned for you.  

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Faithful and Right

I’m back! A huge “thank you” to Renae for faithfully, creatively and thoughtfully writing inspiring Thursday devotionals these past 11 months!

It’s been quite a whirlwind of a year! Not only did adding two more children multiply time on meals, baths, laundry, and numerous other things, but I came back to one of the most stressful tax seasons ever. Apparently, it’s still not over, as we have a 2020 update coming out for the Ida disaster relief! 

Anyway, the Lord faithfully helped us through and enabled us to face one day at a time. It’s usually a good thing we don’t know what lies ahead. 😊

Our family memory verse for last week was:

Psalm 33:4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.

This life doesn’t always go smoothly or how we would like, but we can trust everything the Lord says and does. He will be faithful to enable us to do what He’s asked us to do.

The adoption was another fiasco. Packets of paperwork had to be redone several times for various mistakes, pushing the adoption further and further out. Then, we sat, waited and participated in what we thought was the final  adoption hearing, but it had to be completely redone over a month later! In the midst of all the frustration, I kept clinging to God’s Sovereignty, knowing He would still work His plan and accomplish His purposes because He is trustworthy, even when people aren’t.

Another verse we learned this summer was Isaiah 43:1 I have called you by name, you are mine. I’m His, and so are Joe, James, Sarah, Edmund and Alexis! The twins are also finally legally Reas, with official paperwork from a few weeks ago!!!

God is faithful and right, all the time!

How will you cling to these truths this week in your own circumstances?     

Alice

A Whirlwind Relationship

 One of the interesting "appearances" of our Creator in the Hebrew Scriptures is as a "whirlwind". There is a term that is commonly thought of in this way, the Hebrew word, "sa'arah". It's used when Elijah is taken up by Yahweh (2 Kings 2:11), and this is the word for the whirlwind out of which Yahweh speaks to Job (Job 38:1). It isn't always the appearance of Yahweh, sometimes it is an actual storm.

Having said that, it is used in Ezekiel for the appearance of Yahweh to Ezekiel at the River Chebar:

As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.
Ezekiel 1:4 NASB

Ezekiel goes on to describe an inexplicable sight of the creatures about the throne of Yahweh. Still, all of that happens within this cloud or fiery whirlwind. Which reminded me of the appearance of Yahweh on  Mount Sinai in Exodus:

So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Exodus 19:16-20

The same word, sa'arah, is not used in Exodus, but the imagery sure sounds similar. There are other visions of Yahweh which don't involve the whirlwind, so why do some? I'm not sure, and conjecture at this point is probably not helpful. It most likely has to do with the particular people at that particular point in human history, and I don't know enough detail about either.

Yet, I learn something of my Savior from these appearances. I learn things like these:

1. He is willing to come to His people and be seen by them
2. He is powerful, frighteningly so, possibly terrifyingly (yet, see Judges 13:21-23)
3. He reveals Himself to His people in ways that communicate a message we need, at that point in time.

I could go on, but you probably get the idea. The vision of Elisha of the chariots of fire and horses of fire as Elijah is taken by the whirlwind, combined with the vision of Ezekiel of the creatures within the storming whirlwind makes me wonder. What would it be like to see that? What would such an appearance of my Creator be like to experience? Would I, like Ezekiel, be silenced for a week? Would I, like Isaiah, have the presence of mind to volunteer for my Savior's purpose? Or would I blather on like Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration? I suspect I'd blather.

My Creator has not shown up to speak with me like that. I haven't seen Him enthroned with the four creatures around Him. I haven't heard the loud thundering trumpet of His voice. I believe Hollywood cannot reproduce, or even come close, to what Elisha or Ezekiel saw, nor adequately depict the glory of my Creator showing up on Mount Sinai. I want to see it. I want to be so awed I collapse in a quivering heap on the ground, babbling in a fetal position for a week. Bring it on! Sigh, alas, it is not to be. And that's okay, honestly.

The thing is, I can get so caught up in the physical sight that I miss the fact that I have Him with me all the time. It would be cool to see the whirlwind, don't get me wrong. And I would be ecstatic to experience that (and, yes, terrified). Yet, my Savior dwells within me at every moment.

Therefore, when I am behaving, He is with me. And when I am misbehaving, He is with me. He is with me when I travel, when I am at home, and when I am somewhere else. If I would live that way all the time, I would be different. I would treat others differently, I would see this world differently, I would think differently. And, perhaps, living that way might make it more likely that I will see such a sight. Yet, even if it doesn't, and I don't, I will in heaven. Eventually, we will all of us see Him, in all His glory, and every knee will bow, and every will tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It will happen, eventually. So, in the meantime, how will I live today?

Wrath, Grace, and Justice

 I get why a lot of people referring to themselves as "Christ-followers" don't particularly like the Hebrew Scriptures. I have changed my term to disciple of Jesus. Not that I am particularly disciplined, or not as much as I should be. I choose it because it is more subordinate in my mind. I need something more intentional and committed, because I don't particularly like what I find in the Hebrew Scriptures either. Yet it's still true about my Creator and Savior.

For instance, when David sins by counting the people, Yahweh is very displeased. After David repents (at least in the order things are recorded), Yahweh gives David a choice of three punishments: 1) Three years of famine, 2) Three months of battle loss, or 3) Three days of pestilence. Pestilence doesn't sound so bad, but here's how Yahweh describes it to Gad, David's seer:

So Gad came to David and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Take for yourself either three years of famine, or three months to be swept away before your foes, while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the LORD, even pestilence in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.' Now, therefore, consider what answer I shall return to Him who sent me."
(1 Chronicles 21:11-12 NASB)

David's response is that he would rather fall into the hands of Yahweh than the hands of men, so he chooses three days. The angel of Yahweh goes through the land and 70,000 die from north to south in the land. And then there's this dramatic scene:

And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it, the LORD saw and was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, "It is enough; now relax your hand." And the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered with sackcloth, fell on their faces. David said to God, "Is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father's household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."

(1 Chronicles 21:15-17 NASB)

This is a difficult account of our Savior punishing sin among His people. It's a window into His relationship with David, with Israel, with His human creatures, and, potentially, with us. We don't like it when our Savior get's angry, we're uncomfortable, and squirm in our seats. This is how He dealt with His people, not gentiles, not pagans worshipping other gods, His chosen ones. How, then, will we escape when our Father in Heaven seems so severe?

Our hope is in His grace. Our Savior is just. And, because of His just nature, there is wrath. Yet, there is also grace. Yahweh saw what His angel was about to do to Jerusalem, and "relented" or "was sorry". Our Creator changed His mind. Isn't that what we want from a just God? Do we really want justice? Wouldn't that wipe us out, utterly destroy us? Isn't that a global flood, thorough destruction, maybe with only a single family left?

I want grace. I want my Savior to change His mind about me. I want something to appease my Creator. Eventually, my Creator provided Himself as my Savior. He took away the wrath by taking it on Himself. He appeased Himself, His just nature was settled through Jesus on a cross. And so, grace reigned over my sin, my failure, as David experienced. David saw the angel of Yahweh standing over Jerusalem with sword drawn, ready to destroy there too. And David saw it all stop, in grace. Yahweh changed His mind, relented of the evil about to happen, was sorry for the people of Jerusalem, and stopped it. 

Read the Hebrew Scriptures and discover the grace of our Creator in fresh ways. The accounts of our Creator demonstrating grace among these accounts helps us better appreciate Jesus, and ourselves before His presence. On the threshing floor of Ornan (Arunah in 2 Samuel 24), David makes an altar, and offers an offering to Yahweh. According to tradition, eventually, on that site, David's son, Solomon will build the temple. And, eventually, the Savior will teach in the courts there, teach of the grace of Yahweh.

Loving People

 I have said for years, and I should never say this - yet I still do - Church would be great except for the people. And I am one of those people. You probably know, or can imagine, what sort of people I'm referring to. They are annoying in some way. They follow the pastor around incessantly asking questions, or worse, making suggestions. They have opinions about everything, whether they know anything about the topic or situation or not. They complain about almost everything, although most often about people who annoy them at church.

Yes, these are the "hypocrites" of which those who criticize the church from the outside seem to know so well. Rather than explore the strange irony of that, I want to show something I found very encouraging in Scripture which shows Jesus' perspective on "those annoying church people". First, the setting, Jesus leads His disciples away to rest...

The apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.
Mark 6:30-32 NASB

The apostles had just come from their first "missionary journey" to the villages of Judah. They had cast out demons, healed the sick, and preached the Kingdom of God to the people. And, when they returned, a bunch of people either came with them to see Jesus, or were already swarming around Him while they were gone. Either way, it's pandemonium around them. So, Jesus leads them to a quiet place to rest and rejuvenate. Only, it doesn't work...

The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.
Mark 6:33-34 NASB

These people are geniuses. They see the boat leaving, figure out where it's going, and get there first on foot. And not just those around Jesus when He leaves, but "...from all the cities" they gather together ahead of them. That's a spectacular failure to find rest. Now the pandemonium not only continues, it worsens. They weren't able to eat before, now what is it like? Don't you hate it when people do that, interrupt your plans, hijack your vacation, invade your "sanctum"? So annoying! And yet, Jesus looks at them with compassion. 

I confess, I'm not there yet. I like my "space", I like having that "cushion" around me, this is definitely an "area of growth" for me. I'm not like Jesus in this respect, and need to submit my desires for "space", for individuality, for safety, for "my right to rest" to my Savior. Because He looked at them with compassion, because He saw they were like sheep without a shepherd. They had no idea who they were, where they were going, and what they were supposed to do (who else heard Yoda's voice when they read that?). I'm like them, and I need to be like Him.

I believe we can be like Jesus in this regard. It won't be easy, it will be very counter-culture, counter pop-psychology, counter conventional wisdom, and counter to a lot of other stuff we take for granted. It means taking Philippians 2:1-11 seriously and applying those verses rigorously to our decision-making, attitudes, and priorities. I admit, I'm not a fan, I'm not looking forward to it, dying to self is dying, don't think it's easy or happy. But it is joyous, it is peaceful, it is freeing in ways I am looking forward to. For when I die to myself, I rise to live within my Savior, and walk within His Spirit.

So, let them come, let them steal my attention, derail my plans, invade my space, and interrupt my rest. It's not just okay, it's a joy and a privilege. It's a messy relational Kingdom, my Father's Kingdom. So, how can I help you?

Pack Light

In the past month, my wife and I have gone on two backpacking trips, our first. We learned a few things about backpacking on those two trips, like, how seriously out of shape we are. The four-mile hike was torturous, and that's really not much of a hike. When you add a 30 pound pack - well, it still shouldn't be torturous.

We also learned that suggested methods of making coffee (something I take very seriously) are not effective. We eventually broke down and bought an aeropress pack version. After the first trip, I repacked our cook kit to include the fuel and stove inside the kit. We didn't need the two measuring cups they included. We added a "tarp", or something, we could use to set stuff out so we could re-pack without laying everything out in the dirt. 

There were other lessons, but, to allow a short illustration remain short, we learned to pack light, real light, as light as possible. It was kind of funny. I brought full-size binoculars on the first trip. And I used them to look at the shockingly clear and bright stars. But I didn't use the shovel. And so on, lessons learned, and then refined. If only we had a guide to help us weed that stuff out before we packed it four miles in the hot sun...

And He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt— but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.”
(Mark 6:7-9 NASB)

Jesus sends out His disciples into the towns and cities ahead of them with some instruction on how to pack. "He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey..." Who doesn't want a couple of smelly travelers in their homes? Actually, in the Middle East, that's not a rhetorical question. Maybe more nowadays, but certainly not back then. It was actually genius. Be in need and be dependent. 

We don't always appreciate that detail. In our culture that is a horrible thought, well for some. In fact we exalt those who are more independent, and despise those who are not. It's a culture that makes church a bit difficult with too many "doctors" and not enough "patience" (and I did not misspell that). We abhor dependence. We abhor weakness. We shall not ask for directions (and, let's be honest, that's not a "gender" thing).

Jesus didn't stop there with His instructions, though. He didn't just give them a packing list, He gave them instructions on how to act as well...

And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.”
(Mark 6:10-11 NASB)

Rather than speculate (one of my favorite things) about why they should stay in one house, I think it's probably simpler, with Mark's account anyway, to simply think of it as the antithetical corollary to the rejection. Sometimes we will be cared for when we depend on others. Sometimes we will not be. If not, take nothing with you from that place, not the dust, and certainly not the resentment. 

It's a strange life with Jesus that asks us to be dependent. It borders on asking us to be vulnerable (how terrifying!). You may have learned that "church people" are not safe. If you haven't, that's awesome! I hope you never do. Because lessons like that make this request of our Savior all the more difficult. Yet, it's no less of a request of no less of a Person. He's still our Creator and Savior, and He still makes this request. The question is, how much do we trust HIM, not how much do we trust them.

Go to church, participate, love the people, and be dependent, ask for help for yourself, for what you go through, with your stuff. Be that person who helps, and that person who needs help. We all need help, and our Savior has provided a group of disciples, called out of a dead world into life, to help. We are them, and help. We are them, and need help. It's okay, that's how He designed it. 

Is That Our Carpenter?

 Have you noticed that Jesus tends to refuse to fit into nice neat theological categories? Even those categories we use that aren't technically "theological", he tends to refuse to fit well. For instance, "Jesus is our Friend." We can sing the hymn from way back, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus", and think, "Wow, that is so great, to have Jesus as our friend." Yet, we also think in terms of "friends like us." We can't help it. It's our culture, our society, our personality to think of Jesus as our friend in the same way we're friends with Bob or Cheryl, or whoever. And we would be wrong, often way wrong.

The people of Nazareth thought of Jesus as their carpenter. He was the guy in the village who fixed the wood stuff, which was a lot, tables, tools, tent frames, plows, yokes, wheels, carts, you name it, if it was wood, he made it or fixed it. His work was never done, and when he left, well... But he was back! They had heard word of him travelling around and teaching, performing miracles, and all this weird stuff. But I need a table fixed for my shop, and Ted over there needs his cart fixed so he can bring in his stuff from the family farm, and Sue has a loom that needs a better fix than her yarn wrapped around one side of the frame. When's Jesus coming home?

Jesus went out from there and *came into His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.
(Mark 6:1-3 NASB)

I'm not going to get my table fixed, am I? What carpentry work were you hoping he would do for you? What did you need fixed? I mean, that's what He does, right? He fixes things. He makes stuff for us, so we can go on about our lives, isn't that right? I mean, what's wrong with this picture? It's the way stuff is supposed to work, who he is supposed to be, how he is supposed to fit into our society, culture, community...

I blow through this passage so fast, stopping just long enough to shake my head sadly at the people of Nazareth, and move on. But, if I stop, if I look around at what's going on, listen to what they say, think through their perspective, I see something a lot more painful. I see myself among them. I want my table fixed, so to speak. Can you see yourself among them? Do you also struggle wanting Jesus to be that part of your world that makes it a bit better, easier, more comfortable? There's a price for being a part of the people of Nazareth, though.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.”  And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.
(Mark 6:4-6 NASB)

Do you see it? It includes the lack of miracles, sure, and they missed His teaching. But look at the last sentence, and let it prick your heart. It drives a nail through mine. He was going somewhere else. Sure, those other people saw Him as "the miracle man", the guy who heals people and drives out demons. He was the guy who fed a ton of people without catering. It was cool! But they also heard teaching, and he gained a lot of followers who stuck with Him, following Him as Savior, Messiah, the Son of God. He left Nazareth without a carpenter.

So, now we have a choice. We can look around at each other wondering who will fix the table. Or we can follow Him, listen to Him, be healed of our separation from our Creator, walk with our Savior, and enjoy the closeness we lost in the Garden of Eden. Doesn't that sound better? Keep in mind, even Jesus' family didn't get it, those closest to Him, who should have known, couldn't see past their own preconceived notions of Him, who He was, what they needed Him to be. You may be close to Him, but are you close to who He is, or close to what you have made Him out to be? Are you following Jesus, or seeking what He can "fix" in your life, so you can carry on with your life? Jesus probably has another plan, different from yours. Just a thought.