A (Controversial) Perspective on Using Your Talents for God

I believe in using my talents for God's service.  This is a common theme in a lot of today's church discourse, and I don't disagree with that.  However, I'm going to say something controversial, here.  Often times, the church is wrong about what individual Christians should be doing in God's service.

Obviously, it is not wrong to try to help people or be charitable.  It is good to do so.  We hear genuine needs every day, and we should care. We are heartless if we don't.

Still, there is a cookie-cutter mentality that has lapped over into the Christian world that has no place among us.

To begin with, there are people who have been told that they should help out at the soup kitchen, or build houses for people, or contribute large sums to their local charities, or go out as missionaries to the far corners of the world.  Unfortunately, they are the kind who can burn boiling water or who can't talk to strangers; they are flabby or uncoordinated, causing them to get hurt when they try to lift a hammer or a heavy board; they are barely middle class themselves, so they don't have much to contribute financially each month; and they are frightened and unequipped for the mission field.  Should they feel guilty?  Are they bad Christians because they are bad at all the typical "Christian" things to do?

I don't believe so.  I know there are readers who will say, "Don't make excuses," and I'm not intending to.  I am just saying that to make my first point: Everyone is talented at something, but not everyone is talented at everything; therefore, everyone should use their talents for God, but since everyone's talents are so varied, they should not all be doing the same things.


Rather than feeling guilty on some level for their failure to measure up to other people's abilities, Christians out there should be considering how their own God-given abilities could best be used.  The Bible compares a church congregation to a body, where each person works as a part, keeping the whole body healthy, and with each part being necessary and placed there for a reason (1 Corinthians 12: 12-27).  Perhaps there are talented individuals out there who have not yet realized that they, too are necessary, even though they haven't found their "niche" to serve quite yet.  They may not realize that they are created by God for a purpose,  perhaps to put "Christian engineering" or "Christian salesman" or "Christian deliveryman" on the map as a new way to serve God while showing His love to our fellow man--doing jobs that no one else could do as effectively.  Maybe they are the only ones in the whole world who can do the job.  They will never know, if they keep comparing themselves to others.

That brings me to another point I wanted to make: Christians shouldn't use the oddness or obscurity of their talents as an excuse to downplay them or refuse to use them.  A person's penchant for armpit orchestra could break the ice with a few laughs, opening doors to share his or her testimony with an audience; a talent for origami could help cheer up an elderly person or a sick child in the hospital; life experience as a parent could help a Christian man or woman mentor a struggling single mom at church or a young man who is trying to get his life back on track.  God can use any talent, since He made every person and saw in advance what each could do (Ephesians 2: 10), but God cannot use a talent if the talent holder knows better than Him what other people need.

Bloom Where God Plants You...

This leads into my last point: Where Christians are is where God can use them best.  Take Christian students, for instance. While they can reach out to the homeless in their towns, they might be best suited to reach out to their fellow students.  The workers at the local shelters cannot attend classes and live in the dorms, eat at the school cafeterias, or gather at places where the other students hang out.  If all of the Christian students feel they can only serve by working at the shelter, there may be thousands of young people who don't benefit from the help God sent Christian students to do on campus. God has placed each person where they are, for a purpose they alone may be able to fulfill (Esther 4: 14), so when the time comes, they had better be there to minister to the need that is there.

I'm sure there is more to be said on this subject, and I invite readers to add their comments to the discussion.  How best would you advise Christians to use their talents for God? Are there any more Scriptural guidelines I have failed to mention?

A Momentous Event

Yesterday, I went gift shopping after dropping off a few packages at the post office.  It seemed as if everyone in this town was out shopping or mailing something!  I heard on the radio at one of my stops a local D.J. saying that this was what Christmas was all about--sparkly packages, smiles from children, spending time with family, and lots of good food.  I thought about that a lot on the way home.

It seems like a good thought.  I'd love for Christmas to be like a Norman Rockwell painting!  Still, I couldn't help thinking that it was a rather bleak and cold idea for many people to hold onto at this chilly time of year. What about those who couldn't afford gifts or gift wrapping? What about those who can't have children? What about those who have terribly dysfunctional families (or have lost loved ones this year)? What if they have developed allergies to the classic Christmas dishes?  I know a few people in every group, and I know their Christmas is still going to be good. Why?

Christmas is an event that God brought about (not a calendar day or a shopping mall), and it changed the world forever (and I don't mean that it changed the world economy).  Wherever you are, and whatever your life looks like today, you can take part in Christmas. You can start today!

Christmas brought peace...

A Snow Angel

When the angels came to tell the shepherds about Jesus' birth, they announced it by saying, " Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests," (Luke 2:12 NIV).  I see people quoting them every year, but their eyes glaze over as the words leave their mouths. Peace?  How can that be?  I've heard every year a few songs that ask Santa (or God) for world peace, but it's obvious that the world still doesn't understand it.

The peace the angels predicted is peace in the heart--a peace that means the end of hostilities between man and God.  That peace spills over into our interactions with our fellow man, but it isn't always returned to us. Not everyone really wants peace with God, and they also don't care to have peace with us. So, when you think about what the angels said, remember to pray. Pray for peace between you and God (which comes with salvation and repentance), and between you and your fellow man (which comes from self-control and sacrificial obedience to God's plan).  Also, pray for peace in everyone else's hearts by praying for their salvation, and for their growth in their relationship with God, which will lead them to be at peace with others.

Christmas brought rest...

With all of the work that has to be done every holiday, it seems like I hear a lot of complaints about people not getting to rest at Christmastime. Even so, the Bible says, "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his," (Hebrews 4:9-10 NIV).  That "Sabbath rest" foreshadowed in the Hebrew ceremony of the Sabbath is the rest we find in Christ.

It means, more than anything, that we are not any longer slaves to sin, always driven to try to work off our sin with good works, always forced to seek approval from our masters and value from our work.  Now, good works and the approval and value of others has some worth, but God's approval is all that we require, and God gives the ultimate value to our work.  God has opened the doors to free us, should we choose to accept the gift He has offered.

By the way, there is no reason why we can't, as free Christians, stop and take a minute, or even a whole day, to enjoy the life God has given us. If life seems too complicated for that this month, maybe you should consider finding a way to simplify your life, or work in a few fun things along the way. If nothing else, slow down to look at the stars, or the snow, or the Christmas lights!

Christmas brought hope...

If you are in the middle of something that you can't escape, such as a grief period or an illness, it is good to know that Christmas in the end was an event that brought hope to the world. We hear bad news every day. The day of Jesus' birth was no different, right up until the time of Mary's labor, when she got the bad news that she was going to stay in the stable that night!  The world didn't know it then, but Jesus brought a way out of the worst news, and the worst possible news of all is death.

No matter what the circumstance is, bad news is no longer the last word on your life, if you have Jesus in your heart.  As it is written,

On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; He will remove His people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 25:7-8 NIV)

 Choose hope, and look forward expectantly for your great reward in heaven.  Celebrate what this Christmas means, and remember, Jesus is coming back soon!

Getting Back to the True Message of Christmas

This year, as I've listened to the radio, read Christmas-themed articles, and shopped for gifts in the store, I think I've heard every kind of answer to the question, "What is Christmas All About?"  Some say vague but nice-sounding things like, "giving," "spending time with loved ones," "joy," and "peace."  Some answers are more disturbing, such as the sometimes sexually-suggestive songs that are so popular this season.

You know what?  Christmas is a cheerful season, with lots of pretty lights, nostalgic songs to sing, pretty packages full of things we want, great food, and greater company.  It's become a tradition on many blogs and public sounding boards to harshly criticize the merchandising, the parties, and the tinsel, but I won't here.  I feel the beauty and generosity of the season are good things, which warm the soul and can show God's love to others--obviously when done in moderation and with the right motives.

Christmas got started with a desire to celebrate a very important birthday, which happened for a very important reason.  The real birth date was not known, so one was chosen, possibly to coincide with pagan celebrations in worship of the sun.  In fact, early church members disagreed with celebrating Christ's birthday at all, because it was a pagan practice of the Romans to celebrate the birthdays of emperors, who claimed to be gods (see this article entitled, "Why December 25?" on Christianity today).  Many still reject Christmas for this reason.

 But, I digress.

Stepping back from all the controversy for a moment, I can see the real significance of Christmas is getting lost.  Why should Christians celebrate Christmas at all in the midst of all of this?

To answer this, I would have to begin with the testimonies about Christmas I have heard from my Indian friends and boyfriend.  They grew up surrounded by a totally secular culture that loves constant festivals and ceremonies, revelry and color.  From their perspective, Christmas is perhaps the one big chance every year for Christians to testify to this culture about Jesus' life and message.  It's the one day of the year that Jesus gets any attention in the public lens, however brief it is.  To them, Christmas is a different kind of festival than all the others, focused on hope and Christ's sacrifice, not human traditions.  It's not even so much to them a chance to talk about a baby in a manger--it's a bold time to talk about why Jesus came.  He didn't come for gold, frankincense, or myrrh; He came to die.  The real message of Christmas is the cross.

In the Western world, where most people have heard the story of Jesus before, we can sometimes deceive ourselves into thinking that giving toys and gadgets is a "good enough" witness of the life that Christ has given us.  This is a sad testimony if we really believe it, wrapping up fear and dismissive thinking in the disguise of holiness and generosity.

That brings me to another testimony I found in a newspaper obituary this summer.  It celebrated the life of a formerly-Muslim immigrant from India, who came to my part of the US in the early 1960s.  He was hostile to the message of Jesus until one Christmas season when some kind of personal troubles drove him to accept a friend's invitation to a church service.  Apparently the promise of "peace on earth" in a traditional carol was enough to convince him to give Christmas another chance. The obituary didn't detail much about it, but something brought this staunch Muslim to repent on his knees at home on the evening of December 25, and from then on, he became a bold witness for Christ.  His whole family gave their hearts to the Lord, and took the occasion of their father's death to print his testimony in the newspaper!

So, to ask it again: What is the significance of Christmas?  It's not in the presents or the time with family, it's not in holiday lights, tinsel, or feasting.  It's an occasion to testify about eternal life--the true message of Christ's ministry.  For perhaps one or two months a year (in the West), or maybe only one day in the East, people are listening.  Are we talking?  Can we be bold this Christmas?

I will proclaim the message here, for any searchers who found my blog this Christmas time:

At the beginning of time, God, the creator of life, made humankind to know Him and to live with Him, and in His goodness, He drew a line between what is good, true, kind, and just, and what is rebellion and injustice.  To His dismay, the people He had created chose to cross that line, even though they knew that the penalty for rebellion was separation from God (that is, eternal death of both body and soul).  He didn't want this separation to stand, but He couldn't revoke what He knew was a good law.  This led God to a plan that would both meet the requirements of the law and satisfy His desire for reunion with humankind.  Since death was the punishment, He sent a substitute for those who were condemned to death.  No human substitute could be found, since all humans were already doomed to pay the penalty and couldn't pay someone else's penalty as well.  Therefore, God sent His own son to die.  Christmas celebrates the beginning of Christ's life on earth, which was set to end in death.

Jesus was able to pay the penalty for others because He had not disobeyed God.  The curse of death didn't apply to Him, so God raised Him from the dead.  Now, anyone who recognizes their penalty and asks Jesus to pay it for them can escape eternal death and rise again, with Jesus, in the same way, with the penalty lifted from them.

The reason why we change our ways and begin to obey God after Jesus redeems us from death is not to try to buy this salvation; it is because we reject the folly that got us into this mess.  Rebellion no longer holds its charm when we have seen the freedom that salvation, God's way, brings.  Therefore, if you have asked Jesus to redeem you today, don't return to your old sins.  Learn God's ways, which have brought you life, and reject what brought death.  It is a better and more secure way, as you will discover.


Merry Christmas, everyone!

The Pearl of Great Price

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matthew 13: 45, 46 NKJV).

I woke up thinking about this parable, and I knew it was something God wanted me to write about today.  Though it is only two verses long (one of the shortest parables of Jesus), we have an image here of Christ's heart and His mission.

Forsaking All Others

This merchant cherished many things.  He started out seeking pearls, not just one but many.  His life was full, but it was not singularly directed at any one goal.  Then, suddenly, he learned of this one pearl and did what appears to be a foolish thing--he threw away all that he had and went after this one thing with total abandon.  What prompted the change?

I believe he saw something in that pearl that nothing else could equal--in other words, a quality that made everything else in his life seem silly in comparison.  It wasn't foolishness to him to go after it with such abandon, because it was a chance of a lifetime, and he couldn't pass it up.

Yet, Christ wasn't talking about merchants and pearls.  He said very clearly that this is a quality of "the kingdom of heaven."  We are talking about deep spiritual things, specifically, the kind of love that Christ has for us, and the kind of love He wants to see in us.

No Greater Love

We all have things that we deeply love and desire, above all other things.  It could be advancement, fame, fortune, or that one secret dream (whatever form it takes), and if we get the opportunity to go after it, we will abandon everything else.  If you don't think you have such a deep desire for something, then examine your life, focusing on the big decisions you have made.  What did you go after?  What was left behind?

Jesus examined Himself, I believe, in the garden of Gethsemane.  He had a choice to make, between ultimate and unlimited power as God on earth, or the lives and love of His friends.  On that night, Jesus revealed what He really loved.  As He said (long before this crisis came), "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends," (John 15: 12, 13 NIV 2011).  Jesus chose the cross and terrible suffering, counting it as nothing, for the sake of the greatest love of His life--that is, believers.  As Paul summarized Christ's decision:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2: 5-8 NIV 2011)

 Adam loved himself more than God or others (even his wife and his children), and so he sought equality with God, to the loss of all other things (Genesis 3: 4-6;  Romans 5: 12-15).  Jesus was already equal, and deserved to be treated and respected as God, yet He chose to be a servant, despised and rejected, and ultimately thrown out with the trash.  Why?

Love, as Christ revealed, is a humble and self-sacrificing emotion. It isn't after something for itself; it puts all value on the object of that emotion, to the death of self. "Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned," (Song of Solomon 8:7 NIV 2011), the wisest man on earth wrote.  Love cannot be obscured or quenched by anything in this world, because it comes from a source above all this.  It is a fruit of the Spirit of God (Galatians 5: 22-25).

Loving as Christ Loved the Church

Jesus held this great love in His heart for us.  Though we will never be as perfect as He is, He has called us to this kind of love.  Jesus doesn't want us to love Him partially, still holding on to other loves that could draw us away from Him from time to time.  He doesn't want us to make Him the pearl of great price in our lives, only to value another pearl greater than Him, and cast Him aside.

He doesn't want us to treat our friends that way, either.  He even went so far as to say that someone who didn't love his brother was not a believer (1 John 3: 11-24) and anyone that didn't care for his own family was worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8).  We are called to love with this sacrificial intensity, even if that love is scorned (Ephesians 5: 25), and we have condemned ourselves if we don't see the need for this humble servant's love in the lives of those around us.

Let us love like we have been commanded--not for what we can get, but rather, for what we can give.

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (2 Philippians 2: 1-4).

Giving God What is His

He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” 

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. (Matthew 22: 20-22 NIV 2011)

So often we read this passage around tax time and focus on how Jesus tells us to pay our taxes, as required by the government, but this story has a "flip side."  Jesus was speaking much more directly about mankind, and how they belong to God.  Just as the coin had Caesar's face on it, the human being is made "in the image of God," (Genesis 9:6), and therefore owes God their entire being.

What does this mean?  Though God has the entire world and all of its money in His possession, He has found it unsatisfying, even lonely.  He wants something only we can give, and that is our friendship, our love, and our obedience.  He can make followers who have no choice but to obey Him, but what He wants is people who obey Him because they want to, and because they want Him.

Today I woke up thinking about all the things I could do to increase my income right now.  Like many people around the world, I was letting my work steal my focus.  Worry can do that to us.  I had to take a moment to remember that work that results in money is necessary in this world, but it began as a punishment to Adam (Genesis 3: 17-19), to teach mankind a lesson.  Adam thought that, as a god in his own right, he could save himself and meet all of his own needs without God's help, but God made him work so that he would be humbled.  Human hands cannot save us; even in work we need God's hands to help our work prosper.

What God wants us to value is Him, not money and all the things it brings.  He even made Caesar and all of his denarii.  He takes care of us, even when we haven't humbled ourselves enough to admit it yet.

Today I am taking a break from money-bringing work to honor God with my hands in a blog post.  I want to challenge you to step back from your money-pursuing thoughts and praise God for His provision in your life.  I am asking you to change your thinking, not your work ethic.  Please don't do something that gets you fired!  When you receive praise for all your hard work, I challenge you to remember the God who prospers your hands, and who daily makes success possible.  He cares more about you than all the riches in the world!  Ask Him to show you His hand in your work, and to take away the worry about things that cannot save.  He will provide.

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.  In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves. (Psalm 127: 1, 2 NIV 2011)

Weekly Snippet: The Greatest Gifts in Life Don't Come with Money

Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.  Ecclesiastes 7:12 NIV

Perhaps when Solomon wrote that "money is a shelter," he was pointing out how nice it is to have enough money that you don't have to worry about paying your bills or buying that little thing that you want.  In fact, I define poverty as not having enough to cover all of our needs.  Today, around the holidays, financial poverty is felt all the more keenly when we want to be more generous than our budgets allow.  But, money isn't everything, and it doesn't do the one thing that we all need--protect our lives.

Wouldn't it be fantastic to be able to buy a Christmas gift that fulfilled someone's every need?  In essence, wouldn't it be wonderful to give the gift of the end of poverty?  We all want something for Christmas, and there are a lot of things that would make us happy, but there are only a few things we need.  The end of poverty is high on that list.

Well, years ago, somebody did buy that gift.  The purchaser's name was Jesus.  He began poor, and stayed poor, but He grew in wisdom, and with that wisdom He obeyed God and purchased the gift of eternal life so that He could give it to anyone who asked for it.

How is that the end of poverty?  Well, we all lacked life, and we didn't have enough of the right thing to ever achieve eternal life.  Therefore, we all live in poverty.  The greatest gift--the most valuable gift--is life, and Jesus taught us a valuable lesson about it. The greatest gift we can receive cannot be purchased with money.  Both the rich and the poor know this.  Eternal life is purchased with wisdom, and knowledge of the God who gives it.  If we don't seek out the God who gives us life and wisdom, we will always be poor.

This Christmas, do you have the greatest gift of all?  I know that none of us are capable of displaying the kind of wisdom it takes to earn this gift.  That's why the richest man in the world, Jesus Christ, had to buy it.   He didn't use silver and gold.  He gave His life.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you by your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  1 Peter 1: 18-19 NIV

 Do you know Him?  If you don't, and you want to know more about this gift, please read my post "To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice," for a more detailed explanation.  If you agree with me, I have written how to receive this priceless gift at the end of this post, "Have They Heard?"

Thank you for reading!  Until next week, this is my reminder to you to stay savvy--seek wisdom!

Weekly Trivia Files: The Nature of a Servant

The Bible instructs us to be "imitators of Christ" (Philippians 2), but today I feel God urging me to explain again what this really means.  It isn't a new concept for most Christians, but far too often we avoid any in-depth study of this topic.  What was Paul suggesting when he began to explain Jesus' model for our lives by pointing out that Jesus "t[ook] on the very nature of a servant"?

Respecting Authority

The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. -- Proverbs 15: 33 NIV
Earlier this week I explained what it means to "fear the Lord."  In essence, if we fear the Lord, we respect His authority and bow to His right to judge us and others.

Now, Jesus was and is God.  Even when He walked the earth, He had authority over all things, and therefore didn't have to obey anyone or submit to anyone's so-called authority over Him.  Still, to demonstrate for us what it really meant to respect authority, He chose not to exercise His rights.  God's plan to redeem mankind required that Christ submit Himself to the Jewish and Roman authorities to be murdered.  He didn't have to obey, but Jesus wanted God's ways and His plans to be exalted in everyone's eyes.  It wasn't about getting honor just for Himself on earth; He wanted God to be honored, and He wanted to honor humankind through His sacrifice.

In essence, by being humble, by humiliating Himself before others (because He could have prevented all the mockery He chose to endure), Jesus brought honor to Himself.  First, God honored Christ's humility by raising Him from the dead.  By this act, God brought all creation, throughout all time, to honor Him in a deeper way than they would have if Jesus had only sought the honor of mankind on earth, long ago.

In the same way, Jesus modeled for us the habit of bowing our heads to authority, because this brings us honor from those in authority over us.  It is in our fallen natures to seek honor from those that are beneath us, to make ourselves gods among men, but the greater honor is to be honored by those who don't have to do so.

Forgetting Ambition

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."  -- Mark 9: 35 NIV
 A servant, by nature, is stuck in a low social position, never expected to rise above this position to equality with the master.  Even in traditional fairy tales, when the servant climbed the social ladder, it was to a position higher than his or her original master.

As Paul pointed out in Philippians chapter 2, Jesus did not seek to be above God by doing this, nor did He even seek equality with God.  Jesus was content to be in the lowly position, servant to all, even God His Father.  He was content with the esteem that God gave Him, and accepted what He got from God as all that He needed or deserved.  Because He left this up to God, God gave Christ great honor, even seating Him on the throne above all creation and subjugating Christ's enemies under Him (Psalm 110).

In the same way, we should not seek to gain honor or a higher position for ourselves, but rather should view ourselves the way God sees us.  From God's perspective, we are nothing more than clay, animated by His breath.  From the greatest to the least of us, there is no quality or achievement that can raise us above this position.  Only God can do that, by bestowing upon us His special attention, calling us "friend" and sending His son to rescue us.  When we honor God with our whole hearts, He honors us with His redeeming love.

Loving at All Times

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. -- Proverbs 17: 17 NIV
When we decide not to love others, or to love them less than another, we are in essence looking down on them and judging that they are less worthy of love than we are.  To love someone is to raise him or her to a position in our hearts that is higher than ourselves--to honor him or her above our own worth.  Real love (not lust or fan club-gathering) is by nature a servant's attitude, that is, a position in life that does not change according to the situation.

Paul explained this quality in Christ when he wrote, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5: 8 NIV).  Not only did Christ demonstrate an attitude of servanthood to God His Father, but also He demonstrated an attitude of servanthood toward us, by treating us as friends who He loved, even when we did not show Him love.  To love someone unlikeable is to honor that person above our own feelings.

Wrapping it up: The Charge of a Servant

The principle purpose of a servant is to meet the needs of the master, and to bring honor to Him and all His household.  A servant's job is never about him, and a servant who is doing his job is not thinking about himself.  So when Jesus became a servant, He put behind Himself all of His needs and desires and sought only to fulfill those of His master, that is, God the Father, and those who He raised to a place of honor, that is, the whole human race (whether they choose to honor Him or not).

In the same way, those who obey God and imitate Christ are not thinking about themselves, but rather are always thinking about the needs of their Master and His household and accepting His correction and direction.  In every word and deed, in every facet of our lives, we are to put others above ourselves, including God our Lord, and leave Him the job of giving us honor.  Can we do that?  By His grace, with His help and His example, we can.

Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (1 Peter 5: 2-4 NIV)

Behold! the Bridegroom Cometh

My extended family has celebrated quite a few weddings in the past few months, so I've been thinking a lot about the topic, obviously. I was thinking about it again, even though I'd planned to talk about prophecy today, and suddenly God reminded me of some research I did on Jesus' first miracle, some months ago.  Oddly enough, it ties the two topics together.  I just love it when God makes it work out that way, don't you?

The Significance of the Wedding at Cana

Months ago, I was rereading the story of the Wedding at Cana, which most readers know is the first documented miracle Christ performed during His earthly ministry.  I found myself thinking, "Why is this significant, compared to all the other miracles?  Why would the disciples think it was important to write this particular miracle down, since they also noted that many other miracles weren't written down?"

So many people had read this story to me and came up with a rather vague understanding that the wine was significant as a symbol of God's spirit being poured out on earth.  I think this interpretation is partly right, but it overlooks a lot.  For one thing, why did it have to happen at a wedding?

It is clear that there was a lot of symbolism in Jesus' decision to turn water into wine.  I see that it was not lost on the audience (although it may have taken a few years to really sink in), although it seems to have been lost on its modern, non-Jewish audience.  What was going on?  Verse 6 is the often-overlooked key to the mystery:

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

Ceremonial washing.  When I've read about ceremonial washing in the Old Testament, it usually involved curing a disease, purification after a disease, or preparation for a priest to enter the temple.  Why were there ceremonial washing jars standing right there, in the middle of a wedding ceremony?  Wouldn't they have put them up before the guests arrived? Out of curiosity, I googled ceremonial washing and the Jewish wedding ceremony.

There are a lot of variations in the traditional Jewish wedding ceremony (I'm talking about the modern one, though the practices are ancient).  One thing that always takes place early in the wedding week (the ceremony is a week of festivities) is the ceremonial bathing of the bride to be, called the mikvah bath.

The mikvah is usually an indoor pool filled with a mixture of natural water (rainwater or water from a spring) and purified water (like tap water).  The mikvah has common origins with the concept of baptism.  We call it baptism, from the Greek, baptismo, to dip, because early Christians didn't want it to be confused with bath, meaning to wash, a word associated with the pagan bathing house used by secular Greeks.

Jewish women always bathe before going into the mikvah.  Most modern mikvah pools have showers provided for use before going into the pool.  The water in the pool is not meant to actually soap up and wash off in; it is to symbolically remove impurity of a spiritual nature, so real dirt must be removed first.  The bride ceremonially dips herself in this water, making sure that her whole body, including her hair, is submerged, and says a series of prayers.  This is to make her ceremonially pure for her wedding (such things as her period, contact with a dead body, or sexually immoral behaviors make her ceremonially impure).  This ritual purification ceremony precedes the day the wedding party of the bride and the wedding party of the groom actually come together.

So the ceremonial jars that Christ used to make the wine were not just jars for drinking water or watering cattle.  The servants had to have thought it strange that Jesus would tell them to fill those jars, of all the jars and containers in the house!  They were special, ceremonially pure jars that had symbolically purified the bride earlier that week, and were not normally used in contact with food.

What Jesus Meant

At the last supper, Jesus told His disciples that the wine they were drinking was symbolic of His blood, which was going to be shed to take away their sins before God.  It is interesting to review that statement in light of the Wedding at Cana.  Could it be that He was thinking about His mission on earth while sitting there at that wedding banquet? Yes, I think so.

"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied [to Mary], "My time has not yet come." ( John 2: 4 NIV)

This miracle, then, is a prophecy of what Jesus was planning to do--that is, purify His bride, the church, with His sacrifice.  But before Jesus presented the disciples with the wine, symbolic of the spiritual purification His death would bring, Jesus recognized that His time had come (John 13: 1), and that it was time to wash His disciples' feet (see also earlier reference to Psalm 24: 3-5).  He did this saying, "Unless I wash you, you have no part in me," (John 13: 8 NIV).  So they were bathed before they were ritually purified, according to Jewish tradition.

Back at the wedding at Cana, the master in charge of the ceremony didn't know where the wine came from, although the servants who helped Jesus did, and assumed that the bridegroom was somehow behind it.

"Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." (John 2: 10 NIV).

One side note here is that it is possible it was non-alcoholic "wine" that Jesus made, since it was so sweet; sometimes the word for wine in Hebrew can mean grape juice, though I can't confirm it here. What is more important to notice here is that the bridegroom was in charge of bringing the wine, and the real bridegroom, Christ, did just that.  He didn't take the job lightly, either, but was extravagant with the gift, bringing only the best.  It didn't matter to Christ whether we were actually alert enough to recognize or value the gift He brought.  He brought it anyway.

There is another thing to draw from this story.  If Jesus has purified His church for the wedding, it surely means that the bridegroom's party is coming soon.  Are we ready?  Are we staying pure, as He has made us pure, looking forward to that day in the near future when He comes to take us away with Him? 

Breadcrumbs

"Do not eat the food of a stingy man, do not crave his delicacies; for he is the kind of man who is always thinking about the cost. 'Eat and drink,' he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have wasted your compliments." (Proverbs 23:6-8 NIV)

I was thinking the other day about how society obsesses over public figures, politics, sports, money, beauty (and the exploitation thereof), popularity, and so forth. Sometimes it seems as if everyone is endlessly running from one crowd to another, chasing after the illusive power and prestige associated with a person or thing, fawning over people shamelessly and gobbling up any attention they can get from them.

I just have to ask--why do we do it all? In the verse above, the stingy man "is always thinking about the cost." The way I read it, the stingy man is viewing his food--his delicacies whatever they may be--as a source of power over others. He is always calculating how much he can give away without losing a scrap of that power. And so his generosity never comes from love or compassion, but rather it stems from a greed for power, and a desire to solidify or consolidate that power. In that way, the stingy man is never satisfied with his power because it is always in jeopardy of being lost. Likewise, the followers who eat out of his hand will never be full (because then food has no power with them!), nor will the food ever leave anything but an empty, bitter taste in their mouth (because few things are more bitter than knowing that you are viewed with contempt).

The world grasps for every crumb that falls from the table of their "masters." In fact, the root meaning of the English expression, to fawn, contains the imagery of a dog licking from his master's hand, or the pecking of a bird. Now, for dogs and birds, this may be satisfying, but for humans I can't see it as anything less than a dehumanizing, disgraceful pattern of behavior. God has made a better way. We weren't made to grovel, or to be made to grovel.

The Little Boy's Snack

We've all heard the story of the time Jesus fed the 5,000 (John 6: 1-13), and I've often heard that passage used as an illustration of God's power to provide for all our needs. But there is another, simpler message in that passage: God's model of generosity.

I used to think about that little boy in the crowd with the five loaves and two fishes. I could just hear his mother saying, "Now don't lose this! I went to all this trouble to pack you a lunch, so don't come back complaining that you're hungry. I'm a good mom, you know!" In fact, she was, since she managed to be the only woman in the place who had thought of everything!

Somehow, totally unexpectedly, that little boy had something everyone else wanted. He had power and popularity, and all because of his little snack. He could have been stingy, dealing out a tiny bit to the growling stomachs all around him, but keeping the lion's-share for himself. Instead, he forked over the entire lunch to Jesus and kept nothing for himself. This is what Jesus meant when He commented that kids understand the kingdom of God better than adults!

Now, suddenly the power had shifted into Jesus' hands. I'm sure He was just as hungry as everyone else, and He could have just said, "Thanks, kid!" and eaten it all Himself. After all, as God of the universe, everything is His due, to do with as He pleases.

But Jesus didn't keep all that power to Himself, either. He gave thanks over the food and distributed it to everyone miraculously, so that everyone got "as much as they wanted" (John 6: 11 NIV). In fact, He gave so much that there was enough left over to feed another good-sized crowd.   Here we see that Jesus' model of generosity demands that we give without consideration of the cost--that is, without considering the loss or gain of power in the choice--and that we give beyond what was expected of us. God doesn't count out breadcrumbs like pennies. Rather, He gives us so much that there is plenty left for the next person, so that no one has any reason to fight over the crumbs.

Another Bread Story

I wonder if the disciples thought about that day with the crowd of 5,000 when Jesus stood up at the last Passover dinner, "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me'" (Luke 22: 19 NIV).

Again, Jesus was modeling generosity. The bread Christ passed out to the crowd had long since vanished, but it had foreshadowed the greater miracle of Christ's resurrection. Just as it seemed impossible that a tiny meal, given freely by the humblest father's son in the crowd, could feed 5,000 people, with leftovers, it seems impossible that God's humble son could give His one life to save us all, with plenty left over for those who didn't come. But Christ did it! What's more, just as the little boy gave his whole meal, not expecting to take it back, Jesus gave His all with no desire to hold it back from anyone who asked for it!

Now, as Christians run from store to store, there is a simpler, more obvious gift we should be thinking about this time of year. We may have many material gifts to give this season, but we have something far more valuable to offer this stingy world: God's son! When we pass the bread rolls, I'm asking that we think about passing the good news to a hopeless, hungry world. When we tell our own stories, we ought to make sure that we tell the good news as well. Is there someone in your life who hasn't heard about Jesus?  Well, Christmas is the best time of year to finally broach the subject.  Why should anyone be left out in the cold when the stable door is open?