Jonah, a Rusty Gate, and Me

The Biblical account of Jonah has some crazy action! Jonah ran from God, got tossed overboard in a storm, swallowed by a giant fish, vomited out onto land, then finally preached God’s message in a very dangerous city, in a very dangerous country. The people living the city were so vile, that God had planned to destroy them if they didn’t change their ways! Jonah delivered the message to them and God’s transforming word did its work and they repented! God decided not to destroy them, and this made Jonah happy that he finally performed his God given duties. Right? No!

In fact, “it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.” (Jonah 4:1) Jonah had a lot of things going into the mission field of Nineveh. He had God on his side, he had a life saving, soul preserving message from God. Through Jonah, God saved many souls on that day! But Jonah was also missing a few things. Things like: compassion, grace, empathy, and love!

In 1 Corinthians 13:1 Paul wrote, “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.”  Jonah spoke with more than human eloquence and angelic ecstasy, he spoke with the authority and might of God! But he did not love. Paul would go on to write, “So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” Jonah did end up doing what he was told, he preached God’s life saving message and saved many souls, but he gained nothing. He was spiritually bankrupt! Because he did not love.

Are we any different? I can also go the ends of the earth, or the end of my street, and spread to gospel because it’s what I’m “supposed to do”. But just like a smile that never reaches my eyes, if the gospel never reaches my heart, I don’t benefit at all from the work I do! That’s called going through the motions. The people I teach may end up obeying the gospel and become saved, but if I don’t love them as I teach and preach, I will be lost!

So today, as I labor in God’s Kingdom, I need to evaluate myself. Every word I say, every action I take, every decision that I make, every thought I think… are they done with love?

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Don’t be a clanging cymbal, noisy gong, or a creaking rusty gate! Speak the truth and love (Ephesians 4:15)! 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

Have a great week!

The Son of Man

Ok, my math skills are kinda weak, so I need some help here.  0.5 + 0.5 = 1?  Got it!  1 + 1 = 2?  Alright, on a roll!  So when does 1 + 1 ever equal 1?  When Jesus Christ was both human and God at the same time.

This isn’t a study about the divinity of Jesus, I think that most people visiting this blog already believe that Jesus was indeed God the Son in the flesh on this earth (John 1:1-2), if not, then shoot me an email and we’ll talk.  But, rather I want to take a look at Jesus, the Son of Man.

1. He was born just like you and me, though not under the same circumstances.  You, like me, we’re most likely born in a hospital.  A hospital that was clean and sterile, (mostly) free from germs.  Also, there was probably a nurse tending to your mother and a doctor that specializes in childbirth there to care for you when you were finally born.  Not Jesus, He was born in a stable, His first bed was a food trough that a horse probably ate out of minutes before He was born.  But still, He was brought into this world through a human birth (Luke 2:6-7).

2. He lived a normal life just like you and me.  Well, maybe not normal, I don’t remember teaching the elders of my congregation anything new when I was only 12 years old (Luke 2:41-51).  But what I mean to say is that Jesus worked for a living.  Mark 6:3  tells us that He was a carpenter, not an easy job even on the best of days.  His hands were calloused and he worked in the hot sun.  The average July temperature in Bethlehem today is 86° / 60% humidity, with a “nice” desert breeze.

3. He was tempted just like us in every way (Hebrews 4:15).  That really speaks for itself, you know yourself and you know the things that tempt you on a daily basis.  Try smashing your thumb with a hammer, like you know Jesus probably did given His profession, and not wanting to say something inappropriate.  But more than that, His God side (if you will) was tempted as well (Luke 4:1-12).

4. He had emotions just like you and me.  In Matthew 21:12-13 He was angered by the buying/selling and money changing going on in the temple where it shouldn’t have been.  And He cried when His friend Lazarus died, even though He knew beforehand that Lazarus would be raised from the dead (John 11:35).

5. He died, not at all like you and me.  He died FOR you and me.

And why did God the Son leave His Father’s side in Heaven to live and die for us?  So that He could mediate the difference in God’s expectations and our human failings (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 2:17-18).  The God of the Old Testament is the same God that we worship today, He has not changed.  His law was perfect, but humans are not.  When God would have destroyed us time and time again for sinning against him like he has done in the past (Genesis 6:17, Genesis 19:24-25, Numbers 16:31-35, etc), Jesus can say, stop!  And tell the Father that He has been there Himself, and that we as humans are doing the best that we can (Hebrews 2:17-18).  And if we continue to do the best we can and try to live a sinless life God is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:5-10), all thanks to Jesus Christ, our mediator.