My heart-rate rises, my fists clench, my lips purse and my brow furrows.
Why is this taking so long?
A Promise
God promises to be “my light and my salvation.” (Psalm 27:1 NIV)
But it doesn’t always look that way to me.
Life spins out of control, One minor crisis upon another, interjected with major moments, Frustrated by finitude … again.
The Problem
Waiting is a problem when I believe that I am in control, When I imagine that the world revolves around me.
The Psalmist yearns to “dwell in the house of the LORD.” (Psalm 27:4 NIV).
Only there, where the LORD is seated between the cherubim, above the ark beyond the altar, Where the Psalmist acknowledges his small, dependent and peripheral position, Only there is he secure.
The Psalmist’s circumstances
Yet circumstances haven’t changed.
The Psalmist remains forsaken, Enemies snapping at his heels, Malicious accusations made by false witnesses.
Still he waits, Secure.
Our circumstances
In my modern, fast-paced world, Inbox notifications chirp, Phones beep, Social media drags my focus into a bottomless black pit.
Even so, with the Psalmist, I wait, Secure.
(Sometimes, anyhow. When my focus is clear.)
A Prayer
Teach me, oh timeless One, To dwell in you. Recognising that you are on the throne, my Saviour at your right hand.
Strengthen me, indwelling Spirit, To tune out the world’s falsely urgent calls, And instead, to attune my ear to you.
Help me, please, to wait.
And to wait well.
With the Psalmist of old, I declare,
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living
Wait for the LORD:
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:13-14 NIV
P.S. You may wonder why there are photographs of raindrops interspersed throughout this meditation. The answer is simply that these are moments of beauty in the backyard which I witnessed today, just before a half-day retreat with a few sisters-in-Christ. As part of that retreat, we focused on Psalm 27. The link is simply the time and place in which these insights were gleaned. The pictures also break up the text. I hope you enjoy them.
Do you ever get a song stuck in your head? “Raindrops keep falling on my head…” is one I often find myself humming these days.
That’s what happens in spring in Melbourne. We get a lot of raindrops.
A new book
I recently bought a book of Bible verses to send to a friend for her birthday. I also purchased a Kindle copy for myself.
Buying a copy for myself was an impulse buy … I think. Or was it a Holy Spirit nudge? Where does ‘impulse’ end and ‘Holy Spirit nudge’ begin? These very questions reflect my Western worldview, and are irrelevant to this blog post. I bought it on impulse, and the Holy Spirit was likely behind it.
The very first devotion captured my attention. It was based on Psalm 19:14.
The Bible version used in the book ‘100 Favorite Bible Prayers’ is the Christian Standard Bible. Credit for the lovely layout goes to the Thomas Nelson Publishers (2020), page 7.
Hebrew terms for ‘meditation’
Pastor and writer Eugene Peterson has long influenced my understanding of the Biblical term ‘meditation’. In the classic, ‘Eat this book’, he explains the meaning of the Hebrew term ‘hagah (הָגָה – Strongs 1897), often translated ‘meditation’ in the Bible. The word contains the sense of gnawing, chewing, and ingesting, Peterson said, just like his dog would gnaw on a bone for hours.
The original Hebrew word used in Psalm 19:14, however, is slightly different. ‘Higgayon’ (הִגָּיוֹן -Strongs 1902) is also translated ‘meditation’ in English. From what I understand through the helpful resources provided by Biblehub (see https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1902.htm), this word is more like background music, or whispering and murmuring.
I wonder if ‘higgayon’ has the idea of ‘the background music in your head’? Or recurring lines and themes from favourite TV shows?
‘Raindrops keep falling on my head,’ for example?
The background noise in your head
Do you have background noise in your head? If I sit still and listen, I hear a high-pitched ringing in my ears, a residue of some treatment nine years ago. It can be annoying if I let it.
Tinnitus is not what I’m talking about here. I’m thinking more of the songs that go around our mind; the plots from TV shows; the self-talk that aids or hinders our endeavours; and the resentments or joys, hopes or fears of our lives.
Sometimes, late at night, I watch something silly as a way to wind down. Often I wake up the next morning with lines or music from those shows stuck in my head.
Is that really what I want to be meditating upon?
This, I suggest, is what the Psalmist had in mind with this prayer: ‘May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord’ (Psalm 19:14).
Changing the background noise
As for my ‘ringing in the ears’, a doctor once advised me to simply ‘change the background noise’.
“Keep the radio on but don’t tune it to a station. Just have static in the background, then you won’t notice the ringing in your ears,” he suggested.
I often have the radio on in the background, but prefer it tuned to a station. I can live with the tinnitus.
What about the background noise in our heads that comes from repeated thoughts and mental chatter? Can we change the background noise?
I am preaching to myself here with the following suggestions, but you are welcome to listen in.
Intentionality: May I notice the content of the ‘background noise’ in my mind.
Praying Scripture: A good place to start would be the prayer from Psalm 19:14, that the meditations of my heart may be acceptable in God’s sight
Follow the injunction of Philippians 4:8 to intentionally think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. (The preceding verses about not worrying but praying with thanksgiving are helpful too.)
Easier said than done, perhaps?
One thought at a time.
‘Raindrops keep fallin’….’
In preparation for this blog post, I finally looked up the lyrics of the song, “Raindrops keep Fallin’ on my Head.” I also read about the 1969 movie for which it was written – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I learnt that it followed the true story of two American outlaws, ‘Butch Cassidy’ and ‘Sundance’. They lived at the turn of last century.
Composed by Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David, “Raindrops” is the film’s breakout hit and its legacy song; an upbeat and indefatigable ode to feeling free. It remains an irresistible earworm….
Their story is perhaps not dissimilar to that of the swagman in Australia’s ‘Waltzing Matilda’. In both cases, the men, likeable characters but prone to take what was not theirs, valued freedom above anything else.
That is the point of the song. It is “an upbeat and indefatigable ode to feeling free.”
And yes, it is most certainly “an irresistible earworm.” I have never even watched the movie and still I hum the song when raindrops fall.
Free
The freedom enjoyed by the lead characters in the movie for which the song was written was temporary. Unable to live freely in the USA, they eventually fled to South America, where they were killed in a gunfight. A watery end awaited Australia’s poor old swagman about whom ‘Waltzing Matilda’ was written.
In contrast, ‘if the Son sets us free, then we are free indeed.’ (Paraphrased from John 8:36).
And ‘it is for freedom that Christ has set up free!’ (Paraphrased from Galatians 5:1)
Free indeed!
Raindrops and ruminations
As I admire the raindrops in my garden, I no longer have only the first line of that song stuck in my head. The last line is now bouncing about my brain too.
Because I’m free Nothing’s worrying me
Now that I have spent time writing this blog post, the ‘Raindrops’ song is lodged more firmly than ever in my head 🎶.
Although I am not the intended beneficiary, I get so much out of our weekly Bible study.
We meet on zoom most Wednesday mornings. The other ladies are a little younger than me, all from China, and all with teenagers studying in Australia.
Valerie (pseudonym) is the driving force behind this group. I lead at her invitation. She is a passionate Christian lady, but today she has laryngitis and is quiet.
Melody (pseudoynym) is a dedicated mother and generous friend. She is not a believer. While she is quite happy to study the Bible as an English text, she remains an atheist.
Shelley (pseudonym) has ‘prayed the sinners prayer’ at a Chinese outreach event but doesn’t have time for church. Does our time together count as ‘discipleship’? She believes what she learns here. God alone knows where she stands in terms of salvation at this point in time. May this tender seedling of faith take root and grow well.
Week by week, we start with half an hour of chat, during which I help them express in English whatever they want to say. We then work through a passage of Scripture, using the New International reader’s Version (NIrV) because of its limited English vocabulary and short sentences.
Over time, women have come and gone. We have worked through all of Luke and now we are studying Acts. At the moment, the group is quite small, but small or large, week after week we continue to meet.
The Believers Pray (Acts 4:23-31)
Today we are studying the prayer of the believers in the early church as recorded in Acts 4:23-31. In recent weeks, we have studied passages in which Peter and John healed a lame man in Jesus’ name (Acts 3:1-10) after which Peter explained to the amazed onlookers how the death and resurrection of Jesus, through whose name the man had been healed, had been prophesied from long before (Acts 3:11-26). As a direct result of preaching about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, Peter and John were arrested by the religious authorities and jailed overnight, while thousands of people believed in Jesus (Acts 4:1-4) – thousands! The following day, those religious leaders questioned Peter and John at length and finally released them with a warning never to speak again of Jesus (Acts 4:-17). Of course, Peter and John had bravely refused to comply with such a command (Luke 4:18-20).
That brings us to today’s passage. The prayer of the believers.
Acts 4:23-31 NIrV
Their own people (verse 23)
Peter and John went back “to their own people” following their release. What does the term, “their own people” mean?, the ladies asked.
When Melody and her child go home to China during the longer school holidays and is reunited with her family, she is with “her own people”.
No, the term isn’t necessarily linked to nationality. After all, Peter and John were Jewish, as were the religious leaders.
It is more about a shared sense of identity.
“…their own people.” I think of my church community. Are these ‘my people’? Where does my identity lie?
Raised voices (verse 24a)
After Peter and John had reported to their own people all that the religious leaders had said to them, the believers “raised their voices together in prayer to God.”
“What does it mean, ‘to raise their voices’?” the ladies asked.
Usually in my church we bow our heads and mumble, much to the frustration of those with hearing impairments. They often remind us to raise our voices when we pray. But those early believers raised their voices naturally. Not in anger, nor in excitement, but in desperation perhaps? I think of the prayer meetings I have been part of in Chinese churches where everyone prays out loud at the same time (同声祷告- literally ‘voices together prayer’) and it feels like you’re carried along in ocean waves, rising and falling together. Is this how they prayed back then? Sometimes, our prayers just feel limp.
That’s not how I answered the ladies though. I simply said that they prayed with loud voices.
Some of the unfamiliar vocabulary that we covered during this study
Sovereign Lord (Verse 24b)
“Lord and King” is how those believers addressed God according to the New International reader’s Version (NIrV).
“Lords – like in British movies. I love British movies,” commented Shelley. “They have Lords and Ladies.”
“Yes,” I replied, “Only this ‘Lord’ was the absolute most powerful ruler.
“Like a landlord has power?” asked Melody. Her landlord has been quite unreasonable, and she knows all to well the power a greedy landlord can hold over a helpless tenant.
“Yes, but even more powerful,” I replied.
Actually, I’m not sure that the NIrV translators did so well here. The Greek word, Δέσποτα (‘despota’, from which we get the English term ‘despot’) is what they translated as ‘Lord and King’. The New International Version (not the reader’s version) translates this term ‘Sovereign Lord’, which is better. No doubt the English word ‘sovereign’ was considered a little difficult for readers of simple English.
In any case, it is fitting that, in the face of threats from Jewish religious authorities, the believers turn to one who holds unrestricted power. Our God is no ‘despot’ in the English sense of a despot exerting power with cruelty, but our Sovereign Lord is good, his power exceeding that of any other authority.
Defintion courtesy of https://biblehub.com/greek/1203.htm
A God who speaks
Don’t you love it when God seems to communicate with you on the same matter but from different angles? At church recently, we have been studying Hebrews, and focusing on the God who speaks through prophets and through his son. We even had a podcast entitled ‘God is a God who Speaks’ in which our pastor elaborated on the theme. And now here it was again in our Bible passage today.
But wait … this Bible study is about these ladies and not about me. They were more interested in how God spoke “through the mouth of our father David” (Acts 4:25). David was an important ancestor, rather than a literal father, I explained.
Emperor Qin Shihuang was a famous ancestor of the Chinese people. He was a bit of a despot, actually. He ruled China probably about 800 years after King David had ruled Israel. This picture is in the Public Domain – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Huang#/media/File:QinShiHuang19century.jpg
Prophecy fulfilled (Acts 4:27-28)
In the believers’ prayer, they quoted from the Psalm 2, a Messianic Psalm, and went on to explain in prayer how this prophecy had been fulfilled. How often do we reflect back on Scripture fulfilled even as we pray? Too often our prayer times tend to be more about us and our more immediate requests. I’m challenged to do better at praying Scripture.
But again, this Bible study is meant to be about the ladies and not about me. They’re more interested in how the translators use the word ‘purpose’ here (verse 28).
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” said Shelley. “People say that a lot. It was not my intention. It was an accident. How is that use of ‘purpose’ different to this one in the Bible?”
“It isn’t different at all,” I replied. “The people thought that they were plotting to destroy Jesus, but actually this was in line with God’s purpose all along. It was his intention. It was no accident.”
I gave myself goosebumps even as I spoke. Prophecy had foretold kings, rulers and the people plotting against the Lord and his anointed king. And there we see King Herod (a king), Pontius Pilate (a ruler) and many people of Israel plotting against Jesus.
This was no coincidence. No, it was very much according to God’s purpose. It was his intention.
Their requests (Acts 4:29-30)
Finally, after this powerful prayer to the Sovereign Lord, reminding him of prophecy fulfilled, those early believers made their request.
“Now, Lord, consider the bad things they say they are going to do. Help us to be very bold when we speak your word. Stretch out your hand to heal. Do signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant, Jesus.” (Acts 4:29-30 NIrV)
It was not the time or place to point out that in this request, the believers used a different Greek word for ‘Lord’ – Κύριε (Kyrie) – to that which they had used at the beginning of the prayer, i.e. Δέσποτα (despota). The term Κύριε (Kyrie) means ‘Master’. This study was for the benefit of the Chinese ladies rather than me, and so I refrained. Instead we focused on the content of the prayer.
This definition comes from https://biblehub.com/greek/2962.htm
Prayer answered (Acts 4:31)
“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. They were bold when they spoke God’s word.” (Acts 4:31 NIrV)
We had studied about the Holy Spirit a few weeks back when we read about God giving his Holy Spirit to the early believers that Pentecost Day. And here we see another instance where God’s power was clearly portrayed through the shaking of the place in which they met, and the Holy Spirit filled those early believers.
As a result of God’s empowering, they boldly went about speaking of Jesus, their view of reality restored. Power did not lie with the religious authorities, but with the Sovereign Lord, their Master, the One who Created the heavens, earth and sea and everything in them.
Applications
We usually finish our time together by sharing one truth which most impressed us.
People think that this weekly study is for the benefit of the Chinese ladies who are learning English, but actually it benefits me plenty too.
Through our study together this day, considering carefully every word and phrase, God has reminded me afresh of his sovereignty. I lose focus so easily, seeing only the problems about me. Yet when I focus on the One we serve, my perspective is restored and I am empowered to push on.
I closed our time together with a simple prayer, as we do each week, but perhaps raising my voice a little more than usual.
Lord and King, you made the heavens, the earth and the sea. You made everything in them.
You spoke to your people long ago, and still you speak to us today.
Thank you for sending Jesus. By your plan and purpose, he was put to death.
But death could not keep him, and he came back to life again.
Thank you that through Jesus, we can belong to your people.
Holy Spirit, will you open the eyes of our hearts so that we can recognise and believe in God as our Lord.
I’m no poet. However, I recently read that ‘free poetry’ simply means putting one thought into one line – no more and no less.
In the spirit of ‘exploring creativity’, while sitting on a hill in Lilydale, outside the Point of View cafe, I tried. In a spirit of humility, I now post this on my blog. Is this poetry? (You can say ‘no’!)
Noise of wind in trees
How to commit this sound to paper?
‘Ssshhhh, sssshhhh’
Like hushing a child to sleep
Breeze caresses my cheek
Hair blows across my eye
Wind picks up
Pages flap
Clouds visibly move east
Plane determinedly flies west,
A grey dash against mottled white
‘Breeze caresses my cheek, Hair blows across my eye’
What is wind?
My educated post-enlightenment influenced mind wants to understand the scientific nature of wind. Changes in temperature cause differences in air pressure cause movements of air particles. But what exactly IS wind?
Wind is a form of energy, along with light, fire and moving water. But that still doesn’t answer my question. What exactly IS wind?
I think of the ‘ruach’ (which could be translated as spirit, wind and/or breath) of God of Genesis 1:2. In that passage, describing the formless and empty earth, we read that the ‘ruach’ of God hovered over the surface of the waters. The word usually translated into English as ‘Spirit’ can actually just as easily be translated ‘wind’ or ‘breath’. I imagine the breath of God as pure energy hovering in anticipation of creation.
Mind you, that still doesn’t answer my question of ‘What is wind?’
Never mind.
Bible
There are many references to the Hebrew רוּחַ ‘ruach’ (Spirit, wind or breath) of God in the Old Testament and the equivalent Greek πνεῦμα ‘pneuma’ in the New Testament. It would be overly simplistic to say that spirit is wind and breath, but the fact is that the Biblical terms can be translated as ‘breath’, ‘wind’ or ‘spirit’ in English. This shows that in a Biblical worldview, there is at least some overlap. A helpful article provided by the Logos software folk expands on this in what they call “… a few summary observations.” https://www.logos.com/grow/the-breath-that-moves-through-everything-a-survey-of-ruach/
Two other key Biblical pictures of ‘wind’ spring to mind. Ezekiel’s stunning vision of dry bones restored to living, breathing people (Ezekiel 37:1-14) involved breath and wind. Translators sometimes choose ‘breath’ and sometimes ‘wind’ when translating this scene, but both come from the same root word ‘ruach’. (See a screenshot below of the verse.) Then some 600 years later, there was that “sound like the blowing of a violent wind” (Acts 2:2 NIV) which accompanied the gift of the Holy Spirit the first Pentecost after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Undoubtedly, the two pictures are related.
Read from right to left, top to bottom. This shows the Hebrew and English of Ezekiel 37:9. Credit goes to https://biblehub.com/interlinear/ezekiel/37-9.htm
Who is God?
I’m glad God chose to reveal himself to us through his son (Hebrews 1:2) because my head just can’t get around this force of energy and source of life apart from Jesus. Having said that, the writer to the Hebrews goes on to say that Jesus, the one through whom God revealed himself, is also the one “through whom he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:2 NIV). I think back to that hovering ‘Breath of God’ as described in the beginning of Genesis and wonder if that, too, was Jesus. In this very attempt to equate the two, I’m displaying my limited understanding of our Creator and Sustainer.
I appreciate that the eternally infinite God revealed himself to us in temporarily finite humanity – Jesus.
The profusion of colour and elements of this flower is meant to somehow illustrate my limited mind struggling to picture the divine … or at least be a pretty picture to break up the text.
In the midst of reading a book for college about ‘creative research methods’, I’m inspired to ‘be creative’. Is it a God-prompt? Or just a desire to indulge in an enjoyable hobby? Either way, it is spring down here in the south-east corner of mainland Australia and a time for new beginnings.
And so I write.
I have yet another new good intention. Most weeks (I dare not say ‘every week’), I would like to commit a couple of hours to just ‘play’ with words and images. My blog is the obvious place ‘to park’ what emerges. If you are reading along here, then to you I say ‘thank you’.
Today, I gave myself the prompt word: ‘spring’. Here are some random thoughts on spring in no particular order.
Spring – the season
In North China, where I once lived, spring brings life-giving change. Winters are drab and grey. It is far too cold for anything to flourish. But with spring comes colour – pink and white blossoms, bright yellow winter jasmine (in Chinese called 迎春花, literally meaning ‘welcome spring flower’), muted pinky-orange-maroon flowering quince blossoms, as well as tender green leaves on trees and bushes. Spring is super special in places with long, colourless winters.
Spring – a verb, noun, adverb and/or adjective
I enjoy words, and am thinking about how we use the English word ‘spring’. There is a common element of something new coming forth in each of the following instances.
‘He has a spring in his step.’
‘The cat used to spring up onto the bed, but now she uses steps.’
‘Water from a mountain spring refreshes a weary traveller.’
‘I need to spring clean my home … but not today.’
‘I’m no spring chicken.’
And then there are a number of Biblical references to spring (as a season), such as 2 Samuel 11:1, which says, “In the spring at the time when kings go of to war….” I often mutter this verse completely out of context when I attack with a gardening tool the onion weed in my backyard each spring.
Then there are Biblical references to springs of water. Of course, the original Biblical words in Greek or Hebrew for spring (the season) and spring (a spring of water) are not the same. But I’m playing with English words here. Which is why I spent time today pondering the following verse….
Seated by a well, Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “… the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14 NIV)
I understand that in the original Greek, the idea was of a spring of water springing up, though using different words. What a lovely picture. The Spirit of Jesus which indwells us (see John 7:37-39) bursts out of us, washing over those around us. It cannot be contained. May we be faithful channels of this living water.
John 4:14 as per Biblehub.com is where this screenshot comes from, though obviously I circled the words ‘spring’.
Spring – the Chinese word for the season
As a visual learner and a word-nerd, I enjoy observing pictures in written Chinese language. The word for ‘spring’ is a beauty. The character, 春 (chūn) is made up of three parts. At the bottom is the sun – 日. At the top is the character for ‘plentiful’ – 丰 – (see all those lines, i.e. plenty) as well as the number ‘eight’ – 八.
All up, the character for ‘spring’ in Chinese, 春 (chūn), visually portrays the sun shining and creation transitioning from winter’s barrenness to a time of plenty.
Spring rains
Much as I enjoy the pleasant aspects of spring as described above, spring also brings unsettled weather. Last night, it bucketed rain. Three days ago, I set out on a short afternoon walk in sunshine, but then before I had even reached the end of the street (albeit a long street), a strong wind picked up, clouds raced across the sky, and the heavens opened, absolutely drenching me.
We need the sun and the rain both, but one is definitely more palatable than the other. Starting anything new also usually involves ups and downs, bringing times of enjoyment and of frustration. One is more pleasant than the other but sometimes we just need to grit our teeth and work through the difficulties. As I write these words, life is good. Birds are twittering, bees are buzzing and blossoms are blooming. But life isn’t always like a pleasant Saturday spring afternoon, and that’s okay.
Spring in Narnia
In Jesus we have a great hope. I wonder if we will have seasons in the new heavens and earth? If the effects of sin are done with, including death, will there be any more autumn and winter?
I’m not alone in my ponderings. The great thinker and writer, C.S. Lewis, apparently thought along similar lines. In his famous book ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’, Mr Beaver refers to ‘an old rhyme’ in Narnia which says:
Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
It was a summer’s day at The Royal Foundation of St Katharine’s in London, where our retreat leader was located. Using his phone to show us his environs, Steve roamed the gardens. The retreat started at 10:30am and finished at 4pm British time. Down here in Melbourne, Australia, however, it was a cold, wet night. The retreat started at 7:30pm and finished at 1am. It’s helpful, sometimes, being a ‘night owl’.
The advertising said that the retreat would be for two hours, but even though it made for a late night, I was not disappointed to later realise that it would go for 5 1/2 hours. Screenshot from https://www.rfsk.org.uk/events
An exercise
There were many interesting and helpful aspects to the retreat. The one I wish to touch on in this blog post was the instruction to look at a photograph of ‘young you’ and then to write two letters, first from ‘young you’ to ‘current you’, then later from ‘current you’ to ‘young you’.
It sounds a bit like ‘navel gazing’ to this pragmatic person, but I threw myself into the activity anyhow. I had participated in a contemplative photography retreat run by this retreat leader when visiting the UK in 2021, and was keen to re-visit the experience from the comfort of my own home on the other side of the world. I had wondered how it would go participating at night, but using photos from decades ago made that less of a challenge.
I’ll spare you descriptions of insights that relate specifically to my story, though I did find the exercise practically quite helpful. Ask me more about that if you like.
Lake Macquarie? Port Stephens? Probably late 1970s.
Our timeless God
The perspective of our immortal God is what I would like to focus on in this blog post. He knows the ‘young me’ and the ‘middle aged me’ as well as the ‘elderly me’ that, God willing, will exist in the future. He sees us in the completeness of who we are across time and place, and not only as we are at this particular point in time and space.
He sees us as whole people with a beginning and an end to our days on earth. Our souls will continue forever (eternal life) if we trust in Jesus, and he sees that too. Furthermore, we have been promised resurrection bodies, (Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52). That will be BRILLIANT, to put it mildly.
Trying to think outside the limitations of time and space does my head in. But that’s the reality our God inhabits. The Apostle Peter apparently thought along these lines too, writing, “With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8 NIV).
Warners Bay, late 1970s, in my Girls’ Rally uniform.
God sees….
He sees the dorky girl with the long socks and the badges on the sash for which she had worked so hard, standing in front of a set of encyclopaedias which contained answers to just about anything we might have wanted to know at the time. He sees that girl just as clearly as he sees this middle-aged woman sitting in a comfortable chair in front of a heater typing these words right now, all the knowledge she could ever want and a more besides available at the taps of a few keys through the wonders of the internet.
He sees the freshly graduated, naive school teacher embarking upon a teaching career in the cross-cultural context of Brewarrina, NSW (1990-1991). He sees the idealistic Bible College student who would go on to ‘do life’ with some very special people in Asia on and off from 1995 to 2015. He sees the cancer patient of 2015 whose world had just been turned upside down, almost literally, as she relocated from the northern to the southern hemisphere once again as well as navigated a serious illness. He sees the older, wiser cross-cultural worker still striving to impact work in Asia from her base in Australia, while not neglecting the people around her. Who knows what sort of person God sees in the coming decades?
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.
Psalm 139:13-18 NIV
Fossils
We were later encouraged to go for a contemplative walk, watching for that to which our attention was drawn and photographing it as a way of ‘noticing’. Some of the retreatants ventured outside into a British summer’s day. I, however, walked no further than the bookcase, perhaps two feet from my desk … it was, after all, cold, wet and dark outside.
What caught my eye was rocks … specifically small rocks that I had brought back from the Jurassic Coast of the UK in 2021. These rocks contain tiny, tiny fossils. (I also saw there in Lyme Regis, England, magnificent big rocks that I would LOVE to have brought back and displayed in my backyard, but alas…..)
Tiny marine worms or fish or snails or other creatures lived then died in some sort of cataclysmic upheaval … perhaps a worldwide flood? In any case, their bodies are long gone but the imprint they made remains in and on these rocks, pictured above and below.
What of my life? What of our lives? I don’t expect that people will remember me beyond a generation or so after I’m gone, but am I leaving an imprint of any sort? I don’t care whether or not my name is attached to it, but I’d like to ‘make a difference’ and especially so in God’s kingdom work in a particular part of the world.
At the risk of reading WAY too much into the experience, I can’t help but see a particular landform – a plateau – dear to my heart in the shape of this fossil from some creature thousands of years ago, picked up on the British coast in 2021 and now adorning my bookshelf in Australia.Picture credit – Wikipedia commons – https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Tibet_and_surrounding_areas_topographic_map_2.png
Motivated
I came away from the exercise freshly motivated to throw myself into academic research. “Writing that changes the world,” is how my supervisor put it some time back, inspiring me no end. Being re-motivated through this exercise at the start of a new semester was helpful … very helpful.
I’m no Leonardo da Vinci, whose legacy is extraordinary. I’m just an ordinary woman. Though I cope okay in our modern hyper-connected world, inside I’m still that uniformed girl with hair that never behaved (it still doesn’t) and long socks (no more), proud as punch over a sash of badges that crossed my front (long gone). Perhaps I’m grandiose thinking that I can leave any impact whatsoever? Nevertheless, I am bold enough to hope that I can leave the equivalent of a minuscule-marine-worm-hole-in-a-rock’s worth of impact through academic research. Am I dreaming?
Apparently, this woman who visited a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition in Melbourne a couple of months back is me. The picture was produced by a machine which ‘claimed’ to be Leonardo da Vinci himself.
Reassured
I’m reassured that the world doesn’t depend on me. I have a place in it right now, just as I did 57 years ago when God was “knitting me together in my mother’s womb.” (My overly literal mind boggles with images of needles and colourful wool, for surely he used vibrant colours when knitting me and not pastels, greys or browns, right?!) Yet God had been involved with his creation for aeons prior to my advent upon this planet. As he will continue to be after I’m gone and/or Jesus returns.
Ultimately, life isn’t about me. I’m very small. Minuscule, in fact. As the writers of ‘Lectio 365’ (a devotional app I often use) like to pray:
May I know grace to embrace my own finite smallness in the arms of God’s infinite greatness.
Peter Grieg, from ‘A Sabbath Prayer’ http://www.dirtyglory.org/new-page-3
Conclusion
I’m grateful to have participated in this online retreat, especially on the cusp of a new semester. God impressed upon me the fact that my days are in his hands and that he has work for me to do during this brief period in which I inhabit this earth in its present form. The same goes for all of us.
It’s not about me. It’s not about you either. It’s about the timeless, eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent God whom we serve during the days allotted to us, whether we be young, old, or in-between.
To him be the glory.
(Though I earnestly desire to play a tiny role in glory going to him….)
I walked around a still lake yesterday, wintry air stimulating exposed skin, the water like a mirror.
It is holiday time in my little world, and I’m savouring the joys of Melbourne’s cafe culture and a pleasant walk most days.
Yesterday, for obvious reasons, I found myself thinking about reflections. We see reality reflected in the water, but the reflection itself is not reality.
As I walked, I was trying to meditate upon God, but my thoughts kept returning to a disturbing article I had read in a cosy cafe just moments before embarking upon this meander.
Social media
Social media is not reality. Reality may be reflected in our posts, but our posts, in and of themselves, are not the whole truth. Sometimes they distort reality, reflecting perhaps how we see ourselves or how we hope others see us.
This blog post is not a diatribe against social media. I use it daily. It soothes the immature part of me that craves approval. I use it to try and write something … even if only a couple of words … and so affirm the part of me that wants to be a writer (but writes little). And I’m a busybody and like to know what is going on in the lives of people I care about.
This newspaper article suggests that we are doing ourselves no favours when we overindulge in social media. When travelling, I limit myself to ten minutes a day on social media, otherwise I tend to disconnect with the people and places right in front of me. I should impose a similar rule on myself at home too. I will. Starting now.
Social Media: Use with caution.
Immaturity
The article above suggests that it is primarily young Australians who struggle with poor mental health, probably (they infer, but don’t dare state) as a result of overindulging in social media. Yet in a sense, we are all immature. At least, compared to what is to come in eternity. The oft-quoted 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians—the “love chapter”—speaks about such immaturity. The apostle Paul wrote:
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
1 Corinthians 13:11-12 NLT
Paul seems to suggest that we make our way through life as if we were only gazing at reflections and missing the fullness of reality. In particular, we see only a reflection of God’s nature. And it’s okay. We’re immature. Childish even. Reflections are all we can see.
Yet Paul also points out that despite the temporal being like reflections, here today and gone tomorrow, faith, hope and love will remain, and the greatest is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). The “love chapter” is well named.
Known by God
“… just as God now knows me completely” (1 Corinthians 13:12b NLT)
God knows us completely. Inside-out. Though we cannot fathom the intricacy of the Almighty, he knows every quirk and quibble about us. Not the perfect persona presented on social media posts, but the ‘real me’.
He knows my childish craving for approval. He knows your hidden struggles. He knows that man’s fragile ego. He knows that woman’s secret longings.
He knows us completely, and yet God doesn’t simply grudgingly accept us. He wholeheartedly loves us! Hence the gospel of Jesus.
Reflecting God
What’s more, God is working through his Spirit to transform us into the likeness of his Son, our Lord. We might not be able to see him clearly from the perspective of our limited, temporal beings, but we do at least see something, because he has revealed himself to us through Jesus. As we gaze on what we can see, we imperfectly reflect his glory to those around us. The Apostle Paul wrote to the same people to whom he had previously addressed “the love chapter” (the early Corinthian church) saying:
So all of us who have had that veil [of Moses] removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT
Like I said earlier, this post isn’t a rant against social media. Quite the opposite, in fact. I wonder how I can wisely use my social media activity to reflect the One who knows us fully and through whom we can be saved.
Take Home Messages
God gave me three ‘take home messages’ from my mediative meander around the lake yesterday.
God knows us completely—weaknesses, warts, worries and all.
Prioritise gazing at reality rather than reflections, particularly when it comes to social media. Use it, but with caution.
Strive to gaze at God as best we can in this temporal state, and in doing so, may we reflect him well to a watching world.
Had Jesus stood on the beach with us that day, I fancy he might have said, “Consider the pampered pooches of Melbourne.”
These dogs do not worry about tomorrow. They live for the moment. They strive only to please their owners. And their owners care for them. How much more does our perfect Heavenly Father care for us?!
Yes, I know. What Jesus actually commented on some two thousand years back was the birds of the air (Matthew 6:26-27). We can consider their example too.
First century Israelites were most unlikely to pamper their pooches in the way that some 21st century urban dwellers do. It was likely that our Lord sat on a hillside, observing birds dip and soar as he taught. Hence the bird illustration. That worked well for his listeners in that place and time.
Our Lord may not physically walk beside us on the beach today, but his Spirit indwells us. As I observe those beloved beasts, I sense the Spirit’s nudge. I don’t value such thoughts as if they were Scripture, but they line up with Jesus’ sentiments.
“Don’t worry about tomorrow. Live in the moment, striving to please me in all you say, do and are. Enjoy life even as you look to me. Those animals have masters and mistresses who care for them. How much more do you think your Heavenly Father is able to care for you?”
(These insights and photographs were from a weekend retreat near Rye, just out of Melbourne, early in May. Shortly after taking this photo, above, I was slobbered upon by this happy, wet, overly friendly black Labrador. It takes all sorts….)
The title of this blog post is a line from ‘The Great Commission’, of course. Matthew 28:18-20 records a final instruction Jesus gave his disciples:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18b-20 NIV My emphasis
College reading
This semester, I am studying some classics of Christian literature, one of which is a book of articles and presentations by renowned missiologist, Professor Andrew F. Walls. I experienced many ‘aha’ moments as I made my way through it, but will limit myself to just one in this blog post. It is this: Followers of Jesus are called to make disciples of all nations. The Greek phrase, panta ta ethne, translated as ‘all nations’ refers to just that … all nations. Not individual people, but nations. The term ‘nations’ doesn’t necessarily refer to political entities such as ‘Australia’ or ‘Fiji’, but describes non-Jewish ethnic groups from all over the world.
I’m a product of my culture. I’m an individualist, and find it hard to fathom how anyone could interpret life otherwise. For many years, when I read this passage, I understood that I was to make disciples of individuals from different nations. Indeed, that is what I have worked towards most of my life. And it isn’t bad. Not bad at all. But Jesus’ instruction was much richer.
Jesus wasn’t talking about individuals from all nations so much as the nations themselves from which these people come. Image credit: Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik
Gentiles
If I could put my feet in the sandals one of those disciples on the mountain to whom Jesus spoke these words some two millennia ago, I would probably have been flabbergasted by Jesus’ words. How could good Jews even think that Jesus wanted them to actively strive to incorporate Gentiles into the People of God! Unclean barbarians?!
Indeed, the incorporation of Gentiles into the People of God is exactly what happened. It took a little while. First, empowered by the Holy Spirit, the disciples preached in a variety of languages to God-fearing Jews from ‘every nation under heaven’ who were gathered in Jerusalem for the festival of Pentecost (Acts 2). Yet those new believers were still Jews. Some time later, as a result of severe persecution against followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, people took the gospel with them as they scattered to surrounding areas (Acts 8:4).
The first non-Jews to turn in large numbers to follow Jesus were the previously despised Samaritans (Acts 8:5, 25). Shortly after that, the apostle Philip was miraculously sent to the Ethiopian official, a eunuch who was earnestly seeking God (Acts 8:26-40). The impetuous apostle Peter was sent for by the Gentile ruler Cornelius, and having been convinced in a vision to drop his divisive standards of Jewish purity, he went (Acts 10). The Council of Jerusalem, described in Acts 15, was all about determining what Jewish cultural practices Gentiles were required to keep if they were to belong to the early church. The Pharisee Saul, later named Paul, was commissioned by the Lord himself (via another disciple named Ananias) to go to the Gentiles (Acts 8:15), a commission which was later confirmed by the early church (Acts 13:2).
These are just the records written up for us in the book of Acts. Tradition also tells of early Christians going to Syria and India, to North Africa and perhaps even to Spain.
Yes, those early disciples did indeed go and, as they went, discipled the nations. In fact, within three centuries, Christianity went from being a small Jewish sect in Israel to becoming the official religion of the Roman Empire, the very same empire which had oppressed the Jewish people so terribly. From that mountain in Galilee on which Jesus had instructed his disciples, the good news of Jesus indeed spread to the nations.
This image is of a mosaic from a church in Istanbul, Turkey, depicting Emperor Constantine, ruler of the Roman Empire from 306-337 AD. Notice the cross on his crown. (The picture is free to use under Creative Commons – link)
The Translation Principle
Just as the our Lord Jesus entered history in a particular time and place, taking on the language and customs of the people of that time and place, so the gospel continues to take on the languages and customs of the many nations it encounters.
Professor Walls calls this ‘the translation principle’. In a delightful article called ‘The Gospel as the Prisoner and Liberator of Culture’ (2013), he imagines a space visitor watching Christianity spread around the world in a series of successive visits over time. I fear that the paper is too long to copy within a blog post, but if you are interested you can read it in the first part of this paper available online. I heartily recommend it. In short, he describes fairly representative groups of Christians in different eras and locations living out their Christian faith in wildly different ways, yet throughout it all maintaining a common thread which constitutes the heart of Christianity.
As the gospel takes hold in a particular nation, it also transforms the nation, or at least the communities in which it takes root. The good news of Jesus is translated into far more than just language. This is, no doubt, also what Jesus had in mind when he instructed those first disciples to go and make disciples of all nations.
The Tao Feng Shan Christian Centre in Hong Kong provides an architectural example of how the gospel has been translated into a Chinese context. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tao_Fong_Shan_Christian_Centre.jpg
Generational transformation
When this individualistic Western woman of the 21st century thinks of discipleship, I think of one person working with another individual as he or she figures out what it means to follow Jesus in that particular context. ‘Discipleship’ includes such diverse areas as daily devotional practices, Christian parenting, financial management, ways of relating to others and more. That’s how I have always understood the term, anyhow.
However, Andrew Walls suggested that discipling nations may in fact take generations! After the gospel comes to a community, in time, God willing, a local church is established. As the years roll on, the church must determine how Jesus’ teaching addresses questions relevant to their own particular context. This may include, say, questions like how weddings and funerals should be conducted, whether or not it is appropriate to practise various rites related to ancestor veneration, and what to do about community festivals which involve non-Christian religious elements.
It’s complicated. Nobody will argue that fact. What are the differences, say, between ‘contextualisation’ (adapting to the context) and ‘syncretisation’ (inappropriately incorporating elements of previous religions)?
Yet this is the task of ‘discipling the nations’. It won’t fall into place overnight. The messenger brings the gospel, baptises and teaches Biblical truths, but it will take time – perhaps even generations – before Christianity becomes part of the warp and weft of a nation.
This stone tablet, found in a 13th century monastery in Beijing, shows a cross (a symbol of Christianity) over a lotus leaf (a symbol commonly used in Buddhism). Is it an example of contextualisation or of syncretism? It’s complicated. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Yuan_stone_Nestorian_inscription_%28rep%29.JPG
Three more principles
As nations are discipled, Professor Andrew Walls suggested that three further principles become evident. The indigenising principle refers to the way that the gospel becomes ‘at home’ in its new context. The pilgrim principle,in contrast, refers to the way that followers of Jesus are ‘just passing through’ and ultimately belong to a heavenly kingdom. Finally, the universalising principle speaks of how, as God’s people, we are all grafted into the ‘olive tree’ (Romans 11:17) and share a common root.
Ultimately, we want communities of God’s people around the world and throughout the ages living out their faith in ways relevant to their time and place. Christian faith should become part of their culture (indigenising principle) even though Christians are ‘in the world but not of the world’ (pilgrim principle). We need to develop our own theologies that answer burning questions in each culture, including, perhaps, a ‘theology of ancestors’, ‘liberation theology’ or even a ‘theology of periods’ (yes – there is such a thing!).
Differences in worldview are even evident between different generations within the one culture. In the USA, at least, and probably in my context too, it is said that older people (‘Boomers’) want to know ‘What is true?’. They like facts and figures. People of my generation (‘Generation X’), however, want to know ‘What is real?’ We like true stories of authentic people. ‘Millenials’ want to know ‘What is good?’ They want to change the world. Meanwhile, the upcoming ‘Generation Z’ want to know ‘What is beautiful?’ I heard this breakdown of generational ‘Gateway Questions’ presented at a conference recently, but you can read more about it here.
I’m not necessarily recommending these books, though neither am I NOT recommending them. I simply want to illustrate that the gospel needs to answer very different questions asked by people within different cultures.
And so….
In summary, the gospel should transform each culture it enters. It should answer the questions people in that culture are asking. It will look quite different at different times and in different places, but the core will remain constant. As such, we all belong to a global community of God’s people, people who come with our own distinct cultures and languages but who are one even and especially in our diverse expressions of faith in Jesus. That’s what Professor Walls called ‘the universalising principle’.
This is the outcome of Christians through the ages obeying Jesus’ command to ‘Go and make disciples of all nations.’
One day, when I have more time, I’ll do it and do it properly.
Not just yet. It can wait.
An English Lesson
This morning I sat with a group of Chinese grandmothers who now live in Australia. They were learning the English names for days of the week, months of the year and the words ‘today’, ‘tomorrow’ and ‘yesterday’.
A dozen of us sat around two folding tables. All but two of us wore glasses, and one of those two was significantly hampered because she had forgotten to bring her spectacles. Brows were furrowed as they struggled with the non-logical pronunciation of ‘Wednesday’ (with its almost silent ‘d’) and differentiating between ‘Tuesday’ and ‘Thursday’.
We later moved on to an exercise in which one lady said, ‘Today is Wednesday’ (or any other day of the week), and the others would say, “Yesterday was Tuesday. Tomorrow will be Thursday.’
I did not confuse those dear ladies with the title of this blog post: ‘Yesterday’s tomorrow is today’. But it was a timely challenge for me, for I have been thinking about this concept all week.
However, I don’t really have time to write today. It can wait, I reasoned. I’ll do it when the creative juices are flowing.
And that, friends, is the reason I don’t blog anywhere near as often as I would like.
A Biblical Perspective on Time
In recent months, I have been struck by the Biblical perspective on ‘time’. God, of course, stands outside of time. He sees reality in context of the past, present and future … a concept that ties my time-bound-brain in knots. But for us, his image bearers, who pass our days within the bounds of time and space, the Biblical advice is to focus on ‘today’.
Yes, we are to remember the lessons of yesterday. In fact, key lessons from the past are brought into the present by practising certain rites or commemorating special days, including Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, baptisms, communion services and more. And of course it is wise to plan for tomorrow. But our focus is to be primarily on today.
Consider these verses:
Give us today our daily bread….
Matthew 6:11 NIV
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34 NIV
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today”….
Hebrews 3:13a NIV
Quit Procrastinating
The dishes can wait until tomorrow. I’ll just wash the coffee percolator and cup ready for the morning.
I don’t really feel like cutting the grass today. Perhaps I’ll be more motivated tomorrow.
I’m far from achieving my fitness goals for today, but I’ll do extra later in the week.
Do you ever find yourself thinking along these lines? Occasionally things cannot wait. A ‘real’ deadline (not just one I try to impose on myself) is exceptionally motivating.
Experts tell us that most chronic procrastinators are also perfectionists. Rather than do something imperfectly, we put it off. That rings true for me.
Nevertheless, a warning on this topic is given twice in the book of Proverbs:
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.
Proverbs 6:10-11 and Proverbs 24:33-34 NIV (the two passages are identical)
Mantra – a Tool for the Mind
Although the term ‘mantra’ is often associated with repeating religious words over and over, the word itself simply means ‘a tool for the mind’.
The word ‘mantra’ has Sanskrit origins, which is hardly surprising given that we usually this word in relation to Buddhist or Hindu utterances.
The first part of the word, ‘man’, comes from the word ‘manas,’ meaning ‘mind’. It is apparently related to the Latin ‘mens’, also meaning ‘mind’ and the origin of the word ‘mental’, as in ‘mental arithmetic’, ‘mental health’, ‘dementia’ etc.
The second part of the word, ‘tra’, means ‘tool’, and may be related to the Latin ‘trua’ meaning ‘a stirrer’, from which we get the English word ‘trowel’.
So a ‘mantra’ is a ‘tool for the mind’.
This is my ‘tool for the mind’ at the moment:
Today is yesterday’s tomorrow.
In other words, don’t put it off. Just do it. Whether ‘it’ is the laundry, a particularly task, decluttering, physical exercise or even brushing the cat. (Okay, the cat doesn’t usually allow me to miss her evening brush.)
And so….
I’d like to hold off sharing this blog post with you until I can do it perfectly. Another day, perhaps.
But no … today I will upload this imperfect blog post. And do a few other little jobs that could wait for another day but would be better done today too.
For today is yesterday’s tomorrow.
And so, in a paraphrase of Hebrews 3:13-14, as long as it is called ‘today’, may we encourage each other to live well for Jesus. May we keep doing that, day after day, until the very end, when we shall throw off the shackles of these limited lives.
