Month: March 2018

I write this post looking at the computer screen through multi-focal lenses. Yes, needing glasses for the computer is a sign of age, but also, I like to think, of maturity.

 

As a child, I understood the profound truth which we commemorate on Good Friday through the lens of a guilt-innocence paradigm. Having lived in Asia for a long time, I have added a tinge of guilt-shame to my metaphorical glasses. As a modern Australian woman, there is now a distinct element of pain-pleasure in my perspective on life. And although I haven’t yet spent enough time immersed in an animistic culture to have a significant fear-power worldview, the events we remember on Good Friday are wonderfully powerful for those who do. (See footnote [1] to learn more about these ways of interpreting the world around us.)

 

Guilt-Innocence

That very first Easter, Jesus died for my sins. The Bible says so. And I am incredibly grateful.

I had broken the rules of what my conscience knows to be right. As such, I had rebelled against the Great Judge and deserved death. I was guilty.

Through faith, I have already been declared innocent because Jesus took the punishment I deserve when he went to the cross. Yet the ‘old me’ and the ‘new me’ still struggle to live according to God’s rules. One day I shall stand before him perfectly pure.

“But now … the righteousness of God has been made known … This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”  Romans 3:21-24 NIV

 

Shame-Honour

That very first Easter, Jesus embraced my shame. The Bible says so. And I am incredibly grateful.

I had not honoured Almighty God. He is emperor – king – Creator – and yet I had treated him with contempt. I could never approach him in my own right because of the shame my community has brought on itself.

Yet Jesus embraced our shame when he willingly went to the cross. Through Jesus Christ, we can already come into the presence of the Creator and King of kings. It’s true that I still dishonour him when I fail to live according to his ways. But oh, how I look forward to the day we shall stand before him in glory and worship wholeheartedly.

“As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” Romans 10:11 NIV

 

Pain-Pleasure

That very first Easter, Jesus took upon himself the pain that is mine. The Bible says so. And I am incredibly grateful.

We endure pain because of the curse placed on the world. Painful toil of the land was part of the curse given to the man, and pain in childbirth was part of the curse placed on the woman. I was unable to be in relationship with the powerful one who holds everything together, and relationships with those around me suffered too.

When Jesus died on the cross, he endured the pain of a broken relationship with God that should be mine. I already experience the joy that comes from being reconciled to God through Jesus. Yet I still live in a sin-afflicted world and endure the pain of broken relationships, unfulfilled hopes and decay. But one day, Jesus will destroy all pain.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4  NIV

 

Fear-Power

That very first Easter, Jesus defeated the powers of evil that afflict all creation. The Bible says so. And I am incredibly grateful.

We live in a world temporarily ruled by a prince of evil whom Christians call Satan. I think of animistic homes I have visited where amulets, statues, bowls and deer heads abound, all intended to ward off evil spirits. They don’t know the name ‘Satan’, but they know what it means to fear powerful evil spirits.

I already experience freedom from fear of the evil one because Jesus overcame the devil on the cross. Yet our enemy still has limited power and gives me no end of grief in terms of temptations and trials. One day, Satan and his followers shall be destroyed and then we shall know freedom in all its fullness.

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15 NIV

 

 

Whatever lens or combination of lenses we use as we remember the events of that first Easter, Jesus Christ has rescued us from a fate worse than death. He took our punishment, embraced our shame, suffered our pain and powerfully overcame evil. In a mysterious way, it is not just we individuals he has saved, but all of creation will be redeemed.

That is GOOD news. And we are incredibly grateful.

 

 

[1] There are good resources available on the three dominant worldviews – guilt-innocence, shame-honour and fear-power. See, for example, the very readable book ‘The 3D Gospel’ by Jayson Georges. The idea of a fourth worldview – pain-pleasure – is new. You can listen to an excellent presentation from a CMS conference early in 2018 introducing this pain-pleasure worldview here: https://soundcloud.com/user-648016639/summer-days-afternoon-talk-2-david-williams-the-promise-of-suffering-and-glory

 

I’m not advocating lazing around all day, sipping coffee and nibbling crackers and cheese. In fact, it sometimes takes real discipline to rest rather than stress. As I write, my diary contains more tasks than I can realistically achieve. That’s not what Jesus called us to when he said “… I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” (Matthew 11:28b-29a).

God has been gently enabling me to take on his yoke rather than my own this past week. It’s been a crazy patch, but thoroughly enjoyable. And that, I suspect, is part of what Jesus was talking about when he promised ‘rest’ even as he spoke about taking on his ‘yoke’.

Unprepared

I had intended to review my Tibetan lessons earlier. But it hadn’t happened. I only had two hours to cram before class. I sat down, spread out my books … and a knock sounded at the door.

It was a neighbour. For the past 2 ½ years, I’ve been saying to her, “Drop in for a cuppa.” And she chose NOW?!

I checked with a little internal voice. Then made coffee. My neighbour poured out her heart. All too soon, I had to walk out the door with her, say goodbye, and hurry off to class. Unprepared.

As it turned out, had I not confessed my lack of preparation to my teacher, I would have gotten away with it.

Changed deadlines

I had two big deadlines this week.  The first was to read and reflect upon a most excellent but rather thick book (and the reflection would be assessed) before a class on Wednesday. The second was a translation project of over 4000 words due on Thursday. Although I’d been alternating between translation and reading for a while, late last week, a sixth sense told me to just work on the reading. I was looking forward to a friend’s arrival on Sunday – she would stay for a couple of days. I finished the reading before she came. As for the translation, I convinced myself that I would use every spare moment this week and then pull an all-nighter if necessary.

It was not necessary. On Monday, an email appeared in my inbox. “Due to the German Diakonie’s visit, I won’t need that translation until March 18th.”  God bless the German Diakonie! It turns out they represent the social service arm of the German Protestant church, and so I say even more warmly – God bless them.

Listening to that little internal voice telling me to work on the reading first saved me a lot of stress. I even had time to go for a short walk with my visitor in a favourite spot in the hills nearby. And I suspect that God thinks I can’t pull and all nighter anymore anyway.

Broken tools

My printer was second-hand when I bought it last year in an effort to use up my stash of ink cartridges after the printer before that stopped working. I’ve been expecting its demise. But why did it have to fail on Wednesday evening?

On Thursday morning, I had a small group in the morning followed by a presentation to some influential people. I hadn’t prepared as well as I could have for either, but I had prepared. Yet when I went to print out my notes on Wednesday night, the printer skipped lines all over the page.

Because I didn’t have printed materials to follow, I was more flexible than usual. We had some special sharing in the small group. And I had sent through power point slides for the presentation, so it wasn’t entirely without structure.

 

The purpose of this week’s meandering is not to justify myself. Having reliable equipment is important. Preparation should be done early enough to swing with unscheduled changes. I need to set realistic goals and allow adequate time to achieve them.

The purpose of this blog post is to remind myself (and share with you, if you are reading along) that participation in God’s work is what matters. It’s not about ticking tasks off my ‘to do’ list. When I discipline my mind to remember this truth – when I take on Jesus’ yoke rather than get caught up in the angst of the moment – I am able to rest. Even in the midst of all the activity.

Just the same, I’m glad it is the weekend.