Aussie Rambling Rose

Lights in an operating theatre are bright. Nothing is hidden. And that is as it should be. 

Powerful searchlights scan a disaster scene, looking for signs of life. Onlookers who have lost family members desperately hope that nothing is missed in dark corners of collapsed buildings. 

不留黑暗角落 – literally meaning to ‘leave no dark corner’ – is the name of a current policy in the country I often visit. Transparency in every part of life is its purpose. The authorities want to ensure safety and harmony the community. This includes, of course, an absence of civil unrest. Cameras are everywhere – above roads, in every corner of every business, in bus and train stations, in concert halls and anywhere else people gather. The facial recognition technology used to process the data is powerful. Internet use is monitored. Spending patterns are tracked. Nothing is private.

 

Personal privacy is a bigger deal in most Western cultures than it is in over there. Can you imagine the fuss if a political party tried to institute transparency in every part of life in Australia? Some people even choose to opt out of a national body for consolidating health records because of privacy concerns down here. 

The concept of living life transparently is Biblical. Do a search for ‘light’ in the Bible and you will see that Christians are called to walk in the light, to be light and to attract others to the light. While travelling recently, I happened to spend time in Romans 13 – it was where the Bible class I am part of in Australia (BSF) was up to as well. I sat in an Asian cafe with two cameras above me as I watched the lecture from Romans 13 on my ipad. Romans 13 contains the instruction to “… put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light” (Romans 13:12b). 

Interestingly, this particular verse occurs in the same chapter as Paul’s admonition to oppressed Christians in the Roman Empire to honour and respect local authorities (Romans 13:1-7).  I am quite convinced that the timing of this personal study was a divinely ordained detail … one of many … for which I am grateful. In a government-approved church service I attended while there, the preacher also stated proudly that Christians are not the ones the authorities should be worried about in terms of being a threat to civil unrest. Christians build up society, he proclaimed.

Not all Christians in Asia, however, choose to 100% obey local authorities. Many prefer, whenever possible, to remain active in building up God’s kingdom, despite clear direction at times to abstain.  It was like that long ago, too. Back in the days of the early church, the Apostle Peter and others said to authorities who had forbidden them from speaking of Jesus, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Going back even further, Hebrew midwives in the days of Moses disobeyed the king of Egypt and let baby boys live because they feared God (Exodus 1:17). Moses’ parents were commended by the writer of Hebrews as ‘heroes of the faith’ because they did not fear the king but hid their baby boy as long as they were able (Hebrews 11:23).

What about foreigners who are permitted to live for a time in ‘creative access nations’, where they are welcome as Christian visitors but not as Christian missionaries? Should they carry out activities such as evangelism and discipleship, training of church leaders and building into a local missions movement? Such activities are ‘grey’ at best and forbidden at worst. Should Christians accept funds sourced from overseas for such purposes, knowing that their host country would be most unhappy about this arrangement? Or should Christians stay entirely within the law, practising their own religion within the limits permitted, and seeking only to radiate light within their immediate spheres of influence?

The answer isn’t black and white. In fact, the one point that I am clear about, is that we must not judge one another regarding our choices on this matter. For the record, my conscience requires me to be a very well-behaved and compliant guest when in Asia. I mostly choose to just ‘let my little light shine’. 

Lights in an operating theatre are blinding. Powerful searchlights scan a disaster area. A country I love has a broad-reaching policy of bringing the actions of every person into the light. But all this fades into insignificance compared to the light which burst into our world some 2000 years ago. 

Jesus said, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (John 12:46 NIV). As his people, we also do our best to ‘appear like lights in the world’ (Philippians 2:15). And as we wait for his return, we say, “Come soon, Lord Jesus, and set our world ablaze with your presence.”

 

So what do computers, shells and hellebores have in common? They all relate to my question last week of, “Who am I?”

 

Computers

My laptop frequently crashes, hangs and freezes these days. Every time it does an automatic update, it gets yet slower. It will barely multitask now, and using an external keyboard and screen – better for people like me who spend hours on the computer each day – is just beyond its ability. Reluctantly, I decided that it is time to upgrade.

I have had positive experiences with both an iphone and an ipad, each of which has lasted for years and been repaired or replaced at minimal cost. In contrast, I have had dreadful experiences of being ripped off and sold pirated software while paying full price for legal versions at a computer market in Asia. More recently, I have felt manipulated by an over-enthusiastic salesman here in Australia who kept bring the prices of goods and services down, down, down if only I would buy NOW.

And so I decided to explore the option of buying a MacBook. They’re expensive. Yes, in the long run, they’re worth it, but the initial outlay is considerable.

But who am I, to splurge sacrificially given funds on a MacBook?

 

Hellebores

This is where those super humble, delicate spring flowers, hellebores, come into the picture. I’ve been studying the verse, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” (Romans 12:3 NIV) The original readers, proud first-century Roman citizens, were warned against arrogance. But as I gazed at these gorgeous hellebores in modern-day Melbourne, crouching low so I could look up at their bowed heads, it occurred to me that perhaps we can be too ‘humble’. We can refuse to display our gifts in ways which bring God glory and benefit those around us.

Paul instructed those Roman readers to think of themselves with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God had distributed to each of them. I wonder about myself. I dabble in writing, translation and academia, as well as spend too much time on administration and not enough time on conference calls. All of this requires a computer. A good-quality computer which will last more than a couple of years, resilient when bounced about in a backpack, and which will manage an ergonomically advantageous monitor and keyboard when at home – that is what I need.

Am I being hellebore-like, stifling God-given gifts with inadequate equipment? Oh yes, there are issues I need to work through, including how I manage my time, finances and the dreaded marketing of what I write. But God has provided before. Shells are one way he has cared well for me in the past.

 

Shells

Having taken the plunge and committed to buy a MacBook, the salesman said, “What is your computer’s name? Call it Seniqua. That sounds sassy.” Of course, I needn’t name my computer, but I enjoy a bit of silliness, as the salesman had sensed, and decided to call it ‘Shibboleth’.

Why ‘Shibboleth’? According to www.dictionary.com, ‘shibboleth’ is “… a peculiarity of pronunciation, behaviour, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes a particular class or set of persons.” This concept relates directly to my research project on how language use is part of the identity of a small Tibetan people group in Asia. ‘Shibboleth’ is also just a fun-sounding word, though rather too grand for daily use, which is why the computer will be called ‘Shelby’ for short.

As an aside, in ancient Israel, the word ‘Shibboleth’ was used to identify one clan from another with disastrous results for outsiders. Read Judges 12:5-6 if you’re interested.

‘Shelby’ … shells … again. Shells have been a theme of this current chapter of life. I’ve written about this before in several blog posts – you can read them on https://developingpassionatepatience.blogspot.com/ if you’re interested.

Shells became a theme just after I moved back to Australia ‘for good’ in 2015 with the generous provision of a car, called ‘Shelly’ because of half its number plate, ‘5HL’. This was followed soon after by various moments involving shells when I sensed God’s presence, reassurance and words of hope before, during and after cancer treatment. In addition to special moments meditating by the ocean when shells have caught my attention, my specialist is named Dr Pearly, the chemo nurse was a vibrant Christian named Shelly and the sweet short-term cross-cultural missionary nurse who often looked after me on the ward was named Shelina. I recently learned that my own second name, Margaret, means ‘Pearl’. Shells are everywhere I look, it seems, and they remind me of God’s provision, plans and purpose for me.

And now I have a computer named ‘Shelby’.

 

Call it what you will, but I’m calling this computer a gift from above. My hope and sure expectation is that Shelby will be an important tool in the blossoming of writing, research, translation and serving my team during this next chapter of life.

So what do computers, shells and hellebores have in common? They all relate to my question, “Who am I?” I am a woman of God, called to think of myself with sober judgement in accordance with the gifts God has given me, not thinking of myself more highly than I ought but neither lowering my head, hellebore-like, paralysed by poor self-worth. A good computer is a necessary tool for this current season of life. Just as God has called me, cared for me and commissioned me, so he has for each of us who are his people.

And because I enjoy naming inanimate objects that are important parts of my everyday life, that playfulness being part of the unique person God has created me to be, I have given my MacBook a name. ‘Shelby’, short for Shibboleth. I hope and expect that Shelby shall be by my side for years to come, reminding me of who I am – one of God’s own people – and enabling me to serve him well.

“Ask the streets for the answer,” says Street Wisdom[i]. “Come with a question – not too big and not too small – and see what the streets have to say.” Street Wisdom leaders instruct participants to “Slow down. Walk VERY slowly. Notice patterns. Look for synchronicity.”

Street Wisdom is not a religious movement … not openly, at any rate. Street wisdom is basically an exercise in mindfulness. It’s becoming quite a phenomenon in our modern world, and is interesting to think about in light of what the Bible has to say about wisdom in the streets.

 

Biblical Wisdom

“Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks….”  (Proverbs 1:20-21 ESV)

“Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud….”  (Proverbs 8:1-3 ESV)

The first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs are written from the perspective of the woman, Wisdom, who calls out to those who will listen. She is depicted as being in the streets, beside the way, at the crossroads and beside the gates in front of the town.

Centuries later, the half-brother of our Lord Jesus, James, also wrote about wisdom.  “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5 ESV). James points us to the source of wisdom. He contrasts godly wisdom with jealousy and selfish ambition, which he calls ‘earthly, unspiritual and demonic’ (James 3:13-18).

 

A mini-retreat

It’s not ‘street wisdom’ … not the secular sort. But in my mostly-monthly mini-retreats, I purposefully slow down for half a day. Sometimes I stay home, and other times I go somewhere beautiful.  I usually use the Navigator’s pattern[ii] in which I break the time into three one-hour blocks. This last time, having just been exposed to ‘street wisdom’, I took parts two and three to the streets. Don’t think that I’m boasting about having ‘half-day retreats’. In my line of work, I ought to treat them as priority to keep me on track, and very much appreciate the flexibility to do so.

One key difference between standard ‘Street Wisdom’ and a God-centred retreat is, naturally, the focus. Nevertheless, I found myself journaling on the topic of ‘the question’ that I intended to seek God about later in yesterday’s mini-retreat, though came up with five possibilities rather than a single question. With my rambling thoughts now on paper, my mind was freed up to get on with the business of worship. Using a combination of ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ and Psalm 27, along with pages of journaling, I spent a delightful hour. I sensed a call to repent… again … of perfectionism and procrastination. This pair of vices are a bit of a ‘besetting sin’ for me.

The official ‘Street Wisdom’ people encourage practitioners to look for synchronicity. I prefer to think of it as God’s hand. The second part of the retreat, when I moved to a ‘Sushi and Coffee’ shop, was full of divine touches. The second section of my mini-retreat is usually when I pray for others. As I passed my letterbox on the way out, I picked up a new book about a midwife in Africa which we’re reading in book club[iii] – I like it so much I had ordered a hard copy. It inspired me to pray for friends who work over there. The sushi shop is Chinese run, and I figure that the owners are Christians, based on the verses they display on their chalkboards. That inspired me to pray for the Chinese church.  I watched other customers as I sipped my coffee and savoured my sushi. Some of what I observed prompted prayer for others in my life too.  I noticed and appreciated people far more through this exercise than I usually would.

The final part of the retreat, the self-focused part, seemed almost like an addendum.  My ‘question’, which I had intended to choose from the five possibilities I had drafted just two hours earlier, and which had seemed all-consuming at the time, had now shrunk into its proper perspective. As it turned out, I had one single answer to all five of my ‘possible questions’. Here they are, with the single answer:

1. Where do I start with promised language mentoring?

(Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – I had my first session later that afternoon, and it went well.)

2. I have SO much translation work to do this month – what can I do?!        

(Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – do it one phrase at a time)

3. Should I book tickets for planned travel next month and specifically should I visit Shanxi where I lived for many years?

(Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – I went home and booked tickets!)

4. How can I increase my productivity, especially with writing?

         (Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – just do it, hence this blog post.)

 5. Health and fitness goals too often slide – what can I do?

        (Repent of procrastination and perfectionism – it’s a matter of one good choice at a time.)

 

Look to Wisdom for the Answers

The official ‘Street Wisdom’ movement encourages practitioners to ‘look to the streets for the answers’.  They are so near the truth … so very near … and my suggestion is that they are looking for God. Wisdom is calling aloud in the streets, beside the way, at the crossroads and at entrances to our towns.  No wonder our fellow human beings are looking there for answers to their questions. May they find God as they search.

 

Let me close with the words of a truly wise man, C.S. Lewis. The following quote ‘just happened’ to be at the top of the page for this week in my diary … a week in which I was exposed to ‘street wisdom’. There is another example of ‘synchronicity’ in the hands of a sovereign Lord. Lewis said,
“We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito[iv].”

[i] You can read more about the movement here:  https://www.streetwisdom.org

[ii] https://www.navigators.org/resource/spend-extended-time-prayer/

[iii] https://velvetashes.com/category/book-club/

[iv] C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (San Diego: Harvest, 1964), 75.

Rainbows have been a symbol of God’s promise to never again destroy the earth by flood long before they became associated with the LGBT movement. Last weekend, here in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, we enjoyed spectacular rainbows on both Saturday and Sunday … along with enduring a lot of wet, rainy, miserable weather. It got me thinking about rainbows.

 

God’s covenant with the earth

The rainbow is a sign of the covenant God made with all living things on the earth. You can read about it in the first half of Genesis 9.  We call it ‘the Noahic covenant’ but it was really a promise of God to Noah and all living things on the earth – a promise that God would never again destroy the earth by flood.

Yet although the earth in Noah’s day had been cleansed of what sounds like chaos and wickedness involving not just humans but also the spirit world (read Genesis 6:1-8 if you’re game), it was still not purified. We can see that just by reading to the end of Genesis chapter 9. Right after the pronouncement of ‘the Noahic covenant’, we immediately spiral down to a written record of drunken behaviour, the dishonour of an elder, a curse, slavery and inequality in the world. Things are no better today, as a quick perusal of the daily news headlines attest. In 2 Peter 3:6-7, we read of another cleansing to come. Come soon, Lord Jesus, and set your world aright.

 

“Clothed in rainbows of living colour”

One of my favourite modern hymns, ‘Revelation Song’ (look it up and listen), contains the line ‘Clothed in rainbows of living colour’.  The author of the song, Jennie Lee, took these words from Biblical descriptions of ‘the Son of Man’ as recorded in both Ezekiel 1:28 and Revelation 4:3. In both cases, the rainbow wasn’t exactly a bow. It was complete, with no ends, encircling the one who sits on the throne in heaven.

Now that’s something to meditate on. You can’t meditate for long while looking at a rainbow on earth, because they’re pretty transient. But you can imagine. Sit still, turn off the radio, close your eyes and just picture Jesus’ radiance which is so bright that is like pure sunlight refracted into its various parts. I did just that … and slipped into a delightful sleep, losing two hours of the afternoon. Perhaps give it a go sitting upright and with a timer set. You won’t regret it.

 

Insights from Chinese characters

As you know, I enjoy looking at the various parts that make up Chinese characters and gleaning gems of enriched understanding of them. But when I first came to the Chinese character for ‘rainbow’ – 彩虹  (caihong) – I was stumped. The first character 彩means ‘colourful’ and really just describes the actual word for rainbow – 虹 – so we shall only focus on 虹, the second character. It is  made up of two pictographs – a worm or insect – 虫, and hard work – 工. Both parts sound somewhat like the Chinese word ‘hong’ for rainbow, though neither is quite the same. The character for ‘worm’ (虫) is pronounced ‘chong’ and that for ‘hard work’ (工)is pronounced is ‘gong’.

I wonder … I just wonder … whether the Chinese character for rainbow actually does contain a deep truth. God gave the rainbow as a sign of his covenant with the earth – with all living creatures on the earth. We read in Genesis 9:20 that Noah was ‘a man of the soil’ and that he ‘proceeded to plant a vineyard’. Could it just be that the Chinese character for rainbow – 虹 – actually reflects the role of those worms 虫and of man’s hard work 工 in managing the earth? God did, remember, make a covenant with all living things on earth, and he declared the rainbow a symbol of that. I don’t know that my explanation is right. If we could just go back to when Chinese characters were first written, over 5000 years ago, we could find out. If nothing else, I won’t forget how to write ‘rainbow’ in Chinese again.

 

Rainbows are a reminder of God’s covenant with the earth and provide us a fleeting glimpse of his glory. Yes, the rainbow symbol is used by some in our confused day and age to represent other matters too, but that’s only temporary. What is eternal is God’s sovereignty over this earth, his glory on the throne of heaven and his commitment to us. Wow.

Good grief.  How do we grieve well?

This post is not inspired by personal tragedy, but my heart does ache for friends in the midst of sadness right now. I have also just read an excellent little book which I can recommend without hesitation –‘Finding God in the Hard Times’ by Matt and Beth Redman, and it has got me thinking too.

Grief isn’t just about losing loved ones of course. It can be about losing a cherished role, dashed hopes or broken relationships. Sometimes we choose to embrace loss, not least when we decide to leave one community and move to another – something which cross-cultural workers know all too well.

 

Grief hurts.  Pain is not nice. I am the first to admit to being pain-averse, having just paid a lot of money for optional dental work to numb sensitive teeth. That’s a little wimpy, perhaps, but the pain of sensitive teeth is pointless. Other types of pain, however, are best recognized and permitted to throb. Trying to numb grief is not usually a good idea, though there are times when it is necessary to get on with tasks at hand for a while.

 

My culture – an Australian from a British background – doesn’t do grief well … in my humble opinion. We pride ourselves on having ‘a stiff upper lip’ and ‘being strong’. ‘Every cloud has a silver lining,’ we say. ‘It’s always darkest before the dawn,’ we may add.  ‘God works all things together for good,’ some Christians quote, usually taking this precious promise out of context. Some of us think it admirable to restrain emotions, even when our hearts are breaking. We don’t want to make those around us feel uncomfortable, nor do we want to be seen as ‘weak’.

 

In contrast, people of some other cultures are quick to display grief. Chinese people grieve the loss of loved ones in different ways according to local customs and the circumstances of the death. There is often a period of time during which family members wear black armbands or pins, avoid brightly coloured clothing and refrain from any festivities including weddings and Chinese New Year celebrations.  Traditional Tibetan ladies remove the coloured cords they usually braid into their hair, the colours which proudly identify the communities to which they belong. In Thailand, the whole country wore dull colours for a full year following the death of their beloved king a couple of years back.

 

Grief is a constant theme in Scripture too. The Bible is full of laments, not just about death but other dashed hopes and painful afflictions too.  There is even a whole book of such poetry called, unsurprisingly, ‘Lamentations’. God wants us to bring our sadness and struggles to him. Ancient Israelites, mind you, were roundly criticized and punished for allowing grief and confusion to turn into bitterness and complaining (1 Corinthians 10:9-11). They weren’t to ignore it though. They were encouraged to turn to God in their pain and re-state their trust in him, even in the midst of grief, as we can see in many communal Psalms that they used in that era. (Examples include Psalms 44, 60, 74, 79, 85 and 90.) In the same way, modern-day Christians are encouraged to humble ourselves and bring our anxieties to God (2 Peter 5:6-7). We are never told to stuff it down deep and ‘put smiles on our dials’. As a community of God’s people, Christians are told to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice’ and ‘mourn with those who mourn’ (Romans 12:15). In my community, I suspect we are better at the former than the latter.

 

What does this mean for us here and now? I don’t like pain, whether it be mine or a share of yours. However, I hope that as a maturing woman of God, I can overcome my cultural preferences and choose to be Biblical in the way I deal with grief and disappointments, be they mine or yours. May we manage our pain in a culturally appropriate way – according to the culture of God’s kingdom. Name it – share it – be real. No stiff upper lip is required or desired.

Flowers and photography, café culture and Korean cuisine – my recent trip to Asia was full of things that delight me. Just for the record, it wasn’t all fun and games. I put in a lot of hard work too, some of which was pleasurable, and much of which just had to be done.

 

‘Desires’ became the theme of the trip. A helpful discussion with a colleague about the truth that God knows how we are designed and chooses to use our desires in his work stemmed from a comment I made about expecting suffering. Yes, suffering is a reality too, but I emerged from that conversation with a focus on God’s kindness and individual attention to us. I shared this insight with a fellow traveller as we bounced along a mountain road. Later that day, she turned to the devotional book she was reading on her phone (see the screenshot) and found almost exactly the same sentiments there. We both took that as God’s encouragement to enjoy all that we were experiencing.

 

Godly desires please God. However, it would be remiss not to mention that the Bible also warns against satisfying the ‘desires of the flesh[1]’ and, shockingly, even refers to the desires of the devil as reflected in people[2]. These desires are obviously not helpful in participating in God’s work nor are they good for us personally. Perhaps ‘desires of the flesh’ include things which bring short-term gratification but long-term problems, such as overindulgence in activities or foods we enjoy. I wonder if the desires of the devil include unhealthy striving for prestige, power and prosperity.

 

Sometimes I feel guilty about my current lifestyle. I get to travel plenty – something which I don’t take for granted. I enjoy plenty of people-time, unlike my last role in an office which I found trying though willingly accepted for a season. I enjoy learning, and academia is a part of my current role, as is dabbling in language study. The café culture is something I enjoy, and I’m quick to support the blossoming café culture in Asia. A couple of significant conversations took place in cafes this last trip, one planned and the other (divinely) coincidental. The joy I get from amateur photography also fits well with regular trips as a tourist to an area which, in recent years, has been marketed as a ‘photography corridor’.

 

I wrote down these thoughts about desires on paper in a café in Asia. I am typing them up weeks later. At the time, and as true today as it was then,  I penned these words:

“As this trip draws to an end, I look back with gratitude and forward with hope. We serve a good God who loves to satisfy our desires.”

 

[1] Ephesians 2:3

[2] John 8:44

 

It felt like the last six years of my life had been pointing towards this moment. The sun’s warmth radiated our backs. In front of us were two classrooms, erected here on a field strewn with summer flowers. These rooms, adapted from shipping containers, are for outsiders like us to have a base for regular involvement in this community – the community to which I had sensed God’s call back in 2012. We were meeting the man who holds the keys to the community – the monk who is effectively, if not legally, the one in charge around here.

 

At which point a blasted bee buzzed relentlessly about my face.

 

According to the worldview of Tibetans, it was entirely possible and even likely that the spirit world should intersect with the physical world through a humble bee. Here we were, people of God, enthusiastic about making an impact on this community. Our enemy, the devil, would not be happy. Knowing my fear of bees, stemming from bad reactions to bee stings as a child, it was quite possible that the enemy would force me off the property with a bee.

 

According to the worldview of we scientific Westerners, I reasoned that something in my body must be appealing to bees … they always seem to buzz around me … and that this one was especially persistent and at a most inopportune moment. I prayed – as most Christians do when in the grip of a crisis – and asked that the bee be kept from stinging me. That would be exceptionally inconvenient.

 

Disregarding further thoughts of worldviews for the time-being, I threw my jacket over my head – not so helpful when in conversation with a monk – and, after a moment or two, left the property.

 

Was it a demonic bee that drove me off the land that day? I don’t know. But I do know that our enemy “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He is no less active in agnostic Australia as he is in Tibetan communities in which there is a real respect for and fear of the spirit world.  In my country, the enemy wreaks havoc in less obvious ways, including (in my opinion) an unhealthy pallour about our culture due to an overemphasis on immediate gratification. That’s a topic for another blog post.

 

I may have left the field that day, but I’ll be back. I hope to return in autumn when the flowers have finished and the bees are quietly enjoying honey in their hives. May all of us who know God resist the enemy and stand firm, for we are not alone in our struggles, as the apostle Peter encourages readers in 1 Peter 5:9. Though it is extra challenging to stand firm when a bee bizarrely buzzes around your face!

Sudoku is a puzzle I rather enjoy. Sometimes, I get a bit stuck. Then I go away and leave it for a while. When I come back, suddenly, in a different light, everything makes sense. The numbers all fit in the right places.  ‘Aha’, I say.

 

Today’s conversation with a contact here left me feeling like a Sudoku puzzle that is finally coming together. And yet, unlike a Sudoku puzzle nearing completion, this game is far from over. Without going into details, since other people are involved, let me just say that I came out of a meeting today with a deeply contented ‘Aha’.

 

It seems like significant strands of life are all fitting into place – academic study – dreams of being a regular traveller to the mountains here – language learning – English teaching – even the management of annoying dietary issues. It’s early days yet, but I am hopeful that, 5 ½ years after prayerfully deciding to focus on a particular minority group here, I’m about to get some traction up. (I’ve blogged about that ‘call’ before.)

 

This week’s blog post is really just a note. There is lots I’d love to write about, but I have two assignments to finish for college over these next two weeks, as well as people to see and places to go.

 

I’d like to finish with a public note of thanks to the One who holds all the strands of our lives in his hands. Sometimes, life can be confusing and uncomfortable, like a Sudoku that seems simply unworkable. God’s sovereignty is just as real then as it is when everything is going well. I am quite sure that there will be difficulties ahead for me too, not least because we are engaged in a spiritual battle. Today, however, I am thoroughly enjoying the ‘Aha’ moment.  Ahhhhhhhhhh.

 

I find myself reluctant to start this blog post because the topic is too big. I am glimpsing a cosmic theme through Scripture. How does the gospel impact the spirit world, and where do we fit in? Put on your metaphorical seat belt … this could be quite a ride.

 

It’s not all about me

Bottom line:  The gospel isn’t primarily about restoring my individual relationship with God (though this is vital, especially from my point of view). It’s much bigger than that. We do have a central role, though, as the people of God made in and restored to God’s image. The apostle Paul put is like this:

“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”  (Colossians 1:19-20 – my emphasis.)

I’m a well-educated Western woman.  I understand a lot about the physical world, and what I don’t know, I can learn if I’m at all interested.  But my knowledge of the spirit world is much more limited. As a Christian, I welcome the Holy Spirit to indwell me, but beyond that, I imagine the spirit world to be distant from my sanitized first-world life.

 

Integration of the spiritual and physical worlds

That’s not how the God sees it. The Bible integrates the spiritual and physical all the way through. When I read the Bible with a worldview that encompasses the spiritual, I notice angelic visitors – dreams and interpretations thereof – a pillar of fire and cloud –  Shekinah glory – theophanies – prophecies – inspired music and dance – superhuman strength related to long hair – the battle between the archangel Michael and the ‘Prince of Persia’ – heavenly courtroom scenes – animals which recognize spirits and even talk on occasion – glimpses of glory – satanic interference through instigation of a census – idols which fall before the Ark of the Covenant – and the list could go on and on.  And that’s only the Old Testament. Things get even more wild in the New Testament, where God Himself breaks into history clothed in humanity, is crucified, buried, rises and ascends into heaven in human form, promises to return in glory and sends his spirit – himself – to indwell people like you and me.

 

“Jesus loves me….”

All this is too much for my little mind. I resort to singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so…”. It is true – Jesus does love us immensely. We are made in the image of God and we are very special to God (Genesis 1:26-27 and Psalm 8). God loved us so much that he became one of us and, in Jesus, went to the cross for us (Philippians 2:1-11).

As I get to the words, “Little ones to him belong; they are weak but he is strong,” I am reminded of the kingdom’s upside values in which strength is shown in weakness. I think of the church, for example – the messy, confused and often confusing community to which we belong.  God’s “… intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms….” (Ephesians 3:10, my emphasis.) We, with all our issues and idiosyncrasies, are the means by which God’s ‘manifold witness’ is made known to the spirit world?!

 

Rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms

Let me back up. Who are ‘the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms’ before whom God’s ‘manifold wisdom’ is being displayed through us?

I turn to Colossians. “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:15-17) God (through Jesus) created the spirit world as well as the physical world that I enjoy so much, and he holds it together. There are spirits which worship their Creator. But we also read about rebellion in the spiritual world (Isaiah 14:12, 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6 and much of Revelation). The sneaky serpent of Genesis 3 is a case in point of a spirit which has set itself up in opposition to God.

The passage in Colossians continues, taking us back to where this blog post started. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”  (Colossians 1:19-20 – my emphasis.)

My mind reels. It shouldn’t come as such a surprise. This truth was prophesied very early on in what we sometimes call the ‘proto-evangel’, literally meaning ‘first gospel’. The first hint of God’s plan to save the cosmos was proclaimed to the serpent before the curses on man and woman had even been pronounced. (See Genesis 3:15 – it wasn’t good for the serpent.) How does the cursed serpent of Genesis 3 relate to ‘…your enemy, the devil … a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8)?  How does the reconciliation process of God with the spiritual world intersect with our tangible day-to-day life?

Implications

I don’t have fully developed answers to these questions. But I am already thinking about some implications of the cosmic truths I am glimpsing.

When I consider that our corporate existence as the church is a statement to the ‘rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms’, I am more intent than ever to do all I can to create a united, mutually loving community. We are the place where God himself lives. His Spirit is in us. The impact of the church goes beyond the communities in which our church buildings are situated.

A broader understanding of the gospel, incorporating the spirit world, also has significant implications in how we share the gospel with those who acknowledge the spirit world. I think of my language teacher, who has god shelves, prayer beads and prayer flags in and around his home. I think of the local Vietnamese restaurant staff members who put coffee, fruit and incense sticks in front of god shelves here in Melbourne. I think of millions of people around the world who are not blinded to the existence of the spirit world by too much education and who do their best to keep the spirits from creating trouble for them.

For every point that I have made in this blog post, there are ten more questions tangled in my mind. Perhaps … just maybe … if I ever make sense of it, I will write a book on this matter. (That is the third ‘book project’ to be put on the backburner. I’m running out of back burners.) First step, though – a blog post. Second step – an essay on this topic, due in much too soon.  And then I will move on to think more about practical applications of these truths. Any insights, comments or corrections you may like to share will be appreciated.

Do you ever feel stretched beyond coping, caring for the complicated people God has put in your life? Spare a thought for the 70 elders of Moses’ day. Between them, they were responsible for probably about 2.4 million people, including Israelites and God-fearers from Egypt. They were called to manage traumatized travellers and were exhausted themselves.

Then God gave them a glimpse of glory.

“Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:9-11 NIV)

This was no ordinary retreat. This was the day that God’s covenant with Abraham was confirmed with his descendants, now a nation. Just over three months before this day, the Israelites had left Egypt, stripping their neighbours of wealth and joined by others who also feared Israel’s God. In the three months since gaining freedom, they had endured a lifetime’s worth of highs and lows. Finally, at the foot of Mt Sinai, Moses called together the elders and explained to them the laws which God had given his people.

———

Imagine yourself in the sandals of one of those elders. You relay the words of Moses to the people for whom you are responsible. They enthusiastically agree to live God’s way. Like there is a choice? Almighty God had led them by fire and cloud out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, he had drowned their pursuers, and had provided victory in battle, as well as food and water as they needed it. Of course they would live God’s way. Of course they would be a distinctive people of God.

Moses explains to you and your elder-colleagues how the people should prepare for the ceremony in which they would renew their allegiance to God. You make sure that those under your watch comply. Everything had to be washed – bodies and clothes – with water from the mountain stream. No sex was allowed during this time of preparation. Men were sent to put up markers to show that the mountain was off limits.

On day three, dark clouds descend on the mountain. Lightning, thunder, smoke and trumpet blasts make your skin crawl.

Shaking together as one body now, the people of Israel promise to obey God’s Laws. Moses and Aaron kill the animals set aside for sacrifice and splash the blood of the sacrificial beasts over the 12 pillars they had set up. Then Moses sprinkles blood over you. Your freshly washed clothes, hair and body are now sticky with blood. Blood, blood and more blood is sprinkled over the crowds. Moses beckons. You are being summoned … to the off-limits mountain. Your heart plummets.

Step after step, you and your elder-colleagues follow Moses. The air is electric, quite literally, with all that lightning. With each burst of thunder, your body jerks involuntarily. Moses points to a big flat rock, rather like a large table. Together, without need for words or instructions, you look up.

The ground above is brilliant blue – bluer than any sky you’ve ever seen. Through it, you can make out the shape of a man’s feet. Only it isn’t a man. It is Almighty God. You breathe deeply, inhaling what you expect to be your last breath. For you have seen God.

Yet you breathe again. And again. Food appears on the table of rock. Is it meat from the sacrifices? Wine appears too. You eat and drink, wishing that you could stay here forever.

———-

The modern woman interrupts at this point. In contrast to fine details in surrounding texts about how exactly the Israelites were to live, Moses summarizes this incredible glimpse of God’s glory and the covenant meal in just three short sentences. As readers, we are left wondering, wishing for more.

Unlike the elders, we have other records of people who also glimpsed God’s glory – Ezekiel and John. And we have rich descriptions of the life of Jesus, God incarnate. All those early elders glimpsed were the translucent tiles under God’s feet.

Poor elders. With a word of warning from Moses about likely disputes amongst the people, they were sent back down to the rabble. Moses stayed up on the mountain with his aide, Joshua. By the time he returned, 40 long days later, the people were worshipping a golden calf. In response to Moses’ call for holiness, over three thousand Israelites were slaughtered by the Levites. Plague ripped through the community. The golden calf was ground into dust, which Moses sprinkled into the same stream that had been used to cleanse the people, and from which the people were forced to drink.

Sometimes I feel like one of those elders. Life seems to spin out of control, and glimpses of glory seem long past. Yet in other important ways, we are not like the sandal-clad elders in their blood-stained clothes. The covenant meal that they enjoyed on the mountain side that day marked the Old Covenant, outlining how the people should meet God’s holy standards. They had to descend the mountain, returning to the terrified masses below who were unable to live up to God’s standards. We, however, can look to Jesus. Through him, we can gaze on God’s majesty at any time – now just a glimpse but one day clearly – even and especially in the midst of the complicated communities in which we live.

“You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them…. You have come to God, the Judge of all … to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant…. See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks…. … let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for “our God is a consuming fire.”
(Selected verses from Hebrews 12:18-29, NIV)