Passion of God…Long Before “Passion Week”

Each year, starting with Palm Sunday and ending with Resurrection Sunday, Christians worldwide observe "Passion Week" in holy remembrance of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  This holy week highlights Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and forceful cleansing of the temple which soon led to His betrayal, arrest, illegitimate trials by night, terrible physical and emotional abuse, and eventual crucifixion. 

But the greatest significance of Passion Week is that it highlights Christ's willing journey to the Cross.  As the sinless Lamb of God, Jesus gave up His life to become the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.  But a borrowed tomb could not keep Him!  Jesus's glorious resurrection on Easter morning as Victor over sin and death opened the way to salvation and Eternal Life to all who believe in Him.

Although Passion Week is the culmination of the Lenten and Easter observance each year, we would like to suggest that the "Passion of Christ" began long before "Passion Week." Could it be that the "sufferings of Christ" as an expression of the eternal love of God for His creation began with the first sin in the Garden of Eden?

What follows is a series of daily devotional meditations.  Each one has a specific theme that is supported by Scriptures followed by an invitation to consider how these Scriptures practically apply to our daily living.  We hope each meditation will help users to explore and appreciate both the lovingkindness of God and the infinitely long history of His redemptive passion and plan, a plan which He conceived "before the creation of the world" (Ephesians 1: 4).  [Note:  If you begin with "Day 1" on Palm Sunday, you will finish on Resurrection Sunday (Easter).] 

Day 1: “A Perfect Communion--God and Man”
Scripture: 
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  - Genesis 1:1
God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him; male and female...- Gen. 1:27 
And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.  
And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. - Gen. 1:31 
Consider:
The Triune God-- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, existed in a perfect, loving relationship as One God from eternity past. Then, God created the heavens and the Earth and formed the first human being, Adam.  As a living person, Adam was equipped to think, communicate, and act in fellowship with God as a perfect image and reflection of God's Person and character.  From Genesis 3: 8 we learn that Adam and his human companion, Eve, enjoyed perfect fellowship with God, walking with him in the cool of the day, hearing the sound of His voice, and receiving the warmth of His love.
Application:
Can you remember a loving relationship that you hoped would never end? Did God know that His love for Adam and Eve so warmly reciprocated would end with their rejection of Him?  Yes, He did!  But this knowledge did not cause God to love Adam and Eve any less.  Instead, God had already determined that He would redeem Adam's fallen race, including all who will turn to Him by faith. ln fact God chose us in Him [Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence.  In love... Ephesians 1: 4.  He had restoration of humankind and creation in mind long before Adam's tragic fall into sin.
Response:
Imagine the blessing of Adam and Eve as they walked with God in a mutually shared love and joy!  Can you personally relate to the blessing of regular communion with God?  If so, thank Him now for making it possible through Christ  

Day 2: “Perfect Love Relationship--Broken!”
Scripture: 
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 
And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves... 
Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3: 6-8)
Consider:
Adam and Eve were free to choose either to love God by living lives consistent with their image-bearing, divine nature; or by living in contradiction to a life that would express their love and honor to their Creator.  One day, possibly just before the "cool of the day" when they would often enjoy walking with God, Adam and Eve made the fateful choice to doubt and then reject God's loving provision for them.  The effect of their choice was immediate!  They felt a sense of alienation from God.  Then, guilt and fear led them to hide from God, or so they thought. 
Application:
Like all of their descendants, Adam and Eve were created to be holy images of God as long as they chose to obey Him.  Unfortunately, they yielded to Satan's temptation and allowed the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life [to rule them, a spirit that] is not from the Father but is from the world (1 John 2: 16).  Adam and Eve would never be the same or have the same loving communion with God.  Fortunately, although they had rejected God, He had not rejected them.  His love never fails. 
Response:
Take time to thank God that His love endures, and His mercy never fails.  Song:  "Goodness of God," Bethel Music, Jenn Johnson  Click HERE.

Day 3: “God's Passion and Pursuit Begins”
Scripture: 
Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.  Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:8- 9)
Consider:
Adam and Eve had been accustomed to walking with the LORD in the cool of the day, hearing His voice, and basking in the love, joy, and peace that radiated from Him.  But on one particular day, they yielded to the tempting voice of Satan and ate the fruit from the only tree that God had pronounced "off limits." Suddenly, they were gripped by fear when they heard God's voice and they hid from Him. Tragically, the effects of that first sin upon Adam and Eve have been experienced by their descendants of every generation down to the present day.

Application:
Can you remember the hurt and pain you felt when you lost a cherished relationship? Terrible as such an experience of loss can be, it is impossible for us to fathom the anguish of God when Adam and Eve rejected His love. Their rejection of His command pierced the loving heart of God. But the divine grief over their sin was more than matched by God's passionate and just plan to redeem the fallen couple--and their offspring.  From that moment in the Garden when God asked, "Where are you?", God knew the sin and sorrow His Son would bear on the Cross for you and me. 
Response:
Enter a time of quiet meditation on God's question, "Where are you?" Make it personal; and then respond in prayer as God's Spirit leads you.

Day 4: “The Gravity of Sin Requires Bloodshed”
Scripture:
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked,
and they sewed fig leaves together and made loin coverings. -Genesis 3: 7
The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. - Genesis 3: 21
No man can by any means redeem his brother
   Or give to God a ransom for him—
For the redemption of his soul is costly,
  And he should cease trying forever— - Psalm 49: 7-8
Consider: 
Adam and Eve are the only humans who were able to know God intimately, walk with Him, and intimately know each other without sin and shame.  All of these privileges were diminished with the fall.  Suddenly, "their eyes were opened." Guilt, shame, and fear exposed their nakedness physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  As God's image bearers, all of us as Adam's descendants have inborn sense of justice that calls us to make peace with God.  Adam and Eve chose to hide from God in their sin and shame, and to cover their naked vulnerability by make-shift means.
Application:
How old were you when you first realized the guilt and shame of disobeying your parents or a teacher?  Can you relate to how Adam and Eve must have felt?  Maybe like them, you tried to "fix things" or "cover up." But chances are your sin was discovered, and the wrongness of your actions were made clear through explanation and maybe even punishment.  If you were disciplined, you may also remember the relief of having "paid the price" for your sin.  But who "pays the price" for our sins and our "sin nature" in God's sovereign plan?  Amazingly, God Himself "paid the price!"  In God's mercy, He spared us of what we deserved--eternal death and separation from Him. In God's grace, He gives us what we don't deserve--eternal Life. 
Response:
Have you received His Gift (John 3: 14-21)?   If so, thank God now for the free Gift of faith and salvation through Christ's sacrifice.  How will you confront temptation and the sin that so easily confronts you?  See Hebrews 12: 1-3; 1 John 1: 5-9.  

Day 5: “The Grief of God--And His Mercy”
Scripture: 
The LORD God said to the serpent...I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” - Genesis 3: 14a, 15 
Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the LORD’s help, I have produced a man!” - Genesis 4: 1 
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.  - Genesis 6: 5-6
Consider:
On Day 4, we reflected on how our disobedience as a child brought guilt and shame upon us. But did we ever think how our parents or a teacher might have felt?  Likely, they were disappointed, maybe angry, and likely ready to make you pay the price for your disobedience.  As much as I dreaded the punishment, I eventually realized that my disobedience hurt my parents and teachers.  Their disappointment in me hurt them.  It also hurt them to "apply physical hurt" to me!  Above all, I must realize how much grief God has born since the Garden and all the way to the Cross.

Application:
According to our Scripture for today, when God saw the extent of the wickedness on the Earth, It broke his heart.  What would God do?  The Old Testament understanding was, The soul that sins will die (Ezekiel 18:20).  But, from before the beginning of time, God had another plan.  Beginning with Adam's sin, God would enter in and participate in addressing the penalty for sin. To show the seriousness of our sin, God the Creator of animals chose to commit the first act of killing an animal and shedding its life blood to make skin coverings for Adam and Eve. Then, in Exodus and Leviticus, God outlined a sacrificial system by which sin was atoned through blood sacrifices.  For ...according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9: 22). 
Response:
Praise God for His love that flowed from His grieving heart as mercy and forgiveness, first through the repeated blood sacrifices under His Old Covenant; and then, in the New Covenant, sealed once and for all through the blood of His precious Lamb, Jesus Christ.  See also, Hebrews 10.

Day 6: “God's Passionate Love Doesn't Give Up”
Scripture: 

I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; 

       I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.

       I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’

      To a nation which did not call on My name.

I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,

      Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,

      A people who continually provoke Me to My face… - Isaiah 65: 1-2

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. - Hosea 11: 8
Consider: 
The Old Testament Scriptures are the account of the many ways in which God was seeking to redeem mankind.  Although Adam and Eve had once been God's perfect image bearers, they and their descendants had become fallen images tarnished by sin. Think of it!  But how could an infinite, holy, longsuffering God convey to mankind the greatness of His love and passionate longing for our redemption?  The book of Hosea gives us one of many Old Testament accounts.

Application:
Most of us have or have had the blessing of loving another person very deeply--perhaps your spouse, your parents, or a boy- or girlfriend.  For some of us, a loving relationship came to a screeching halt followed by a time of deep hurt and grief.  The Book of Hosea gives us the account of how God asked Hosea the prophet to marry a woman named Gomer who became immoral (or may already have been immoral) and sold her body as a prostitute.  Hosea obeys, marries, and loves Gomer even though she is unfaithful and leaves him.  God uses this tragic, adulterous marriage and Hosea's loving pursuit of unfaithful Gomer to convey how much He loves us and all of lost, sinful mankind. 
Response:
Meditate on the depth of God's passionate love for you according to the Scriptures above.  How will you respond?

Day 7: “Centuries of Sacrificial Lambs: Then, 'the Lamb'”

Scripture: 
When He approached Jerusalem, He [Jesus] saw the city and wept aloud over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. - Luke 19: 41-42

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. - Jesus Christ (Matthew 23: 37) 
Consider:
God's passionate longing to gather, comfort, and restore fallen mankind was repeatedly expressed through the Old Testament prophets like Hosea.  However, the ultimate expression of God's unfailing, covenant love ("lovingkindness" or "mercy") occurred through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The first "Palm Sunday" began what we now call "Passion Week." God had sovereignly planned from before the beginning of time for Jesus to suffer and die as "the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world" (John 1: 29). The first Palm Sunday was also the Jewish "lamb selection day" when spotless lambs were selected for sacrifice to achieve atonement for their sins. On that very day, God had ordained that His "Lamb," Jesus Christ, would approach Jerusalem riding humbly on a donkey.  Overlooking Jerusalem, Jesus paused on His mount, wept loudly, and cried out the words recorded by Luke (above).

Application:
We have emphasized the tragic effect of sin --the guilt, shame, and ruination of relationships both with God and our neighbor. We also emphasized how our sin brings grief to God who, after all, is a Person with moral consciousness and emotions.  But, in spite of being grieved and offended by our sin, and instead of conferring the death penalty upon mankind, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully human, to take our death penalty.  What a Savior!
Response:
God's Spirit, our Comforter convicts us of sin, and if we humbly repent, He restores us to fellowship with Him under the blood of Christ's righteousness.  Don't hide from the One who awaits your repentant spirit and freely offers reconciliation and sanctification, all because of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God.

Day 8: “Fellowship of His Suffering”
Scripture: 

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. – Romans 8: 22-23.

And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him. - Romans 8:17

I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. - Colossians 1: 24

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death… - Philippians 3: 10

Consider: The inspired Scriptures above from the Apostle Paul's epistles emphasize three themes that run throughout the Bible: 
1) the "groaning of creation" with its "anxious longing" for freedom from the curse of sin. 
2) God as "Shepherd of Israel" (Psalm 80: 1) seeking to call the wayward sheep back His sheepfold where they can receive His comfort. 
3) God the Holy Spirit teaching, convicting, indwelling, and interceding "with groanings too deep for words..." (Romans 8: 26-27). 
Combining these three themes, we see a groaning creation, God passionately seeking sinners; and God/s Spirit, our Comforter, who comforts us in our groaning, identifying with us who share in "the sufferings of 'Christ" because of our testimony for Him.  Together these themes speak of a God whose passion for a lost world and a lost humanity would spare nothing, not even His only Son, to bring restoration. 

Application:
We close this series with a great question for which we have no satisfying answer. Why would a holy God who, in the words of A. W. Tozer, is "...not simply the best we know infinitely bettered...[but instead, One who] stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable"-- how could such a holy Being, One "who knew no sin," willingly "become sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5: 21)? The only answer is God's "incomprehensible and unattainable" love for His creation and for humanity, His image bearers.
Again, A.W. Tozer:" God is holy and He has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of His universe. To preserve His creation God must destroy whatever would destroy it.  Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death." 

God sent His only begotten Son to be "the Lamb" that would take upon Himself all the sin, the "moral sickness" of the world.  Through His death, Christ ended the curse of sin and provided a way to Life Eternal.
Response:  If you began this daily devotional series on Palm Sunday, the first day of "Passion Week," you are now reading this on Easter Sunday. Maybe you will be led of the Spirit to take time to review, and we hope you will be even more in awe of the redemptive plan of God.  All of this provision was made before the foundation of the world, born from the passionate, loving heart of God--long before "Passion Week."  Meditate on the amazing truth that God made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5: 21).

Groaning and Growing into a “New Normal”

The month of May brightens our spirits with the greening of the landscape and the blooming of spring flowers.  Better weather is also motivating many Americans who have been isolated under the COVID-19 pandemic to want to return to “normal.”  Still, many deep concerns, anxieties, griefs, and questions remain.  Many of us wonder if life will ever be the same.

Meanwhile, I’ve been looking for reasons to be encouraged, and I think I have found two worth sharing.  First off, I’m thinking that while we’d like to see “normal” again, why not hope for a “new normal,” a “better new normal?”  And second, why not resign to the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic will not be the last “tribulation” we face.  Instead, why not seek to learn from this experience in ways that will build character and resolve in readiness for future tribulations?

Hope for a “New Normal”
Have you been seeing signs of an emerging “new normal?” For example, haven’t many of us adopted better sanitation practices?  Aren’t we becoming more inclined to avoid coughing and sneezing around others?  And, speaking of social interactions, maybe we’ll appreciate more our gatherings with family and friends.  Or maybe we’ll realize how easy it would be for authorities to take away our First Amendment right of assembly to worship God, causing us to be more vigilant to protect this right as well as our freedom of expression.  I wonder if our greater thankfulness for small things will include the blessings like exchanging smiles unobstructed by masks, or the joy of eating together in restaurants and attending sporting events. 

Maybe, in the “new normal,” the humbling memory of when life as we knew it was upended by a tiny “invisible enemy” will help us realize how fleeting and frail our existence really is.  Out of a new sense of gratitude, maybe we will cherish the blessing of touching and conversing with one another—in short, to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves.”  Perhaps our conversations will become more respectful of differing opinions so that we can reach understanding on some issues and learn to respectfully disagree on others.  Maybe a new spirit of love toward our neighbor will be just in time as educational institutions seek to offer more the potentially more impersonal approach of “distance education;” and, our health systems trend toward more “telemedicine.”

In this “new normal,” I pray that we will see a renewed economy, amazingly propelled by what Adam Smith called an “invisible hand” as we see small businesses and industry make adjustments that will better position them for future challenges.  International monetary and trade policies may be altered to hold “bad actors” accountable and honor trade partners who want to participate in a spirit of good will on the global scene.  Perhaps we as consumers will alter purchasing habits as we become better at distinguishing our wants from our needs and focus more on things that really matter in life and for eternity.  For example, if I choose not to buy products from Communist China whose leadership was evidently responsible for the global spread of COVID-19, then I also want to invest financially and in prayer to support the efforts of that nation’s innocent citizenry to achieve the freedoms of worship and expression which I enjoy.

Finally, the “new normal” may see us showing greater appreciation for things that are so readily available by a simple phone call or accessible on a store shelf.  We have all known that our food doesn’t ultimately come from grocery stores or restaurants.  Now, we will be more aware of the “supply chains” that involve farmers, meat packers, fruit and vegetable growers, inspectors, truckers, and those who stock shelves.  Maybe we will choose to make better decisions to promote our individual health while being more thankful for first-responders, doctors, nurses, therapists, and other health care workers who labor every day for us.

Fundamental to the inauguration of the “new normal” will be our development of a “new disposition” that recognizes that we are not kings of the Earth but something much better.  God our Creator has appointed us as stewards with the spiritual, mental, and technological gifts to express His love for all of His creation by the manner in which we serve as its caretakers.  As stewards in the biblical sense, we are made aware of the moral and ethical implications of both our freedom and our responsibility.  For example, we recognize that food doesn’t ultimately come from either grocery stores or “supply chains.”  It comes from the good hand of God who sustains the global ecosystems including the soil, water, air, and biodiversity.  Together, these are necessary to support the efforts of farmers and ranchers who must “work within” the creation to produce food.  Stewards also recognize that their health and well being comes not only from physical food, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4: 4).  Those who feast regularly on God’s Word will recognize that while God is the giver of every good and perfect gift that comes down from above (James 1: 17), God’s “good gifts” sometimes come in unpleasant wrappings.  This thought brings us to my second reason to be encouraged.

How Can Groaning Lead to Growth?
Although we can hope for a new and better “normal,” our future is not certain.  We may be moving out of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is unlikely to be the last trouble we will face.  In fact, Jesus predicted to His devoted followers (those who obey by “abiding in Him”) that persecution would come in the future.  His reason for warning them, He said, was so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16: 33).  Notice, Jesus didn’t say, “might have tribulation,” but you will have tribulation.”  Here, “tribulation” is derived from the Greek word meaning “crushing pressure or affliction that causes anguish and groaning.”

You might be thinking, “Where is the sense of hope if inevitable tribulation is part of my “new normal?”  It doesn’t make sense!   If this is your response, you are absolutely correct.  But, in spite of inevitable “crushing pressures” and groaning that lies around the corner, there is bright hope for devoted Christ-followers.  But first, we must understand the context for “tribulation.” 

Trouble first came into God’s perfect creation when Adam and Eve sinned and brought judgment on themselves and all of creation as I explained recently in “Life Interrupted?” or “Life Inspired?”  As Romans 1: 21-22 explains (emphasis mine), although they knew God, they chose not to glorify Him as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…  

The proof of our darkened, foolish thinking, is the fact that we find it hard to accept how “crushing affliction,” or groaning could bring about “good”—or, growth in character in us.  Yet, all over the world, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, people were already suffering great affliction.  Indeed, many victims of the COVID-19 pandemic already had been afflicted with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases; and many had suffered from emotional disorders that rendered their immune systems unable to fend off the Coronavirus.  Truly, the creation has been groaning as described in Romans 8: 18-23 waiting for the revealing of those who are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8: 14).

Although persecution of Christ-followers in the US doesn’t usually rise to the level of physical abuse and martyrdom, the mental and emotional abuse is significant.  Janie Cheaney wrote an article entitled “Mind and Body” in WORLD Magazine on the subject of mental and physical illness among Christians.  She quotes a Presbyterian pastor who agrees that there are cases where Christians need seek to psychiatric treatment just as they would seek medical care for other health needs. The pastor stated, “a Christian may need treatment even more than an unbeliever because the life Christ asks us to lead is so fundamentally opposed to the way the world works.”

The Apostle Paul, in his early life as Saul the Jewish Pharisee, made a reputation of persecuting and jailing Christians.  When Christ appeared to Saul on the Damascus road, He addressed the persecutor with this convicting question, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? (Acts 9: 4).  After Saul repented and received Christ as His Savior and Lord, he lived among the Christian outcasts and identified with their groanings.  Saul, after he was born again spiritually and renamed Paul, devoted over fourteen years to the study of the Scriptures and in communion with Christ through His Spirit.  Later, Paul would write the following testimony of his life commitment: 

I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death… (Philippians 3: 8-10).

Notice that Paul’s sufferings drew him closer and closer in personal relationship with Christ and His sufferings on the Cross.  Under the inspiration of the Spirit of Christ, Paul wrote the words in Romans 5: 1-5 which has become an encouragement to persecuted saints down through the centuries (emphasis mine):

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.  And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured [into] our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
also declared his primary life purpose and joy with these words:

Elsewhere, in 2 Corinthians 4: 18, Paul explains how he could be steadfast in the face of suffering and persecution.  He urges Christ-followers today to follow his example; namely, don’t focus on the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.  Not that Paul was oblivious to his responsibilities of earning a living (He was a tentmaker as noted in Acts 18: 3.) and being a responsible Roman citizen (Acts 24: 16).  But Paul focused his life continually upon the goal of the upward call of Christ (Philippians 3: 14).

Some years ago, Isaac Shaw, National Director and President of Delhi Bible Institute, presented a message at Grace Baptist Church, Cedarville, Ohio on the subject of the inevitable reality of Suffering in the Christian Life.  In this excellent message based on his experiences as a Christian in Hindu culture, Pastor Shaw recounts the testimony of an Indian journalist who had observed Christians being persecuted for their faith.  She had also privately studied the Bible, and eventually had given her life to Christ.  As a born-again believer, she said, “Pastor, it is absolutely illogical for anyone to be a Christian, and that is what has driven me to investigate; and, I have found that Jesus is utterly satisfying, and that Jesus is Lord.”

How About You?
Are you tired of the uncertainty, inconveniences, and isolation from the COVID-19 pandemic?  Are you finding yourself more thankful for basic requirements of life and those who make them available to you?  Can you envision a “new normal” that is even better than the present?  Or are you resigned that the current pandemic will not be the last “tribulation” you will face? 

Regardless, if you are not a Christian, may I recommend that you study the Steps to Peace with God which explains how you can become a devoted Christ-follower. If you are a Christ-follower and have questions about how you can grow in Christ through the struggles and persecution you may face, I hope you will dialog with me publicly using “Comments” below, or privately via my e-mail at silviusj@cedarville.edu.  Meanwhile, please take time read and meditate on the Scripture passages above.  Then, listen to the Pastor Isaac Shaw’s message, Suffering in the Christian Life in which he personally shares the experience of growing in Christ through sharing in the sufferings of Christ in India.

Burdens of Believing in God

My boyhood impression of God was very positive.  I learned about Him from my parents and other adults; and from the Bible.  Jesus seemed like a kind man with gentle, assuring words like, “I am the Good Shepherd (John 10: 11).  However, as I grew older, I began to view God’s commandments as burdens that restricted my freedom.  I was particularly wary of Jesus’s stern principle:  If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me (Luke 9: 23).  Was Jesus my Friend or was He a cruel taskmaster?

Whoever He was, Jesus was patient—and persistent.  I could not dismiss the Gospel claims about Jesus dying on a Roman cross for the sin of humankind; then, being raised from the dead on that first Easter morning.  Maybe Jesus had every right to invite me to “take up my cross daily” and follow Him.  After all, He had left me an example—He obediently carried His cross to His death by crucifixion.

As an adolescent, I learned to associate “cross bearing” with the love of God for all people.  That God’s love is expressed through “burden bearing” became more real to me one Christmas when we received stamps from Father Flanagan’s Boys Town.  Each stamp pictured a boy carrying his younger brother on his shoulders to school in the deep snow.  On each stamp were the words of the older brother expressing his burden-bearing love: “He ain’t heavy, Father.  He’s m’ brother.”

God continued to affirm His love and patience toward me as I finished high school and college.  Then, as a graduate student, I repented of my sin under the Power of Christ’s cross.  I felt the burden of sin and guilt roll off of my shoulders.  Then, through prayer, I invited Jesus to become Lord of my life, and willingly began to live as His servant.  Since then, I have been making it my priority to follow Jesus’s invitation in Luke 9: 23, noted earlier.  In seeking His path of self-denial and cross-bearing, I am moving ever closer to what the Apostle Paul described as knowing Jesus intimately, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3: 10).  But, please don’t think I have “arrived spiritually.”  I gladly identify with Paul’s humility when he wrote, Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on… (3: 12).

Being a Christ-follower (disciple) requires disciplines that take years to develop.  Thankfully, God does not ask His followers to “go it alone.”  Instead, each obedient Christ-follower (those who “keep His commandments” as explained in 1 John 2: 4-6) “abides in Christ” and Christ abides in him or her (1 John 4: 16).  Therefore, Christ-followers are spiritually united with each other in the body of Christ.  And so, we who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another (Romans 12: 5).  Like embers of a fire that maintain their glow by staying together, so each Christ-follower can keep his or her faith ablaze by following God’s plan to regularly gather together for worship, study, and relationship-building in Christ (Hebrews 10: 23-25).

John the Baptist--Burdened and Alone
In spite of my growing faith, I was still puzzled with the apparent contradiction between the blessed life God offers and the burdens He expects His children to bear.  Matthew 11 addresses this apparent contradiction.  Here we learn that John the Baptist was languishing in prison like an ember from the fire separated from the fellowship of other Christ-followers.  John’s faith was apparently faltering.  So, he sent his disciples to inquire whether Jesus was really the “Expected One.”  After all, John had been sent as a forerunner of Jesus to call his listeners to repentance and to point out the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1: 29).  Could it be that John had been mistaken?  If not, why was Jesus requiring him to bear such a burden of lonely imprisonment and impending death (Matthew 14: 1-12)?

F.B. Meyer writes in Great Verses through the Bible (Zondervan, 1966): 
“The Baptist was tempted to take offense with Christ, first, because of His long delay in asserting Himself as the promised Messiah; and secondly, because of His apparent indifference to his own welfare. "If He be all that I expected, why does He leave me in this sad plight, extending to me no word of comfort; making no attempt to free me from these dark, damp cells."

Meyer then applies John's suffering to the lives of burden bearers today:
“Are there not such hours in our lives still?  We say, if He really loves us and is entrusted with all power, why does He not deliver us from this difficult and irksome condition? Why does He not hurl these Prison Walls to the ground? Why does He not vindicate and bring me out to the light of life and joy?”

Jesus answered John's plea with this encouraging reply to the messengers John had sent:  Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me (Matthew 11: 4-5).

In the words of F.B. Meyer, Jesus was saying to John the Baptist,
“’Tell him to trust Me, though I do not deliver him.  Assure him of the blessedness which must accrue to those who are not offended at My apparent neglect.  I will explain all to him some day.' Thus, he speaks still.  He does not attempt to apologize, nor to explain--He only asks our trust and promises blessedness to those who do not stumble at life's mysteries.”

Jesus-- Perfect Burden Bearer
Today, many people bear heavy burdens.  Those who reject God’s claims on their lives and live under the penalty of sin may encounter unbearable burdens that lead to depression, drug addiction, and even death.  At the same time, obedience to Christ does not guarantee an easy path.  Statistics reveal that more and more Christ-followers are suffering greatly for their faith.  At least 327 million Christians are enduring persecution according to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).  Approximately “245 million Christians in the top 50 countries on Open Doors USA’s 2019 World Watch List experience high levels of persecution (i.e.: torture, rape, sex-slavery, forced conversion, murder and genocide), an increase of 14 percent from 2018.”

Many people who have been and are still suffering for their faith have been encouraged by the words of Jesus to the imprisoned John the Baptist.  First, Jesus’s words contained no hint of condemnation of John’s weak faith and doubt.  Instead, we see a God who allowed John to suffer the burden of rejection and persecution now come alongside through His Son Jesus with words of love and encouragement (v. 4-6).

Second, we see Jesus’s response when His ministry faced the burden of ridicule and rejection: He sought comfort in the Spirit of God and in fellowship through prayer with His Father in Heaven (v. 25-26).  And finally, Jesus, as if He is strengthened in His own resolve, lovingly invites all to come to Him by faith to receive relief from heavy burdens He knows we are carrying, and invites us to share in His “easier yoke.”  Jesus says,

Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (v. 28-30).

When we submit to Christ’s “easy yoke” in faith and in recognition of the great burden He bore to purchase our freedom from the curse of sin (2 Corinthians 5: 17), we gain access to His love and strength to bear our own cross for Him.  Jesus reveals Himself as gentle and humble in heart, willing to understand our limitations and to give us a reasonable yoke to bear.  As we submit willingly to His strong presence under His “yoke,” we will actually find “rest for our souls.”  What an amazing truth!  Jesus makes our burdens lighter because He helps us carry them.

Burden Bearing Benefits of Abiding in Christ
The Apostle John as a young disciple of Jesus experienced close-hand Jesus’s great love for His Father in Heaven and for all mankind.  John’s Gospel includes Jesus’s most thorough teaching on burden-bearing obedience to God as an expression of our love for Him (John 15: 9-13).  In his first letter, John explains in warm, personal terms the blessed result of saving faith in Christ:  For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5: 3).

The aged Apostle John who penned these words had learned the answer to the apparent contradiction of how a person could find blessedness in burden bearing.  John’s answer, in a word, is “love.”   John wrote in 1 John 4: 19, We love, because He first loved us.  He wrote in 1 John 3: 1, See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. 

How do Christ-followers respond to such great love?  By offering their willing obedience.  Jesus described obedience as “abiding in Him” like branches connected to the True Vine (John 15).  Just as the branches of a grapevine produce fruit from nutrients supplied by the vine, so our abiding in Christ produces in us the fruit of righteousness—i.e. expressed qualities of right-living that please God.  These qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, etc. (Galatians 5: 22-23) are formed in us as we yield to the work of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives.  He is our Helper, Teacher, and Counselor (John 15: 26; 16: 13-15).  As we abide in our Savior, love our Father in Heaven as Jesus loves Him, and rely on God’s Spirit to empower us, God’s love in us becomes blessedness in the midst of the burdensome. 

Remembering the words of the boy carrying his little brother, I can say, “Jesus’s commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5: 3), He’s my Brother.  He’s shown His love for me by dying on His cross, then rising from the dead and sending His Holy Spirit.  Thanks to His Spirit, my Helper, Teacher, and Counselor, I can find His yoke easy and His burden light (Matthew 11: 30).”

How About You?
Maybe you are now carrying heavy physical or emotional burdens.  If we are honest, we have to admit that we all bear burdens of one sort or another.  Some of us bear burdens of our own making by our wrong choices.  Christ-followers remember Jesus’s promise that in the world you will have troubles (John 16: 33a).  Many Christ-followers experience God’s loving nearness most when the burdens are greatest.  In those times, we realize the remainder of Jesus’s promise:  …be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.   Have you experienced peace, relief, and even blessedness during times of heavy burden bearing when you surrendered to Jesus’s yoke?

Hearing the Voice of Jesus –2: When Suffering Comes

My previous article, Hearing the Voice of Jesus, pictured God as the One who continually pursues us, seeking relationship with us.  His voice calls to us out of His great love expressed through Jesus Christ and His inspired Word.  Perhaps surprisingly, we can best discern God’s voice and receive the outpouring of His love through the Holy Spirit when we are in the midst of trials and suffering.  Those who have experienced God’s love and comfort in their suffering are able to comfort others in trials with this same comfort (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4).  Little did I know while writing this previous article in September that God was preparing me to learn the truth of it through my own traumatic experience on October 8.  What follows is my account of this experience.  Remember that my perspective from “here on the ground”  is flawed and limited compared to God’s perspective.  May He alone be glorified as you read.

Thursday, October 5
Today, Abby and I were scheduled to be chaperones for our granddaughter, Della Rose, and her classmates during their visit to nearby Ramseyer Pumpkin Farm.  However, the rainy weather caused rescheduling of the event; and produced a disappointed granddaughter and grandma.  To brighten our morning, I suggested to Abby that we go out for breakfast at Bob Evans.  As we walked toward the register to pay our bill, I noticed a familiar face in a nearby booth and remember thinking that I had seen this gentleman at our church.  I made a mental note and thought no more of this passing encounter.  In the afternoon, we drove to Akron to attend the cross country meet of our older granddaughter, Kiara.  Afterwards, we celebrated her personal best time with her and her family.  While in Akron, we stopped to visit my friend, Bill, who had just had right hip replacement surgery that afternoon.  He was still in recovery so we left a card for him and drove home to Wooster.

Saturday, October 7
I began this crisp, autumn morning with an encouraging time of fellowship over a warm breakfast with my Christian brother, Brad.  Then, while Abby was running her errands, I returned to Akron to visit my friend, Bill, now in his third day of recovery from hip surgery.  He was in good spirits and was managing his pain very well.  After our brief conversation, I prayed with Bill and his wife, and then left the hospital.  As I was leaving, I sensed that God’s Spirit was pressing me to take account of the thoughts and intentions of my heart for visiting Bill.  This was not the first time that I was humbled about my efforts to encourage a friend in the midst of pain and suffering.  Taking a personal stock in this area usually centers around three basic questions, each probing successively deeper into my faith and its outworking in my life.

The primary question that pressed upon my mind as I walked from Bill’s room was, How real is your empathy and compassion toward Bill?  I had to acknowledge immediately that my level of empathy was limited by the degree to which I had been “walking in Bill’s shoes.”  After all, how could I actually see life through the eyes and body of a man who had experienced years of pain while walking with an arthritic hip and then endured the pain of a hip replacement?  Because of my limited empathy, my compassion, or the depth of my desire to help my friend was also limited to visiting him and attempting to encourage him.  Having not been involved in farming since my boyhood, I was limited in my ability to assist those people who had volunteered to harvest Bill’s crops and care for his livestock.

How can we empathize with and extend compassion
to loved ones without having "walked in their shoes?"

What concerned me most as I reflected on my efforts in recent years to empathize and encourage friends and family members was the fact that the blessing of good health throughout my life had spared me of physical pain and suffering.  I simply could not identify with friends and family in times of their suffering.  Instead, I tried to encourage them with words like, “God is good and faithful.  He will bring you through this because He loves you and you can trust Him.”  I would also thank them for showing me how to endure pain and suffering as an example for me when I face a similar trial in the future.

My second question also stems from my good health and lack of experience with pain and suffering.  The voice inside asked me, John, how genuine is your faith?  Sure, I had much experience pointing suffering family members and friends to God as a source of hope and healing.  But, how did I know how strong my faith would be when my time came to face pain and suffering?  My answer has to be, “I do not know if my faith in God will remain strong.”

Finally, the third question that has pressed upon my mind over the years is the most challenging of all—How do you know that God will be faithful when you need Him most?  Surely, I have known God’s presence and comfort during times of decision, loss, loneliness, conflict in relationships, and emotional stress.  But, would I know assuredly that God had not forsaken me when I encountered my own suffering and pain?  Little did I know that God was already orchestrating a situation that would eventually provide me with answers to all three of my questions.

Sunday, October 8
Abby and I were blessed to attend our 8:30 am Sunday School class at West Hill Baptist Church, taught by Pastor Eric Fairhurst.  Our lesson was from Luke 21 which records the words of Jesus as He described the signs and future events that would occur in and around Jerusalem and beyond.  We were challenged to be alert “when these things begin to take place.”  Then, in our traditional worship service, Pastor Dan Wingate presented a message from Colossians 3: 12-17 entitled, “Putting on the Best Clothing.”  Verse 12 introduces a list of important Christian virtues and character traits for Christ-followers to “put on” as we yield to the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives:  So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion…etc.

That morning, I did not immediately connect a biblical text beginning with the subject of compassion to my own question about the genuineness of my compassion following my hospital visit yesterday.  However, I was soon to be on the receiving end of compassion in an unexpected way.

After the service, we greeted some friends, then walked together into the church parking lot. As I scanned the lot to locate our Tacoma, I spotted the same gentleman that I had recognized in Bob Evans on Thursday.  I raised my hand to wave him to a stop.  We greeted one another and exchanged names while remembering that we had just crossed paths in Bob Evans three days earlier.  Our conversation was then interrupted by a forceful blow on my left side which was the first of several painful impacts I felt, resulting in my body being either thrown to the ground; or, more likely, twisted so that my right hip was thrown against the side of my friends car before I landed on my left side on the ground.

Needless to say, my viewpoint immediately changed.  While lying helpless in a fetal position, unable to move, I could only look up.  Whereas, moments before I had viewed my church family from my usual position of height and strength, I was now forced to look up at them in helpless dependence.  My view was filled with the concerned faces of my church family gathering to help and console me.  The dear lady whose car had struck me was soon at my shoulder with profuse apologies.  Another person cradled my head, while yet another asked if I could move.  I remained conscious but could not move my right leg.  While someone dialed 911, another man began to lead in a prayer for God’s provision.  As I looked up at a sea of loving faces, a friend brought a green blanket to support my head, and others had gathered around Abby to pray.

Within minutes, the ambulance arrived and I was gently wrapped and transported to the ER of Wooster Community Hospital.  Soon Abby arrived, accompanied by two brothers and two sisters in Christ from our church.  Again, I felt God’s comfort and guidance through the presence of Abby and these dear friends.  They were also very helpful in our choice of a surgeon.

That afternoon, my X-rays indicated that my hip was shattered and that I would need a total right hip replacement.  The operation was performed by the skillful hands of a surgeon who was also a man of faith. I was so richly encouraged when he took my hand and prayed with me at the end of our pre-op consultation. 

Looking confident, but supported by prayers
and resting in the unseen arms of God.

During the night and the next couple of days, I was made comfortable by medical staff who each served me with professionalism and compassion.  During this time, I sensed as never before the nearness of God—so comforted and strengthened by the faithful prayers of family, church family, and friends.  I believe God used these days of discomfort and dependence, and days of being weak while learning to become stronger, in order to provide the very experience I so greatly needed and wanted--experience I had missed as the one usually standing above others who experienced pain and dependence.

The doctor, nurses, and aides kept track of my pain level and encouraged me not to shirk on taking Oxycodone so that I would not “get behind” in managing the pain.  Because pain has been such an infrequent visitor in my life, I did not want to insulate myself too much from it.  Thankfully, an occasional Tylenol was enough to moderate my pain.  Though I felt weak and physically dependent, I remembered the words of Gordon T. Smith that had so interested me just a few weeks before.  Smith notes that it is when we accept and even embrace the experience of pain and suffering that we are most receptive to the outpouring of God’s wondrous, boundless love.  Though I am unworthy to compare my light brush with suffering to that of the Apostle Paul, I learned a new appreciation of his writing in Romans 5: 3-5 NASB (emphasis mine):

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;  and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts [ESV: “poured into our hearts”] through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Reflections during Recovery:
Although I could have gone home on Tuesday, Abby and I agreed that I should spend a few days in the Transitional Care Unit to undergo some physical therapy and increase my readiness for life back home.  During these days of recovery, I revisited the three questions that had challenged me in years past and which had especially pressed upon me only days before my injury.  As I reflect on my own suffering and recovery, am beginning to understand more clearly the nature of sincere compassion, the genuineness of my own faith in God, and the faithfulness of Jesus, my Savior.

While lying on my back in absolute dependence upon medical staff and then during my transitional care, God was making me a more humble, open vessel to receive His loving compassion through the care of these dear servants.  I am now praying that the Father of mercies and God of all comfort Who comforts us in our affliction will make me into a better steward of His comfort and compassion so that I will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1: 3-4).  In short, it’s ultimately not about my compassion but my openness as a channel of God’s compassion.

Second, having never experienced serious pain and suffering, I used to wonder how my own faith in God would fare in the day it finally came.  My wondering ended on October 8.  Thanks to God’s grace as manifested in the many ways I have recounted above, my faith did not waver.  I do not make this claim because I felt the strong “flexing of the muscles” of my faith in my time of need.  Instead, my faltering faith was lifted up by the strong arms of God—loving arms that protected me bodily when I was struck on my left side, wrestled about, and dropped on my left side without a bruise—loving arms that worked though all the actions of my church family, and then the compassionate, medical care-givers.  Again, it’s ultimately not about “my faith” but God’s imparting of the gift of faith to me (Ephesians 2:  8).

Finally, I had no reason to question the faithfulness of my Savior, Jesus Christ.  Like the comforting, compassionate care that I remember receiving one morning from an aide who covered me with a freshly warmed blanket, so the loving arms and gentle voice of the Savior left me no doubt about His faithfulness and abiding presence.  Much more than feeling warm fuzziness, God’s manifest presence was made real as His Spirit spoke to me in words from Scripture—words that He brought freely into my consciousness from memory, such as Isaiah 41: 10: 

Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Or, the words of Psalm 23  that I had read many times in the past, and heard in utterances from the quivering lips of family and friends as I stood at their bedside:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Has my compassion become more sincere?  Is my faith stronger as a result of this trial?  Is my Savior faithful?  I thank God for helping me answer the first two questions by His resounding answer “Yes” to the third. 

In conclusion, I thank God for granting my injury and for demonstrating His faithfulness through it in the days that followed.  Through God’s gift of my injury, pain, and suffering, I am learning anew the blessing of His comfort and compassion—gifts from His vast sea of love and grace. Now,  I am recommitting myself to being a good steward of God’s gifts of love, compassion, and faith.  I pray that the aroma of Christ will be evident in my relationships with others—so that ultimately Christ is lifted up.  To God be the glory!