Interpreting the Story (part II 02-29-16)

Understand the Historic Context: In order to understand the words we read in the Bible we must understand the history surrounding the particular document we are reading. This is the way Bible scholars describe this task: “In speaking through real persons, in a variety of circumstances, over a 1500-year period, God’s Word was expressed in the vocabulary and through patterns of those persons and conditioned by the culture of those times and circumstances. That is to say, God’s Word to us was first of all his Word to them. If they were going to hear it, it could only have come through events and in language they could have understood.” We need to know what the text said to its original readers before we can possibly understand what it means today. “Thus the task of interpreting involves the student/reader at two levels. First, one has to hear the Word they heard; he or she must try to understand what was said to them back then and there. Second, one must learn to hear that same Word in the here and now.“ (Fee and Stuart, p. 18; emphasis added)

How does someone who is not an archaeologist or historian get this context? There are a number of standard reference books which provide this information. They are called commentaries, Bible encyclopedias and Bible dictionaries. There are also versions of the Bible that include brief notes about this kind of information as footnotes and introductions to the Bible documents. These are called “helps” and often have been authored by well-known evangelists, preachers and scholars.

Interpreting the Story (part I 02-26-16)

So how should one go about reading this story? How do we understand the Bible? Is it possible to know if what we understand is the correct understanding? Why is it that so many people come up with so many different interpretations of Scripture? And everyone thinks they’re right.

Think about the contrasting ways people approach the Bible. Some say, just read it, believe it, and obey it. Nothing else matters beyond that. Whatever it says, that’s God’s truth. This is a very literal approach and many people engage in it. Reading the Bible is very simple to them. No interpretation required other than reading the words and applying them.

The problem with this approach is that it ignores the fact when there is a document, such as the Bible, the reader has to interpret those words. Interpretation cannot be ignored. Human language requires interpretation. This is particularly true when the reader does not know the language in which the Bible was written—which is about 99 percent of readers—and must read a translation. So the issue isn’t whether or not scripture should be interpreted but what the quality of the interpretation is; good or bad.

The point is, when we sit down to read the Bible, we invariably bring to those texts all that we are, with all our experiences, culture, and prior biases toward various words and ideas. We can’t read in a vacuum. So that reality raises questions about whether or not we are reading and understanding what the authors intended to convey. The most strictly literal approach is not good enough to get to that heart.

Because God chose to speak His word through human words in history, every book and story recorded in the Bible has historical particularity and context. In other words, each document is conditioned by the language, time, and culture in which it was originally written (and in some cases also by the oral history it had before it was written down). This necessitates the need to interpret as accurately as possible. We can’t simply read the words and think that we will understand the points of the story unless we engage with the integrity of all that was brought to that story in the first place.

The Story Line of the Bible (part IX 02-26-16)

Still Unfolding Today: If Jesus was right, the one true God wasn’t just for the descendants of Abraham anymore. Belief in, relationship with, and experience of the one true God was to permeate the whole world, like yeast slowly rising in bread, or like seeds subtly planted in the soil. The time had come to open the doors to everyone. There would be a thousand problems, Jesus said. It would be messy, with plenty of mistakes and no shortage of opposition. It would take time, a long time. But they should not give up until every person hears the “good news” that God loves them all, wants to welcome them into His family, and wants to involve them in the ongoing spiritual story of the human race.

The New Testament concludes with the story of the spread of that message and the creation of faith communities all over the Mediterranean world. And that story continues to unfold today.

The Story Line of the Bible (part VII 02-24-16)

Surprises: Three days later, reports began to spread that the grave was empty, and that Jesus had risen from the dead. At first, not one of the disciples believed these rumors, but in the coming days, one by one and in larger groups, they claimed to have encounters with the risen Jesus. Then occurred perhaps the strangest event of all.

Remember, for two thousand years the descendants of Abraham had guarded their faith, kept their distinctiveness, monitored their faithfulness, resisted all pressures to intermarry or adopt the religious practices of other nations or in any way allow their unique commitment to monotheism to be polluted or diluted. Isolation, separation, distinction were at the core of their being. And now, the disciples report, Jesus is telling them to bring the good news of this new kingdom to the entire world, to every nation, every religion, every culture, every language. Further, they came to understand that Jesus’ death had not been a colossal accident, but rather was part of God’s plan: in some mysterious way, as Jesus suffered and died, he was absorbing and paying for the wrongs of the whole human race. Now, the whole human race could receive forgiveness and reconciliation to God: it would be as simple as asking, seeking, and entering an open door.

The Story Line of the Bible (part VI 02-23-16)

Upside Down: Everything about this kingdom was upside down. In it, the poor and meek were the winners, not the rich and aggressive. In it, some prostitutes and tax collectors were far ahead of many priest and Pharisees. Children and women were given unheard-of status, and God was brought nearer than ever before: Jesus said that in this new era of the kingdom of God, God could be known as a loving, caring, compassionate father and that even rebellious runaways would be warmly welcomed home.

The crowds flocked to hear this message. Reports of miraculous healings were commonplace, although Jesus himself tried to keep them quiet. Naturally, the religious establishment felt threatened, and so they conspired with the Roman authorities to have Jesus arrested and killed. Their plot succeeded through the help of an insider, one of Jesus’ twelve prime students (called disciples or followers), and one Friday afternoon, Jesus was crucified and buried.

The Story Line of the Bible (part V 02-22-16)

A New Chapter: During the next 450 years, the Greek empire flourished and receded, and the Roman empire rose, subjugating the Jewish people as they did the whole Mediterranean world. The Jewish people showed inspiring courage and faithfulness to God during these times of political and religious persecution. (Stories of their courage and faith are told in several documents that are considered historically reliable by Protestants but not accepted as part of the Bible, although Catholics and Anglicans include it as a kind of third testament. These documents are known as the Apocrypha.)

Into this milieu was born Jesus, later to be called the Christ or Messiah (meaning Liberator or Savior). After thirty years of obscurity, Jesus came into the public eye, presenting Himself as an itinerant Jewish rabbi, with a difference. The religious world of his day was polarized—much as ours is—with the rigid religious conservatives on one side (the Pharisees) and the more lenient religious liberals on the other (Sadducees).

Jesus refused to be slotted anywhere on their continuum. He said that a time of change had come, a new chapter was beginning, a whole new era in the spiritual life of the human race was being launched. With the memory of the great golden age of King David far behind them (far, but not forgotten), and with the oppressive grandeur of the Roman kings around them, Jesus announced a new kingdom, the kingdom of God.

The Story Line of the Bible (part IV 02-19-16)

Conquest, Confederacy, and Kingdom: A generation later, a reinvigorated younger generation completed the conquest of their homeland. (Other tribes had moved into the land during their absence.) The extended family now consisted of twelve clans, and they formed a loose confederacy that was frequently challenged by neighboring nations, sometimes overcome, and subsequently reformed several times over the next several hundred years.

Eventually this loose confederacy evolved into a rather short-lived monarchy, a development about which later biblical writers were ambivalent. Their first king, Saul, was a disappointment. Their heroic second king, David, initiated their “golden age,” around 1000 B.C. His son Solomon was another disappointment as a king (although the famous Golden Temple was built during his reign) and Solomon’s son was such a weak and insecure ruler that civil war broke out, and the nation was divided into northern and southern kingdoms.

Deterioration, Exile, and Return: God repeatedly intervened in this deteriorating situation. Sometimes, God gave people strong dreams to get their attention. Other times, they had other spiritual experiences. Occasionally, remarkable miracles occurred. Some people had a special sensitivity to God and became spiritual leaders called prophets. Their writings in the Bible record the context and content of the messages they received from God and passed on to the people.

In this divided and weakened condition, the descendants of Israel became an easy target for rising empires to their north. Eventually, from about 700 to 550 B.C., both the northern and southern kingdoms were conquered. Many survivors from the south were deported to Assyria where they became servants in various capacities. Seventy years later, two leaders, Nehemiah and Ezra, gained permission to repopulate their homeland and led the refugees (most of whom had been born in exile) back to rebuild their capital city, Jerusalem.

Through all these hardships, these people never completely lost faith. Nor did they allow their faith to lose its distinctiveness. Of all people in the world, they alone believed in one supreme, good Creator, and they sought to remain faithful to that vision. The era of the great Hebrew prophets ends with the story at this point, about 450 B.C.

The Story Line of the Bible (part III 02-18-16)

United In Suffering: God used a famine to drive them (see previous blog) from their land to Egypt, where they would either assimilate into Egyptian culture and squander their destiny or intensify their distinct family identity as refugees, and not only as refugees, but eventually, as an oppressed, enslaved minority group as well. These shared sufferings did their work, and after about four hundred years in Egypt, their identity was strong, their spirit was still (barely) unbroken by their hardships, and their unique faith in one supreme God was embedded deeply within them. God intervened again, calling a uniquely prepared man named Moses to liberate these special people from their oppression and enslavement and return them to their homeland, which had been unseen by them for four centuries.

The return took much longer than one might expect, because God did not want the land resettled by halfhearted followers. It was essential that they maintain a vigorously distinctive identity and vibrant spiritual vitality as they reentered their homeland. During this difficult but formative time, the family wandered as nomads in the harsh wilderness between Egypt and Palestine. It was during this nomadic period (called the Exodus) that formal public worship of God began. Additionally, the moral standards of this community of faith became codified during these years, most notably in the Ten Commandments. No wonder Moses is remembered as such an important figure in the family history of the Jewish people, since he led the people through this amazing passage.

The Story Line of the Bible (part II 02-17-16)

A Family with a Destiny: Into this situation of religious pluralism, with a welter of religions mixing beauty and horror, truth and misunderstanding, God communicated with a Semitic shepherd living in modern-day Iraq, then known as Chaldea. The man’s name was Abraham. He was given a sense of destiny, that he would be the father of a great family, and that his descendants would bring spiritual blessing and enlightenment to the whole world. Key to this enlightenment was this revelation: There were not many gods, but only one. And this God could not be adequately represented by any of the standard images (idols), but was greater than the stars and the sea, more majestic than the sky and the mountains, because all things were created by this God. Not only that, but this God was deeply concerned about the ethics, morality, social justice, and personal integrity of human beings, Himself being ethical, moral, just and pure. A real contrast to the capricious god-concepts of Abraham’s neighbors, gods whose vices were as exaggerated as their powers!

These were radical ideas, though they may seem commonplace to us, which is proof of Abraham’s ultimate influence. They took generations to accept. But God was patient; these creations were made to be free, so they could not be pushed or forced. They had to learn at their own pace, so direct intervention (via some extraordinary spiritual experience such as a vision, a voice, a dream) was always delicate. Additional interventions came, though, at critical times, to Abraham’s son Isaac, Isaac’s son Jacob (who was later renamed Israel, this name becoming the “family name” of the Jewish people to this day), and Jacob’s son Joseph. The family was guided to a land of their own at the east end of the Mediterranean, where this new understanding of God could be nurtured in relative peace and stability. Eventually, the clan grew quite large, and God apparently planned a difficult experience to solidify their identity and more deeply root these new beliefs in this family of people, and through them, in the human family as a whole.

The Story Line of the Bible (02-16-16 pt I)

Before the beginning of everything we think of as “the universe,” there was God, a creative, intelligent, conscious, communicating, dynamic, caring entity whose magnitude goes beyond our limits of perception and imagination. God created the universe, using time, space, matter, energy … and something more. When God created our planet and populated it with life, God chose to insert something of His own self into the mix: into human beings, God breathed His own “breath of life,” His own “image.”

This mysterious endowment brought with it a unique ennoblement and a unique responsibility unlike that given to any other animal or organic or inanimate matter: human beings were made capable of freedom, consciousness of being conscious, with conscience, wisdom, creativity, love, communication, civilization, virtue. But this endowment also made them vulnerable to rebellion, pride, foolishness, destructiveness, hatred, division, and self-centeredness. They were given choice and choice has an “up” side and a “down” side; there is “Column A” and “Column B,” there is that which is good and there is the other choice.

So, being neither robots nor prisoners, these free human beings early on failed to fulfill the full promise of their primal innocence and natural nobility, and with the development of the first civilizations it was clear that human beings had a self-destructive bent. One feature of their self-destructiveness was their tendency to lose contact with God, to live life without reference to God, to throw away their spiritual compass and get lost. That didn’t mean they became irreligious; in fact, they seemed incurably religious, incapable of numbing or obliterating their spiritual faculties, at least not for very long. Rather, their estrangement from their Creator meant that they innovated as best they could, developing religions as varied as their cultures and their landscapes. In fact, by 2000 B.C., each social entity on earth had developed its own religion to explain its mysteries, solve its problems, bolster its power, vilify its enemies, and so on. The assumption on planet earth was that there were many gods, each having power over certain territories or certain natural phenomena (the sun, the moon, fertility). Some of their forms of worship were beautiful and honorable, but many became base and degrading, including horrific human sacrifice, sexual exploitation, and the like. (continued…..)

General Outline of the Bible (02-15-16)

The Bible as we have it today is divided into two sections, the Old Testament which has 39 different documents and the New Testament with 27.These 66 documents are traditionally called “books” even though they are almost never published as separately bound volumes. This canon of Scripture has been generally accepted by Christians as the inspired Word of God since the 3rd century.

The 39 documents that comprise the Old Testament were originally written in Hebrew from about 2000 B.C. until about 450 B.C. Jews also accept this collection as Scripture and Muslims accept the first five books.

The 27 documents of the New Testament written in ancient Greek are seen as additional Scriptures by Christians. They were written from about 45 to 70 C.E. with perhaps one or two being written as late as 90 C.E.

These documents are not uniform in character. The shortest is only one page while the longest is more than 100 pages. They are of various literary types, including history, narrative, poetry, prophecy and personal letters. Within these genres, there are numerous clear examples of fiction; parables, dreams, and so forth. Sometimes, it is not easy to know exactly what a passage is intended to be; history, poetry, fiction, nonfiction.

These 66 books of the Bible were originally written in three different languages: Hebrew (most of the Old Testament), Aramaic (a sister language to Hebrew used in parts of two Old Testament books), and Greek (all of the New Testament). These documents were authored and compiled by very diverse individuals—poets, kings, prophets, priests, shepherds, farmers, fishermen, a tax collector, a physician, scribes—from the very common to the elite, the intellectual to the uneducated. These very different people wrote over the course of 1,000 years and came from different nations and cultures.

In spite of this amazing diversity, there are common themes that run through seemingly disparate documents; stories about God and God’s dealing with people, haunting stories, unbelievable stories of success and failure, passion and persistence. And not only stories about God but also about humanity—the formation of human civilization, a movement, a heritage—stories with our own fingerprints all over them, showing us not only God but also ourselves in relationship with God and one another.

These stories are not delivered in a linear logic. They do not constitute a textbook or manual or encyclopedia of philosophy, theology or morality. They are all over the board, messy, chaotic, jumping back and forth with imagination, passion, fury, and hope. They’re about encountering God in the middle of feast and famine, good and bad governments, changing economies, disappointing marriages and dysfunctional families, poignant moments and exhilarating victories, deep friendships and bitter betrayals. Let’s take a closer look at the story line of Scripture.

Another thing that may seem strange to someone first reading the Bible. It uses an ancient system for finding things instead of the page numbers that are so familiar to us in books today. This is because the Bible existed as a written document long before the invention of the printing press and with the hand-copied versions there was no way to make sure that every page was precisely the same. So chapters and verses have been added to the Bible over the centuries. They are not part of the original text, but they provide a common system for finding a particular sentence or paragraph. They continue to be used because there are so many different translations of the Bible into many modern languages and various printings and editions. Page numbers are impossible to keep uniform.

Introduction to the Bible (02-12-16)

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.

The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.”

The teacher paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.”

Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, “They will in a minute.”

Oh the confidence of childhood! It never even occurred to this little girl that someone wouldn’t believe her or that she didn’t know what she was doing. She simply assumed that she had what it took to picture God and that people would appreciate the finished product. After all, it’s her experience of God so who can argue with that?

It’s this same sense of personal authority that exudes from the book called The Holy Bible. This most widely read book in the history of the world continues to inspire millions of people as they look for a picture of God to include within the portrait of their lives. And the fact that there are so many differing pictures might say something about the differing authors included in this Book.

Meeting with Jesus Conclusion (02-11-16)

Imagine what the world would be like if people lived as Jesus did? Followers of Jesus, motivated by their personal experience of God’s love, insist on pressing selfless and extravagant love into the darkest, most broken places of the world, no matter what the cost, no matter what the obstacles, no matter what the man-made boundaries. They do it compassionately, boldly, creatively, and persistently because it’s what Jesus did and they follow him. His love compels them and empowers them. That’s what it means to be a Christian.

Remember the previous story about the children lined up for lunch in the cafeteria of their religious school? Imagine the atmosphere created among the kids if the sign above the bowl full of apples read, “Take as many as you want. God is watching.” And then at the end of the line, above the tray of cookies, another sign said, “Take as many as you want. God is watching these, too.” And at each station, the teachers were there smiling and laughing as they gave an abundance of apples and cookies to every student. What picture of God would these children begin to develop? What example of living would the teachers (the God followers) be exhibiting?

Would that be the kind of environment you’d enjoy spending time in? Would those be the kind of people you’d like to hang around and maybe even help serve with? 

The Marks of a Jesus Follower (Part II 02-10-16)

They don’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk.

Love in action. Here’s the kind of practical and unselfish love Jesus describes his followers enthusiastically giving:

“I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” (Matthew 25:35-40, NLT)

The Marks of a Jesus Follower (Part II 02-09-16)

Using whatever resources you have to show compassion to those who are suffering and in need is exhibiting Christ-like action for that person.

Jesus’ story of the good Samaritan illustrates this kind of compassion (Luke 10:30-38). When a Samaritan traveler on business happens upon a severely wounded Jew who’s been robbed and beaten up, the Samaritan immediately uses all his resources to show compassion: he risks personal safety to stop and help, he uses his personal supplies to clean the wounds and bandage the man up, he puts the wounded man on his donkey and takes him to the closest Inn, he pays for the man’s room in the Inn for as long as needed and any potential medical care, and then he returns later to check on him. And to do all this, the Samaritan has to willingly cross multiple boundaries and taboos, risking his entire reputation with the folks back home. Not a great business plan! But he does this because he’s motivated, as Jesus specifically states, by “compassion.” Whether this man knew Christ or not, he was, by definition, a follower of the way of Christ. Today’s Christ followers offer intentional and bold compassion with whatever they possess, too.

The Marks of a Jesus Follower part I (02-08-15)

What kind of behavior do followers of Jesus exhibit? How do people act who are truly following Jesus?

1. They “give up their lives” for others. 

What does that mean? Must you literally die to give your life for a person?

No. John is describing Jesus’ way of life, a willingness to live out the fullness of Himself by unselfish giving. Long before Jesus hung on the cross He had already given up His life for people.

He willingly crossed national, religious, ethnic and social barriers to bring healing and help to powerless, hurting, and marginalized people.

He willingly stained his reputation by associating with “sinners,” people considered to be under God’s judgment because of their lifestyle or failures.

He ate meals with anybody who was interested, high and low, “in” and “out,” famous and infamous, the successful and the losers.

He showed the value and worth of women, children, the chronically ill, the disabled, and ethnic minorities.

He regularly interrupted his busy and strategic schedule to pay attention to people in need. He refused to kick off of his leadership team those whom he knew would fail him miserably.

Jesus “gave up his life” boldly, creatively and extravagantly over and over again long before he went to the cross. That, too, writes John the disciple, is what Jesus’ followers do.

Following Jesus With A Life of Compassion (02-04-16)

So what does it look like when followers of Christ serve and love like Jesus? Does it involve bombing abortion clinics in order to demonstrate the human sanctity of life? Does it involve gay bashing and violent protests again gay marriage in order to demonstrate the sanctity of marriage? Does it involve kicking people out of the church who have failed in order to demonstrate the purity of the church? Does it involve consigning people who don’t accept “the Truth” to eternal judgment in order to demonstrate the significance of correct doctrine? Does it involve fearing to befriend people who don’t believe like you in order to protect the safety of the church? Does it involve condemning AIDS as God’s judgment on sin in order to demonstrate the holiness of God? What does it look like when Christ followers serve and love like Jesus?

Mahatma Gandhi, the Hindu leader who created a global movement of social transformation through nonviolence, once said, “I love your Christ. It’s Christians I can’t stand.” Isn’t he actually describing what should be considered an oxymoron? How can there be a disconnect between Jesus and the followers of Jesus? Aren’t they supposed to be one and the same in character, principle and behavior? Shouldn’t the Gandhis of the world be able to love Christ’s followers because they in turn love Christ and live like Him? Loving one is loving the other.

The disciple John understood this perfectly. So he challenged the believers of his day, “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.” (1 John 3:16--18, NLT)

Following Jesus With a Life of Confidence (02-02-16)

One of the intriguing descriptions the disciple John (author of at least five books in the Bible) gives to himself is the disciple who often is leaning up close to Jesus, his head either on Jesus’ chest or shoulder (John 13:22-25). “The disciple Jesus loved” is his designation. Apparently, John was especially close to Jesus and therefore boldly loyal.

The night Jesus was arrested and sent to His execution, John is the one disciple who refuses to run away in fear and instead follows as closely as possible to Jesus. And years later, when John has been banished by the Roman authorities to a little island off the coast of Turkey, he documents (in the Bible document called “Revelation”) his visions of Jesus returning to earth at the end of time as the triumphant liberator.

In all his letters John writes with boldness and confidence, brimming with a sense of security from knowing Jesus, deeply experiencing His love and eagerly anticipating Jesus’ return. Here is one of those passages: “And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.” (1 John 4:17--18, NLT)

John writes these words facing a very uncertain future since the Roman authorities are actively persecuting Christians. And yet his words exude great confidence and lack of fear. He’s completely secure in his connection with God, unafraid of the future. He’s being empowered by his love with Jesus. He’s living in that love and the more he acknowledges it, relishes it and lives in it, the deeper and more complete that love becomes. And with every deepening comes greater confidence. He calls it “perfect love.”

The disciple known as “the one Jesus loved” … the disciple who was often leaning up against Jesus’ chest so closely he could hear Jesus’ heart beat … the disciple who, when Jesus was hanging on the cross with life violently being ripped away, stood at the foot of the cross and heard Jesus say about his executioners, “Father, forgive them because they don’t know what they’re doing” … the disciple who watched Jesus during the moments of his greatest suffering remember to provide for his mother by giving her to John and giving John to her … this disciple experienced so intimately the unselfish and extravagant love of Jesus that he described it as “perfect love.” And it empowered him with absolute confidence and assurance.

Have you noticed the difference between people who are fearful and insecure and those who are confident? Who would you rather be around? Jesus’ followers are genuinely confident people, not because they have life all together, not because they’re perfect, not because they know it all, not even because everything always goes smoothly. They’re not arrogant. They’re not presumptuous. They aren’t intimidated by what others think of them or think they should be. They’re not insecure with having mystery and the unexplainable. They’re not afraid of differences of opinion. They’re not threatened by diversity. But they are secure: they know who they are and to whom they belong. They have complete confidence and assurance in God’s love for them and their love for God and their ultimate destiny.

Consequently, they can live with boldness, like the One they follow. They can serve others freely no matter what the cost, like Jesus. They can love sacrificially because they hold everything with an open hand. They don’t grasp tightly, they give extravagantly. Only free, confident, secure people can live like that; Jesus’ way of living!

Disciple John remembers clearly that night in the upper room when Jesus, Rabbi and Lord, took off his robe, put on the servant’s towel, picked up the pitcher and basin, and washed the disciples’ dirty feet. John got it when he later reflected on the scene and described how Jesus could do such a radical act of service and love:

“Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet.” (John 13:3-5, NLT)

Jesus revealed the key to serving boldly and unselfishly: being confident and secure in who you are and where you’re going and how God feels about you. Only the truly confident, who know they are completely embraced by God unconditionally, can unashamedly and courageously serve and love extravagantly.

Following Jesus (02-01-16)

So what does being a Jesus’ follower look like? Herein there is much confusion and misunderstanding. After all, if all you knew about Jesus and God were what you saw in people who called themselves Christians, what picture would you have? Would it be positive, progressive, open-minded, inclusive, humble, and extravagantly compassionate? Or would it be exclusive, traditional, judgmental, critical, arrogant and self-absorbed? Or would it be a mix of the two? What would you learn about Jesus and God by simply observing Christians?

Admittedly, no one, no matter what their views of life and religion, is perfect. No one lives in complete alignment with their cherished values. No one lives consistently in congruency. We all are challenged to “practice what we preach.” That seems to be a painful human reality. So we are hard put to have the audacity to judge others.

That said, however, how we live our lives does go a long way toward giving credibility (or not) to what we believe. And so it is significant that Christianity embraces much more than simply what a person believes and values about Jesus and God. Christianity (being a follower of Jesus) involves not only cherishing Jesus but especially cherishing Jesus’ way of living. Central to following Jesus is placing His values and what He came to reveal about God as the pattern for contemporary living.

So what should that look like? Over the next couple of days we are going to examine this a bit closer.