Mile After Mile

Yesterday I spend time considering the implication of what going the extra mile meant when Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-41, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' ³⁹ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two."

Jesus began with a quote from the Law of Moses, but Jesus told his followers not to make demands concerning their rights.  If their eye was gouged out, they had the right under Law to demand the person guilty was made to lose their eye in the same fashion.  This was intended to limit punishment inflicted by the court for crimes.  At the same time would this push for retribution cause the blinded person to regain their lost eyesight?  No:  it blinded another person as well.  The tendency to make others pay is naturally in us all, but Jesus commanded His followers to commit ultimate justice into His hands even when it came at a personal cost.

A slap to the face in Jesus' culture was a personal insult, and Christ's followers were not to respond in kind.  It is the role of government, courts, and judges to uphold God's righteous standards and bring about justice, but we are not called to lash out to even the score.  Since we are to trust God to provide for all our needs, even when sued for the clothes we are wearing.  Verse 41 mentions being compelled to go one mile, and Romans were permitted to force a Jew to carry a load for a mile.  France is quoted by David Guzik in the Enduring Word Commentary on this point:  "The Jews fiercely resented such impositions, and Jesus’ choice of this example deliberately dissociates him from militant nationalists. Rather than resisting, or even resenting, the disciple should volunteer for a further mile.”  I like how this is put because it hones in on the point Jesus made over and over:  following Him requires a change of heart.  The bar is set far higher than compliance with commands, but faith in God and love towards God and others.

Verse 41 had me thinking.  Being "compelled" (pressed into service) to go one mile suggested it was not a personal preference.  How challenging that in faith in God and love of others moves us to gladly volunteer for more of the same.  It is one thing when a man compels us, but I am convinced sometimes God compels us too.  He leads us to do things which naturally we recoil from doing, and when we have done our duty we are seemingly just as far from the finish as ever.  I have realised I am more likely to put a good face to it when I believe God is the one compelling me to go the first mile than when it is another person, and He wants to see this change in me.  If God's love is truly in me, then my love for others ought to rival my love for God--not as an opponent but a compliment--love that is patient, kind, without envy, boasting, pride, rudeness, self-seeking, and keeps no record of wrongs.

God's love for us is enduring, active, and stretches on for eternity.  As we abide in Jesus and His love we are greatly helped to go mile after mile by the power of the Holy Spirit.  God's Word is a light to our feet and a light unto our path so we can remain upright and balanced during our earthly pilgrimage.  God sustained the Hebrews for 40 years in the wilderness with His presence, and their shoes did not wear out.  Having our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace we are enabled to joyfully walk in love as our lives testify of His grace, mercy, and power.

One Thing We Need

"For three things the earth is perturbed, yes, for four it cannot bear up: ²² for a servant when he reigns, a fool when he is filled with food, ²³ a hateful woman when she is married, and a maidservant who succeeds her mistress."

Proverbs 30:21-23

King Solomon said the earth is perturbed when a servant rules, and there is certainly trouble when the unqualified are in charge.  When I worked in a trade I quickly learned not all apprentices I trained handled authority well.  Some imagined additional responsibility was license to delegate their duties to others and cease from profitable labour.  They were unreasonably harsh towards others with less seniority as if they were somehow beneath them.  Let us not think only apprentices are to whom this verse applies, for as God's servants we can try to impose our will on Him.

In Luke 10 Martha invited Jesus into her home, and she and Mary sat as His feet and heard His word.  She was an attentive hostess and sought to serve Jesus well.  Luke 10:40 says, "But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."  Martha served Jesus as her LORD, yet she spoke to Him as His lord!  She questioned if Jesus cared about her having to serve alone while her sister was idle, so she demanded Jesus tell Mary to help.  Like Martha, our lives can be filled with contradictions:  desiring to serve but demanding our conditions are met; calling Jesus Master but telling Him what to do.

Instead of agreeing with Martha or caving to her demands, Jesus responded with a gentle rebuke--not of Mary but of Martha.  Luke 10:41-42 reads, "And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."  Martha was distracted, worried, and troubled by many things and in doing so missed the one necessary thing:  to sit at Jesus feet and hear His word.  She imagined she was doing the serving, but Jesus came as a Servant of all.  While Martha hurriedly washed up Jesus taught how eternal souls could be washed clean of sin.  She worked to put snacks on the table when He came as the Living Bread from heaven who gives eternal life to all who receive Him by faith.

Jesus alone has the words of life, and it follows we ought to drop whatever we think is important to hear Him first.  To Martha it looked like Mary wasn't pulling her weight, but she had chosen the one thing that was needed without the distraction of multi-tasking.  Is there time set aside each day where you are doing nothing but seeking to hear from the LORD?  There is nothing wrong with praying while laying in bed, surfing, jogging, or golfing, but what a fruitful time God provides when we drop everything to sit as His feet to receive from Him what will not be taken away.  As servants of God let us not make demands of Him or be encumbered with much serving so we miss what we need:  to hear the Word of God.

The Unloved

In everyone there is a thirst to be loved and accepted that is not always satisfied by others.  Leah is an example of this.  There was a woman who was desperate to be loved but no amount of her efforts worked to achieve it.

Jacob worked 7 years for Rachel's hand in marriage, but his deceitful future father-in-law substituted her old sister Leah who is described as "tender eyed."  There are opinions on the exact meaning of this, but it is put in contrast to Rachel being beautiful and well-favoured.  This suggests there was something about Leah's eyes which were not beautiful.  Jacob was angry when he discovered Leah had been given to him in marriage, and a week later consummated a marriage with her sister Rachel.  It says plainly in Genesis 29:30 Jacob "loved Rachel more than Leah."  The rivalry would plague their relationship, and each tried to outdo the other.

God saw what was going on in Genesis 29:31-32:  "When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. ³² So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me."  It is hard for Leah being in a marriage where she was unloved, but she very much desired to be loved.  Hoping to earn her husband's love was a chief pursuit for Leah.  See Genesis 29:33-34:  "Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon. ³⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi."  Having borne three sons, Leah hoped her husband would love and be attached to her.  The KJV puts it, "joined unto me."  The lack of love put distance between Jacob and Leah.

A day came when Ruben, Leah's firstborn, found mandrakes in a field.  Rachel asked for them, hoping they would help her fertility issue.  Leah's feelings are on display in Genesis 30:15, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes."  Based upon this verse it seems Leah did not live or sleep with her husband, and she had to make a trade with Rachel for the privilege.  Leah felt like her husband and his affections had been stolen away by her sister, for Rachel was loved and she was unloved.  It is sad and tragic many people feel very much like Leah:  hungry for love and acceptance, working hard to earn it, and never measuring up.

I wonder if this is how people feel who are looking for likes, acceptance, and even love online, posting pictures of themselves in exotic places or exposing their sculpted physique to attract followers.  No matter how much a celebrity loves their fans, their fans love the persona or illusion more than the reality they cannot know from watching a film or performance.  In relationships which turn abusive people still long for love; they desire another person to be joined to them in a friendship or romance.  They give their hearts searching for "the one" who will love them against the odds and every previous experience only to be disappointed again.

How good it is when we realise God loves us by His grace and no one can separate us from His everlasting love!  He loves the unloved and unlovable, having demonstrated His love through Jesus Christ and His death on the cross for sinners.  God loves us not because we have worked hard to earn it, nor could our weakness deter it:  God loves us no matter what.  This love cannot be earned but received through faith in Jesus Christ as we read in John 3:16:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  God didn't love the globe we call earth, but He loves all the people He created on the earth to know Him and be joined with Him forever.  It is in God alone our thirst for love and acceptance is perfectly satisfied, and I hope Leah learned that.

God's Blessing

I came across a connection I found interesting between Laban and and his nephew Jacob:  they were always working angles for their benefit.  When Abraham's servant came to Nahor to find a wife for his master's son Isaac Genesis 24:29-31 reads, "Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. ³⁰ So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, "Thus the man spoke to me," that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. ³¹ And he said, "Come in, O blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels." (emphasis mine)  Laban was glad to favour people from whom he could enrich himself.  Laban proved to be a shrewd man, always seeking his own prosperity at the expense of others.

Jacob was the younger of Isaac's twin sons born to Rebekah, and he too had a penchant to scheme for his own advantage.  He managed to weasel Esau out of his birthright and blessing.  He was sent to Laban's house in Padanaram to marry within the family, and though a "man of the tents" by God's grace he found the way.  Genesis 29:10 says, "And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother." (emphasis mine)  Jacob was impressed by the beauty of Rachel and the bounty of Laban's flock, and ended up staying with Laban.  Laban acknowledged in Genesis 29:14, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." And he stayed with him for a month."  At the end of the month, Laban made the generous offer to Jacob to state his wages--wages Laban agreed to but changed 10 times.

Jacob served Laban for 7 years for the privilege of marrying Rachel, but Laban gave him Leah instead.  He asked Jacob to serve another 7 years to marry Rachel and because he loved her Jacob did so.  When Jacob asked to be released from his service Genesis 30:27 reads, "And Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favour in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake."  Laban and Jacob wanted blessing from the LORD, and the blessing they sought meant material possessions.  Jacob ended up leaving Padanaram with wives, sons, daughters, servants, flocks and herds, more than he could have ever dreamed of receiving.

A touch from God changed the old schemer, and gave him a new name.  Genesis 32:24-30 records a compelling scene as Jacob fretting over returning to his country and his brother Esau:  "Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. ²⁵ Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. ²⁶ And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" ²⁷ So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." ²⁸ And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." ²⁹ Then Jacob asked, saying, "Tell me Your name, I pray." And He said, "Why is it that you ask about My name?" And He blessed him there. ³⁰ And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

From that day forward Israel walked with a limp and a blessing received from God.  Instead of scheming for gain he gave:  he gave his brother a generous present, bought land where he made an offering to God, gave Joseph a coat of many colours, gave money for food from Egypt, and even gave his youngest son Benjamin at the request of an unknown ruler in Egypt--who happened to be his beloved and long-lost Joseph.  His life began to reflect the giving and generous God he worshiped.  Isn't God awesome in the way He changes people?  He gives those who seek Him a new name, blessings, and a glorious destiny by His grace.

The Heart Requirement

The almighty God is unapproachable in glory, yet He graciously called the children of Israel as His own inheritance.  He graciously made a covenant with them and His presence dwelt among them.  Offering sacrifices to God under Law became ingrained in the culture of Israel and over time a subtle shift occurred:  people offered sacrifices who did not know God.  They imagined on the basis of their sacrifice they were pleasing and acceptable to God regardless of what they did.  Sin was like a debt in a ledger which sacrifice blotted out, and the greater the sacrifice the more righteous or pious the person.  Ironic, right?

I read this today in Micah 6:6-8:  "With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? ⁷ Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? ⁸ He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"  God was not interested in the apology gifts of His people but preferred they obediently walk in His ways.  You've heard the quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," and it rings true here.  The prophet revealed no amount of sacrifice makes a man worthy to approach God, and even offering your child as a burnt offering cannot wash hearts and hands of sin.  Better than sacrificing for sin they should walk in the good way God already directed.

God despised and refused to receive the sacrifices of the proud who gave only in response to their guilt instead of God's worthiness.  They vainly hoped greater sacrifice would make them worthy, but no sinner has merit to be acceptable to God.  God desired His people would do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God.  The Father sent Jesus Christ the Son to be the Saviour of the world, and He has bid all men by faith to walk with Him.  Jesus is the Lamb of God without blemish who the Father ordained as a sinless and acceptable sacrifice for the sins of the world.  No man can earn heaven by their gifts, but as many as have received Jesus to them He gives power to become the sons of God by grace through faith.

People in Micah's day made sacrifices which gave them glory before men, and men viewed them as righteous though they gave out of guilt for sin.  They forgot sacrifices are not offered by the righteous but by sinners!  Man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart.  As Jesus and His disciples watched people contribute money to the Temple treasury, He pointed out a poor widow who threw in two mites--the smallest denomination of coinage.  To their great surprise He said she gave more than all because she gave out of her lack.  This likely has more than financial implications:  she gave without pride, arrogance, or self-confidence from a heart that hungered and thirsted for God.  David wrote in Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise."  It isn't the monetary value of the sacrifice which impresses God but hearts which are broken and humbled before Him.

To obey is better than sacrifice, and the broken and contrite heart is willing to give God all.

Not Immune, but Loved

I was reminded of a childhood memory of a friend at church who was convinced he was "immune" to the effects of poison oak because of his Native American ancestry.  The reason?  He and two friends unwittingly walked through a patch of poison oak:  they were covered with hives, and he had none. Seeing I was most skeptical of his claims, he proceeded to grab leaves of poison oak and slowly rubbed them on his arms and across his face.  When he came to church on Sunday, it was obvious to all (including him!) he was NOT "immune" to poison oak.

It is a common misconception that coming to Jesus Christ in faith brings comfort and rest to life without struggles which plagued us before.  There is a sense our relationship with God means we are immune to the trials of life, and that sin's negative influences and effects are negated.  They felt they could choose to walk in sin without consequences.  An example of this is seen in the children of Israel who departed from obedience to God in Micah 3:11:  "Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us."  I imagine they quoted hackneyed phrases to pump up their confidence like, "No weapon fashioned against us shall prosper," or "If God be for us who can be against us?"

Sin remains as poisonous and deadly as ever after we come to Christ, desiring to cut us off from fellowship with God and other believers.  The context of what Paul wrote was not that relationship with God causes us to avoid painful trials, but though He allows them nothing can separate us from His love--very different to what many assume.  It is not the cessation of pain or problems, but consolation from God in the midst of them.  As long as we live in this body of flesh in a fallen world we await ultimate redemption and thus pain and problems will continue.  Yet even as Jesus rose from the dead, there is a continual supply of hope, help, and deliverance in Him.

Read it in context for yourself in Romans 8:31-39:  "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." ³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

God did not spare His Son Jesus Christ from suffering, grief, pain, and death, but He has exalted Him above all other names.  He has all authority in heaven and earth and freely has given us all things.  Jesus lives to make intercession for us and at no point in our lives on earth will we be free of our need for help, wisdom, and strength from Him.  See the things which Paul and other Christians suffered!  Not one of them was immune to distress, persecution, famine, peril, or sword; many believers suffered cruel deaths at the hand of God's enemies.  Yet though they encountered fiery trials and brutal pains, they were greatly loved by God who demonstrated His love for sinners on the cross.  Paul was accounted (like Christ) as a sheep to be slaughtered, yet by God's grace he would rise.  This is the promise, not the absence of pain or problems but the presence and power of the Almighty God now and forever.

Sometimes our pains are self-inflicted, like my friend who covered himself in poison oak.  But praise God He is a Healer, a Redeemer, and Restorer of souls to all who turn to Him in faith.

Love-Based Relationship

Last night as a family we watched a film we hadn't seen for over a decade:  How To Train Your Dragon.  Hiccup is a young lad who aspires to be a dragon slayer but doesn't seem to fit in with the other Vikings of the village.  This is especially true concerning his brave and brutish father.  Hiccup was more apt to try to befriend dragons rather than kill them.  He is a constant source of embarrassment to his father, who at one point says to him:  "You're not my son."

About 15 minutes later in the film, however, Stoic the Vast's opinion of Hiccup changed due to his brave exploits:  "I'm proud to call you my son," his father beamed.  "It seems they share a performance-based relationship," I said aloud.  The son was always working to earn the approval of his father, and the father exuded bitterness at perceived failures yet pride for apparent success.  Stoic viewed Hiccup in light of his failure or success, whether he was able to meet or exceed expectations he had for his son.  Sadly, I don't think the dynamics of their relationship are unique.  Performance-based relationships are more common than we might think.

One thing for which I am grateful is God's gracious acceptance of flawed people because He loves them--not because they have measured up to His immaculate standard.  In my personal experience with corporations and workplaces it was always very much, "What have you done for me lately?" rather than trust and mutual respect.  Any favour was a thinly veiled "You Owe Me" rather than "Well done."  Isn't it amazing that we owe God for everything, yet He never once says "You owe me?"  The wise realise we owe Him our lives, all we possess, and can only credit Him for the amazing future He has in store for us.  Just because we can't measure up doesn't mean working to please Him isn't worth it.  We are called to wisely respond to the everlasting love He has extended to us, humbled to be His chosen, adopted child.

With God we are not in a performance-based relationship, yet at the same time faithful servants will be rewarded accordingly.  He entrusts more to those who are faithful in the little things.  Instead of despising the days of small things, we are to be faithful unto the LORD who has provided all things by grace.  Every day is a good day to praise and honour God, the One who has accepted us and is pleased to call us His own even when we fail and fall.  What peace, rest, and comfort is ours by the mercy and grace of God.  God is not proud of us but pleased with us, for ours is a relationship based on love, not performance.

Divine Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is an effective technique in quality film making.  It can take the form of subtle details included towards the beginning of the film which have relevance later.  These intentional clues suggest or point to a future event.  One example which comes to mind is the wedding in the movie The Deer Hunter:  if the bride and groom take a sip of wine and do not spill any, it means good luck.  When I saw the camera zoom in on a couple of drops hitting the white wedding dress, I knew things weren't going to go well.  The next sequence thrusts the viewer into a shocking sequence during the Vietnam War.

Whilst reading this week I came upon a Bible verse which foreshadows what God foreknew.  After Samson told Delilah God was the source of his miraculous strength, and if his hair was cut he would be weak as any other man, she had it done.  When she called out to Samson the Philistines were upon him, he expected to draw upon his supernatural strength at other times.  But he did not know the Holy Spirit had left him, and was easily overcome.  Judges 16:21 says, "Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison."  Samson was cast into darkness without hope, but the following verse gives a glimmer of hope:  "However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven."

In his affliction Samson would turn eyes of faith to God.  He was blinded, bound, and enslaved, but Samson's hair began to grow:  there was hope of restoration to fellowship with and strength from God to overcome his enemies.  Samson had been a judge in Israel for 20 years, but when he pressed on the supporting pillars of the house with all his might he killed more Philistines in one moment then he had in the 20 previous years combined.  The sun rising in the east reminds us of God's mercies which are new every morning, rainbows remind us of the covenant God has made to never again destroy the earth with water, and the regrowth of hair points to a new opportunity to seek God and His strength.

Revival and renewal is daily and seasonal in the world, and by God's grace a continual need in our lives He is faithful to meet.  Samson's hair was shaved and the covenant with God broken, but his hair began to grow again after it was shaved.  Even when we are guilty as sin, there is hope for us if we turn to God in humble repentance and faith.  All hope is not lost if we have God, for the joy of the LORD is our strength.  The resurrected Jesus Christ is awesome foreshadowing of people being raised to new life ultimately in glory for all who trust in Him.

Healthy and Growing

Months ago a large tree was removed from the parkway in front of our house, and a large bare spot was left filled with sand.  It was around that time our neighbour began to prep his lawn for the winter by fertilising it.  I toyed with the idea of feeding my lawn at the time but decided against it.  The area where the tree once stood was mounded and needed to be flattened before installing new turf, and winter wasn't the best time to lay sod (according to my lawn-expert neighbour).  I call him this because the results speak for themselves.  The turf is always green and never will you find a weed in it!

Today I decided to remove some of the dirt to prepare for new sod.  Because I had not fertilised the lawn before winter, every gap in the turf was amazingly filled with many varieties of weeds.  Weeds are most opportunistic.  This practical example demonstrated how the neglect of feeding led to an exponential increase of weeds, and this is true concerning the spiritual life.  The lack of available food caused the turf in my yard to go dormant, and this lack of growth provided an opportunity for weeds to sprout and take over.  When we do not feed often on the Word of God or lack Christian fellowship, our spiritual growth takes a hit.  The best defence for a lawn is a healthy, growing lawn where weeds have no room to take root.  In the same way, efforts to weed out sin without grass which grows leaves gaps weeds ultimately fill.

It is hard work pulling weeds in the hot sun, and unless the space is filled with desirable seed or plants guess what?  The weeds will be back!  If we desire to have a lawn free from weeds it must be fed in the right season, and reading God's Word is always in season for Christians.  Reading and gaining knowledge is not our ultimate end but hearing and obeying the Word of God.  Obedience to Jesus Christ is a key to exponential growth of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.