I know. The character of this work is not a “man” and seems to go at odds with the title “Men of Integrity”. Like I mentioned in the last note, I use the term “Men of Integrity” in a sensationalized way. It has resonated with me and I have been pregnant with the thought for some years now as I had said—almost four years. When I started this, I had thought that some of my female friends would be upset with the use of the term “Men” implying some chauvinism on my part. I am glad that such has not been the case [at least not openly so]. As I try to put this piece together I know I run the risk of offending someone because clearly Mary is not a man. But risking the tendency to be misunderstood, I do admit that with each passing birthday, I worry less about offending someone. I sincerely hope I am not misunderstood but sometimes I think such is inevitable.
Nevertheless, as I was thinking some more of this series, I thought it would be worthwhile to consider possibly the most famous woman of Scripture—Mary, the mother of Jesus. I was walking in contemplative thought today. Honestly, it’s a blessed exercise to walk and meditate on glorious thoughts. Seriously, how else can I get the thought of how cold it is from my fragile mind? But anyway, in the spirit of Christmas just past, I was thinking of this female character and again she taught me several lessons as revealed in Scripture.
A little side note about Mary. I am in no way Catholic by denomination. As a matter of fact, I am willing to accept the term “Protestant” to indicate that I am not Catholic. Outside of the term “Christian”, I can think of only two other labels I choose to identify myself as—Evangelical and Protestant—and lately, the former is becoming a label I am getting less fond of. I share this to emphasize that I am in no way Catholic by denomination [or as some might call the denominations in Christendom—abomination]. But I think that we Protestants sometimes lose sight of the truth that the Catholics have seemingly heightened i.e. that this Mary is a blessed figure. I think every Christian needs to read the whole chapters of Luke 1 & 2 on Christmas [I know that if blessed with a family, this is my intention]. Clearly Elizabeth *by the Holy Spirit* [and this is significant because we are sure that her words are a truth from God directly] says “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear”—Luke 1: 42. Then Mary herself presumably filled with the Holy Spirit confesses: “From now on all generations will call me blessed”—Luke 1: 48. You know the irony of all this? The phrase “all generations shall call me blessed” is similar to that used in the Old Testament as a Messianic prophecy of Jesus in earthly glory where the Psalmist tells us: “His name shall endure for ever…all nations shall call him blessed”—Psalm 72: 17. I am in no way elevating Mary to the level of our Lord but the recognition given her by the Scriptures is quite unique is my point. But why is this so? Let’s back track to back six months before this pronouncement where I learned lesson # 1.
Nine months before Christmas when the Annunciation to Mary occurred by the Angel [which is more than likely about December 25, but I will not go into why I believe this to be so here—contact me if you wish to know], the humble virgin is visited by a Divine messenger. You know the story but let me go to lesson #1 found in Mary’s response: “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word”—Luke 1: 38. It is that same ideal that was exemplified by John the Baptist—“He must increase and I must decrease”; by the Lord of Life himself: “not my will but yours be done”. Here is found the significant lesson of a humble girl—Be it unto me, according to thy word. I suppose, then, that Surrender precedes Success.
Fast forward to twelve years later for lesson number two. Jesus is missing and alas where else would he be but in the Temple. It is highly significant to me that in the whole episode as recorded by Luke, the Evangelist, Joseph remains the dormant character. Mary seems to be the one at the forefront. The last verse of this chapter records the significance of Jesus but the penultimate verse is where I find lesson # 2: “but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart”—Luke 2: 51. Here, the sayings are the sayings of Jesus that she treasured and kept in her heart. May I suggest that we treasure up the words of the Lord in our hearts and learn in the humility of Mary that truth can be found even in the lessons from children?
G.K. Chesterton said that he learned more about God from children than from some of the great thinking philosophers. He said “the power of God’s infinity is manifested in his power to exalt in the monotonous”. What does the child say when you tickle him? “Do it again”; when you throw her up in the air and catch her? “Do it again”; what do you think God says to the sun every morning? That’s right—Do it again!
As I interact with children, I see this more and more. On New Year’s Eve while at a friend’s place, I witnessed the innocence and purity of a child; last year I obtained lessons from a 7 year old. You know we adults sometimes can be very selfish and self-absorbed. The child at the New Years Eve event wanted to play with me and joke with me and all I could think about was how I wanted to spend time with the more meaningful adults. Yet in his actions, I could see a peace and joy; a contentment and pleasure that I am not sure was evident in some of the adults present nor in myself. Can I suggest to you that you be willing to learn about God from even little children?
So there you have it. Two poignant lessons from the woman that birth the Son of God. Lesson # 1: Surrender is temporarily prior to Success. Lesson # 2: some of the lessons of God come from children and we should be willing to humble ourselves to see that. Keep these two lessons in mind as the year goes and be blessed by the mother through whom out blessed Lord chose to enter this world.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Men of Intergrity [Elijah]
I will start a series of blog posts on reflections of some Scriptural characters and persons whom I think have taught [and are yet teaching me] a few things in this spiritual journey to be more like Christ. They might not be regularly spaced but I will try to do so. I have entitled the name of this series *Men of Integrity* not to be sexist but because I recall in my Freshman year of Undergraduate education that a fellow Christian, Bryan Becker, affiliated with the Campus Crusade for Christ group in my undergraduate education used such a name to spur us youthful men unto lives on integrity. I knew that I would like to do something with that term in future and apparently 2008 [some four years later] has become the year to use it. I might, as the time proceeds, delve into the lives of female characters of Scripture as well [I must admit at present, I have no female lined up at present in my studies. If anyone would like to suggest one that could teach me a thing or two, please share]. With these preliminary thoughts, we can proceed to the character in focus today—Elijah.
I’ve always found Elijah’s origins to be interesting. Scripture describes him as “Elijah the Tishbite”. There’s something that sounds great about “Tishbite” and maybe “Eyo the Tishbite” could make me somewhat more significant than “Eyo the Nigerian” but I digress. Elijah’s story is found beginning in the Book of 1st Kings 17-2nd Kings 2 [It’s not a long read, you can finish it in one sitting—maybe 30 minutes]. You see, what was significant about Elijah was not his origin but his caliber. He was a type of man with evidently bulging spiritual muscles. He stood before and challenged 450 prophets of Baal and mocked them. They were to prepare a sacrifice on an altar and call on the gods to cause the sacrifice to burn. If Baal was “the God”, then Baal’s prophets would invoke him to burn the bull with success. Conversely, if Yahweh was “the God” then the bull will be barbecued when Elijah called on Him. As a gentleman, Elijah didn’t need to flip a coin—he gave the Prophets of Baal the lead position.
From morning until noon, these folks [the Prophets] called out to Baal without success. At noon, Elijah decided to display some entertainment. What is recorded next must be one of the most comical scenes in Holy Writ. The NIV renders it thus:
“At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention”—1 Kings 18: 27-29.
You know, I can relate to Elijah here. I would like to take on some of those antagonistic to the holy God of Israel. I would like to taunt them and laugh at them in derision to show forth a moral code outside the framework of godly reference; to provide hope for the dead from a purely naturalistic framework and to provide meaning and significance to humanity outside of the intrinsic value of the “inalienable rights” from the Creator. After the failure of Baal’s Prophets Elijah steps onto the stage with his spiritual muscles and teaches me lesson number 1, which I quote from Scripture:
“At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."—1 Kings 18: 36, 37
The lesson summarized is this—The Glory is the Lord’s and The Goal is the Lord’s Glory [Eyo step out of it].
Next, I also go on to lesson number two given a few verses later. So Yahweh answers Elijah, barbecues the bull and Elijah slaughters the Prophets of Baal. But 9 verse after this, scripture records these words: “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life”—1 Kings 19: 3. You see, Elijah had just had a spiritual victory and feared for his life because of Jezebel’s threat. [Someday I might look into this character Jezebel. Suffice it to say she was so scary a figure that Elijah preferred death than a confrontation with her]. Lesson number 2, therefore is this—Beyond every spiritual victory, might be an awaiting sense of despair so beware [especially for those in ministry]. This resonates with me again because I find [as maybe some of you do] that some of the unholy thoughts come to mind when I have just had a God-me time; some of the emptiest times come after I have shared the Gospel and some of the lowest emotions come after I have won the argument. Recently, I have learnt that the day of the week most quitting Pastors quit is Monday—right after dishing out the spiritual truth on Sunday. The more I experience the Christian Life, the healthier the respect I have for this consideration.
In conclusion, I have learnt two short, yet poignant things from Elijah as I hope you will through your own walk. Lesson #1: The Glory is the Lord’s and The Goal is the Lord’s Glory. Lesson #2: Beyond every spiritual victory , might be awaiting a sense of despair so beware.
I’ve always found Elijah’s origins to be interesting. Scripture describes him as “Elijah the Tishbite”. There’s something that sounds great about “Tishbite” and maybe “Eyo the Tishbite” could make me somewhat more significant than “Eyo the Nigerian” but I digress. Elijah’s story is found beginning in the Book of 1st Kings 17-2nd Kings 2 [It’s not a long read, you can finish it in one sitting—maybe 30 minutes]. You see, what was significant about Elijah was not his origin but his caliber. He was a type of man with evidently bulging spiritual muscles. He stood before and challenged 450 prophets of Baal and mocked them. They were to prepare a sacrifice on an altar and call on the gods to cause the sacrifice to burn. If Baal was “the God”, then Baal’s prophets would invoke him to burn the bull with success. Conversely, if Yahweh was “the God” then the bull will be barbecued when Elijah called on Him. As a gentleman, Elijah didn’t need to flip a coin—he gave the Prophets of Baal the lead position.
From morning until noon, these folks [the Prophets] called out to Baal without success. At noon, Elijah decided to display some entertainment. What is recorded next must be one of the most comical scenes in Holy Writ. The NIV renders it thus:
“At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention”—1 Kings 18: 27-29.
You know, I can relate to Elijah here. I would like to take on some of those antagonistic to the holy God of Israel. I would like to taunt them and laugh at them in derision to show forth a moral code outside the framework of godly reference; to provide hope for the dead from a purely naturalistic framework and to provide meaning and significance to humanity outside of the intrinsic value of the “inalienable rights” from the Creator. After the failure of Baal’s Prophets Elijah steps onto the stage with his spiritual muscles and teaches me lesson number 1, which I quote from Scripture:
“At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."—1 Kings 18: 36, 37
The lesson summarized is this—The Glory is the Lord’s and The Goal is the Lord’s Glory [Eyo step out of it].
Next, I also go on to lesson number two given a few verses later. So Yahweh answers Elijah, barbecues the bull and Elijah slaughters the Prophets of Baal. But 9 verse after this, scripture records these words: “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life”—1 Kings 19: 3. You see, Elijah had just had a spiritual victory and feared for his life because of Jezebel’s threat. [Someday I might look into this character Jezebel. Suffice it to say she was so scary a figure that Elijah preferred death than a confrontation with her]. Lesson number 2, therefore is this—Beyond every spiritual victory, might be an awaiting sense of despair so beware [especially for those in ministry]. This resonates with me again because I find [as maybe some of you do] that some of the unholy thoughts come to mind when I have just had a God-me time; some of the emptiest times come after I have shared the Gospel and some of the lowest emotions come after I have won the argument. Recently, I have learnt that the day of the week most quitting Pastors quit is Monday—right after dishing out the spiritual truth on Sunday. The more I experience the Christian Life, the healthier the respect I have for this consideration.
In conclusion, I have learnt two short, yet poignant things from Elijah as I hope you will through your own walk. Lesson #1: The Glory is the Lord’s and The Goal is the Lord’s Glory. Lesson #2: Beyond every spiritual victory , might be awaiting a sense of despair so beware.
Welcome to the Blogging Experience
I have just gotten a blog site to begin blogging my thoughts and I guess archiving some of them in cyberspace. This should prove exciting and we'll see how well it goes. Any suggestion from you would be appreciated. I probably will focus mainly on things going on in my Life and Faith issues. I am a Christian and very definitely interested in the reasonable and reasoned defense of the Christian Gospel as found in Christ because I am completely persuade that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life as He claimed. Any criticism is welcome.
Thank you.
Thank you.
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