You can be amazed…if you want.

In righteousness you answer us,

    by your awesome deeds,

    God of our salvation—

    you, who are the security

        of all the far edges of the earth,

        even the distant seas.

    You establish the mountains by your strength;

    you are dressed in raw power.

    You calm the roaring seas;

        calm the roaring waves,

        calm the noise of the nations.

Those who dwell on the far edges

        stand in awe of your acts.

    You make the gateways

        of morning and evening sing for joy.

You visit the earth and make it abundant,

    enriching it greatly

        by God’s stream, full of water.

You provide people with grain

    because that is what you’ve decided.

Drenching the earth’s furrows,

        leveling its ridges,

    you soften it with rain showers;

        you bless its growth.

You crown the year with your goodness;

    your paths overflow with rich food.

Even the desert pastures drip with it,

    and the hills are dressed in pure joy.

The meadowlands are covered with flocks,

    the valleys decked out in grain—

        they shout for joy;

        they break out in song!

~ Psalm 65:5-13, CEB

The Psalms are good at wonder. They're always calling attention to the vastness of creation and everything God did not only to form it but to sustain life day in and day out. That's a theme in the Wisdom Literature- that God actively works to sustain His creation every day. He did not just create it and let it run its course. He makes sure it continues to go. It's almost like how we take care of our cars. They were made, that's all well and good. But they need regular maintenance in order to keep functioning the way they need to so that we can get where we want to go. The Old Testament thinks creation works the same way. God is the mechanic making sure that things keep running the way they're supposed to. And that is a source of great wonder. How does He do it all? Can you imagine how all this came to be? And so on and so on.

It strikes me that this is an incredibly foreign concept for us in this day and age. Everything in our world today has an explanation. We know what creates lightning and thunder. We know about mitochondria and photosynthesis. We know a lot about certain aspects of the brain and how it works and when certain parts light up and when other parts shut down. In fact, we know so much we think we know everything.

It makes wonder impossible. We are not amazed by anything anymore. There's always someone in the corner to say, "Well, you know why that happens?" And then they tell us whether we want them to or not.

And it occurs to me that we're totally out of touch with wonder. This isn't because we actually have everything figured out. It's just because we think we do. For instance, we don't know why depression exists for all the information we have on the brain. It's associated with a lack of serotonin, but this isn't the explanation because we often increase people's serotonin outputs and...they're still depressed. It's a contributor...but it's not the cause. This is a huge theme of our current neuroscience research. We have made many, many, many incredible observations. For all that work, we have identified very, very, few causes.

Given that, we should be able to "do wonder" better. For all we know, there's so much we don't know. This is true of the human body and brain just as it's true of plant and animal life, the environment, the universe, and so on. But- all we talk about is what we know and what we've learned and how it's inevitable that we will, one day, with enough time, figure it all out. And because of that- we don't wonder. Now, here's the thing. I think pursuing understanding is good. I just think we should be a little more humble about it. And, while that is good, I think appreciation for all of the world's mysteries is even better. The trick is, we have to look for them in order to appreciate them.

I asked our crowd on Sunday morning what inspires "wonder" in them. People talked about experiences in nature, learning about the vastness of creation through reading, and seeing the beauty of humanity through their loved ones and other close relationships. The last part really stood out to me, particularly as the father of a young child. I see wonder every day through her eyes. She lights up when she sees a train. When I see a train I'm annoyed because it means I'm going to be delayed. When she sees a bug- she picks it up and wants to examine it. What is this thing? Why is it here? How does it work? Dad- can you believe I just found an inch worm?

I also just wonder at her and everything she thinks to do. I see her run over to check on her friends on the playground when they fall down and get hurt. I see her bring my mom pillows and blankets so she can prop her leg as she recovers from surgery. Can you believe a 4 year old can do that? How does she know to do it? Isn't it amazing?

There's plenty to wonder at- if we can stop long enough to do it. We don't even need to look past the people in our own lives who will always and continually amaze us- if we'll let them. But that's the thing- we have to be looking for it.

So, I ask you:

What do you want to notice this week? What do you want to be prepared to be amazed by?

God is the hero. We are observers.

Hebrews 11:1-2 The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. The Message

It's our handle on what we cannot see...

Everyone I know goes through things that do not make sense. A child who refuses to stop acting up and now faces a judge where she will answer for her misdeeds. A medical diagnosis without a clear outcome. Addiction. Mental health challenges. The pandemic. So much does not make sense in this world. If we are going to find meaning and purpose in it, we will need to get a handle on what lies beneath the obvious distress and chaos of the world we live in today.

Heroes of the faith are often surprising and unlikely folks who God chooses for reasons beyond my comprehension. So it is possible, I reason, that the kid who is going to have to explain to a judge why he did such a dumb a** thing might also one day...any day now...be plucked out of the sea of humanity by God to do something heroic. I of course do not count on this, but I NEVER discount it either.

This is not toxic positivity - no one will ever accuse me of being too positive! This is simply my experience with God. The news is not all good. It does not mitigate the defeats and discouragement of living in a world where none of us lives up to our potential all of the time or even most of the time. We're a messy mix - just like all those heroes we've been studying in Hebrews 11. That same kid is as likely to go out and do another dumb thing three days before he is due to get off probation for the previous dumb thing he did. This is life with humans.

It turns out that being godly does not equal getting what we want or even hope for. At the conclusion of Hebrews 11, it says this: Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours. (verses 39-20, The Message)

I wish that all our prayers had happy outcomes. I know now, at my advanced age, that prayer is not about getting what I ask for. It is about acknowledging that I am not God. And that "God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours."

I pray daily that the someones I know who are caught up in addiction would go to treatment and find healing. But that is not always the outcome. So here's what we do. Maybe we help the spouse with the small children who have lost their primary breadwinner to SUD. Maybe when there is a crisis we care where we can in very practical ways - without having to craft a snappy and perky response to suffering or explain the circumstances in ways that somehow make God sounds like only good things come to those who pray - because that is NOT TRUE. We cannot cure all diseases or solve all the problems, but we can babysit, bring food, help someone navigate this crazy world with support. Does any of this answer our specific prayers? Does it keep our kid out of juvie? No, sadly, it may not. But by faith, the kingdom of God is here amongst us...God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours.

We believe in God when we believe in his plan - that our faith comes together to make one completed whole - our lives are not complete without being part of the lives of others. It is just that simple and hard. This is what makes us heroic. This is how we know that we are living full lives of meaning and purpose. We are NOT heroic because we get everything right, we are heroic because we trust in things we do not see and keep showing up for others so that their faith and ours can come together to make a completed whole. This takes courage; fortitude; hard work; sacrifice...all. the. things. But this is what heroes look like. May you find a way to be heroic today!

Why did God become flesh?

Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people. The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:12-16, CEB

Why did God become flesh? This question sounds like the setup for the most boring joke ever written.

We’re going to take a break from our Heroes series to say a word or two, or 500-1000, on Easter. Well, maybe this question has more to do with Christmas. Easter and Christmas combined really. We can’t really say much about the resurrection without talking about God’s mission.  

One thing we keep saying over and over in our heroes series is that the Bible is not the story of a bunch of heroes doing great things. It’s the story of God working through people to bring about His ideal version of His creation. Creation will one day perfectly embody God’s vision for human life- meaning that all life will be defined by God’s grace, mercy, acceptance, forgiveness, patience, and so on (feel free to add in whatever attributes are important to you). 

Sometimes people have a rather large part to play in God’s story. Sometimes individual people have a rather large part to play in God’s story. We tend to call these people heroes. But it’s significant that their lives are often chaotic and messy because this is what points us to who is really doing the work, God. We’ve made this point so many times at this point it’s quite likely that if you hear it again you’ll throw up. So let me say another word or two about God’s work. Here’s the story of the Bible in a rather large nutshell.

God creates everything there is and allows all of his creation the freedom to explore life. This freedom comes with choices, people can live in imitation of God or not as they see fit. Early on, all of humanity acts like one big group of hormonal teenagers who are given the keys to a car for the first time. They’re wide open. They go everywhere and do anything. In the process, the idea of God becomes lost in ideas about gods and so many different ways of life are invented that people, on the whole, don’t know who the one true God is or what it would look like to live according to His values. 

God then decides to use a small group of people, beginning with Abraham, later the nation of Israel, later the Hebrew people, later the Jews, to reintroduce Himself to creation. So this group of people, by virtue of how they live, is supposed to point others to God. He protects them and provides for them, pulls them out of slavery, and promises to give them a land they can call home so they can stop living the life of a nomad. They can have consistent food and water. They can plant deep roots. They can be safe and secure. 

It’s often thought that this group was exclusive. That God chose Israel and excluded others. This is not the case. There are plenty of examples in the Old Testament where God includes Gentiles in His plans. Israel was a starting point, not the end game. The end game is that all will come to know God through Israel. 

Israel does some things well and some things poorly along the way, when it comes to showing the world who God is. Sometimes they remember their call- to model God’s love for the world to see- and other times not. For instance, God, for hundreds of years, begs the people to care for the poor, the widows, and the orphans among them, and to worship Him alone. And they don’t do it. So, after hundreds of years, God allows His people to be carried out of the land which was their home, and into exile elsewhere. In the process, some of the people were left behind- and they are referred to as the remnant. God’s people are to be reborn from this remnant. From those left behind. 

There is quite a gap of time in the Bible following the end of the exile, the beginning of a new era of God’s people, and the arrival of Jesus. But- here is the purpose of Jesus. God enters the flesh to live among us to be the perfect Israel. Jesus completes Israel’s mission to demonstrate to the world God’s vision for human life. Jesus is the perfect Israel. A person who perfectly demonstrates God’s way of seeing. And as that vision is perfected, it then spreads to all people across the world. 

We have talked at length over the years about how God’s plan is to create a new reality, aka the Kingdom of God, that perfectly demonstrates God’s values and His desires for human life. That is what we hope for. And, it’s not just that. His work is not just to create this place. It’s to gather all people together in this place. 

I was talking to a friend this week. He’s from Singapore- now living in Australia and planting a church there. His church is small, about 30 people, and they’re from all over the world. And he said to me, “You know, we are 30 people who shouldn’t have anything to do with one another if it weren’t for God.” 

I believe what he meant was, they couldn’t be more different. They speak different languages, they come from different cultures, they don’t always understand each other- whether that’s verbally or their behavior or their customs. But God has drawn them together because that is, ultimately, God’s plan: To bring all people together. To live a common life dedicated to mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love. 

Our differences will not define us and they will not separate us, will not tear us apart. They will be a part of us, but not the most significant part, because the most significant part will be our identity as children of God, drawn together by His love. 

And so when we talk about God’s plan- this is what we mean. God’s plan is not so concerned with whether you get to the bus stop on time or whether you said your prayers at the appropriate time of day or whether you were able to stay out of trouble. You can’t stop God’s plan either. Whether you got yourself into trouble, or if you were the victim of something unspeakable, or if you just can’t stop doing the thing you keep promising to stop doing. 

None of that stops God’s plan- to draw all people together by His love. You can’t stop it. He has already come for you. And his work continues now and it will continue long after each of us is gone. It started with one person and has spread to many.

Human Limitations Don’t Stop God

I have crisis fatigue. I could make a big long list of all the things that have transpired in the last few years and we'd (shockingly) mostly agree that we've had a lot of crises as a collective group of people. But my crisis fatigue is personal. Since January, when I was diagnosed with cancer, there have been a series of cascading complications that have worn me out. So when I tell you that I am grateful to be alive to talk about Rahab, the only female explicitly called out as heroic in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews - I am not being hyperbolic. I am grateful to be alive. And, I think a couple brushes with death within a few weeks of one another can be a life-changing experience, not just a challenging one. Time will tell if it has changed me much, but as I have studied Rahab, I suspect my new perspective on life and its fragility is certainly shaping my experience of her. There is a new sense of urgency stirring my spirit, aware of the small blink of time granted each of us in this life.

Rahab was a biblical character that had three strikes against her: 1. She was a Canaanite (the equivalent of being brought up on the wrongest of the wrong side of the tracks). 2. She was a female (we have historically placed less value on the female gender and this was certainly true during her lifetime) and 3. She was a working girl (a profession judged harshly even today). None of that is good news for Rahab.

But it turns out, most importantly perhaps, that Rahab is good news for some spies. Please do not miss my point here. We can be good news for someone else, even if we have three strikes against us. We can be good news in spite of living in a world that calls us bad news. Perhaps, we can be good news BECAUSE we know what it is like to be bad news - to have a series of cascading events change your life. And maybe, it is especially important to notice this because...there is a chance that if our life has never needed transformation, it will be awfully hard for us to show up for people who need support in their time of need. (I could argue that we all have these moments, so no one is left out. No one has it too easy. But I do believe that some of us fail to seize the moment to lean in and choose to be good news for someone else - especially if we feel like our bad news somehow makes it impossible for us to be valued or valuable.)

In Joshua 2 (a good read), Joshua sends two men to spy on a land God has already promised to Joshua and his tribe. Who knows why they "entered the house of a prostitute"? Was there no room at the end? Did they choose their away-from-home time to perhaps indulge in a bit of tomfoolery? Did God guide them there because he knew Rahab would be a sympathetic ally within the walls of the enemy? I do not know.

Rahab is not your average working girl; she is the head of her household. The extended family in her household consists of her parents, siblings, and “all who belong” to her parents and siblings (2:13, cf. 2:18; 6:22-23), presumably nieces and nephews and possibly servants. The household was the most numerous unit of society in ancient Israel. When Rahab and her family survive the conquest of Jericho, they become part of the nation Israel, a system of tribes not city states (like Jericho). Her household as the site of female authority is incorporated into the new order of things. It does not become wildly normative, but it is one step. And it is clearly honored in Hebrews 11. Rahab saves the spies from capture and strikes a bargain in the deal. She gets a get-out-of-annihilation-free card from the two spies. As a result, it could be argued that Rahab becomes both the midwife and the mother to Israel in its beginnings in Canaan. Rahab has a special function in the biblical narratives of Israel’s existence in the land. She is a prophet as she brings a divine message and literally assists Israel's occupation of a new land.

That's the background - now, what's the point?

Rahab has 3 strikes but no one can revoke her choice to take responsibility for her life and the life of those she loves. She pays attention; she learns things; she is alert and strategic; she is a leader in the way she conducts herself and engages in the world. She saves her family as a result and ends up in the lineage of Jesus - one of only a few women mentioned in Jesus' lineage in Matthew 1 - an unheard of thing, usually it was just the men included in geneologies. She is a leader in a world that told her she could not lead. Some people just make natural leaders - it's a personality thing, or an entitlement thing. But everyone is a leader somewhere. And Rahab owned what was hers to do when the moment of opportunity arose for her to take action. You are a leader. And there is a lot at stake for someone, not just you, but others as well, in terms of whether or not you are willing to own and take responsibility for the fact that you are human, and as such, part of God's plan to bless others. Save others. Make a difference.

All the wisdom in the world is of no value without courage. And all of us will need to "talk back" to our limitations. How can we do that? By realizing that this is God's story and not our soap opera. The world will happily agree with the fact that we have limitations - I do not know why this is, but people love to point out what's wrong. But here's the thing. We must have courage to not fall victim to this idea that our limitations are more special than God's presence. He says in Joshua 1 - "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9. There is a difference between feeling fear and discouragement versus adopting fear and discouragement as a core value and guiding light in our life. We ALL feel afraid and discouraged. But what God is reminding Joshua of, and what it seems to me that Rahab always knew is this: there is a lot at stake here, and we cannot allow ourselves to sink into the easier way of giving up and making excuses for ourselves to not show up for our lives. I know you have limitations; I have limitations. We all have limitations - we have legitimate fears and reasons to be discouraged, but here's the thing and it is super important. None of that is the point.

At the close of Hebrews 11 Paul says this, "These were all commended for their faith, yet one of them received what had been promised (meaning, I think, that they did not get to see God's work completed). God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." We are a tiny piece of a big puzzle, but a puzzle missing one piece is a sad state of affairs. So when you are tempted to think about your limitations, I would point to Rahab as a life of inspiration. And I would ask you, for the sake of those whose own future depends on your leadership - do your work. Remember as she did who God is and what he is up to. And participate in that.

Joseph was a Technicolor Dream Boat

This past Sunday morning (April 3)- we talked about Jospeh as part of our series on the heroes of faith. In case you don’t remember the story of Joseph- here’s a few highlights. 

• Joseph was favored by his father- and this made Joseph’s brothers jealous. This kind of thing offends modern readers- we’re not supposed to have favorites, we all say. But, then again, we probably all realize we have stronger bonds with some people than others, including parents and children. We all tell ourselves, the love is the same, the relationship is just different. This is probably that kind of thing.

• Joseph has visions of his own greatness, and reports this to his already jealous brothers who get so angry they beat him, through him in a well, sell him into slavery, and tell their father he died.

• While living as a slave, Joseph becomes a trusted household manager of his owner/lord. He’s a hand young buck and his presence is a temptation to his lord’s wife. She propositions Joseph and Joseph, being the chaste young man he is, refuses her advances. She tells her husband Joseph propositioned her (a lie), and Joseph is thrown in jail.

  But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love.

  ~ Genesis 39:21

• While in jail (remember, he’s not only in jail, he’s also still a slave), Joseph begins to interpret dreams of those around him. He’s not just interpreting dreams- but he’s having visions of the future, he’s foreseeing things that actually happen. Pretty special. Word spreads and he is given the opportunity to interpret dreams for the Pharaoh, who is basically king of Egypt. Joseph is able to foresee, through interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams, a coming famine and is able to prepare Egypt for it by building up a surplus so that they can handle the famine in stride.

  God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes.

  ~ Genesis 41:52

• Ironically, this brings his brothers to Egypt because they live in a place that wasn’t able to prepare for the famine so they come to negotiate for some food. Joseph toys around with the brothers- as he recognizes them, but not the other way around. He humiliates them in various ways, some of them are briefly locked up, and so on. In other words, he’s enjoying his position and getting a bit of payback. No major harm is caused- but he probably scared the mess out of them.

• Ultimately Joseph tells his family who he is and invites them to live with him in Egypt where they can live without worry for food.

  God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

  ~ Genesis 45:7-8

• Joseph provides for his family, and, following the death of their father, fully reconciles with his brothers- assuring them that it’s not his place to judge them or hold them accountable for what they’ve done- this is God’s work.

• His story closes with with him telling his brothers that God will remain faithful to the promise that He made to Abraham, to take them out of the land where they’re enslaved and into a new land.

The Story of God

Last week we talked about how these stories are never the stories of people they are the story of God. And, we talked about the fact that, more often than not, the stories of biblical heroes are the stories of God using incredibly messy people to bring about his kingdom (a new reality defined by God’s grace, forgiveness, mercy, and love). 

This story is not how many of the stories go when it comes to biblical heroes. It’s not the story of an incredibly complicated and messy person. Joseph is only slightly complicated- wrestling with resentment and forgiveness, but ultimately doing an honorable thing. And, even so, this story is not the story of Joseph. It’s the story of God preserving the very tiny group of people that he has created to make himself known in the world.

God is in relationship with Israel so that Israel might be a light to the nations. God makes himself known to Israel so that the rest of the world may know God through Israel. This mission started small- like a mustard seed, with a single family, beginning with Abraham and Sarah, passing down to Jacob (also called Israel), and now to Joseph. God remains faithful to this family and carries them through all kinds of hardship because this is how God is going to make himself know to the world. And where God is known, good things happen: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Hope, mercy, forgiveness, and so on. Without this small, seemingly insignificant family, who grow into an entire people group, God is not known. The world does not experience His presence.

It’s easy to be distracted by the heroes. To compare ourselves. To ask if we live up to the standard, and so on. To shame ourselves for the ways in which we don’t. This is why it is such good news that the Bible is the story of God and not the story of people. 

In Sunday school, they tell you this is the story of how you persevere in hard times. It’s how you trust God to provide at your darkest hour, and so on. These may be powerful messages and important ones to grab onto, at times, but they are not what this story is about. This story is about how God preserves one man who can’t take care of himself so that God can continue his long mission of transforming the world into a place that perfectly models what He cares about most. 

Our job, as people of faith, is not to tell our own story it’s to tell the story of God. And we don’t necessarily do this by telling stories- we do this by refusing to evaluate ourselves and others. We do this by offering kindness, gentleness, and hope. We extend forgiveness where we can. We leave the judgment to God, and focus on these small things which are our mission. 

You do not need to be a Joseph to be a faithful follower of God. You don’t need to be somebody who is so “good” in the face of so much tragedy, who preserves in the face of so many obstacles, and so on and so on.

The call is far simpler- you’re called to be a decent human being. Decent to yourself, to others, and to God. And you absolutely have what it takes.