When my husband and I start getting excited about some new endeavor, we get carried away talking about the plans and one of us will quote a one liner that we got from the movie True Stories, “I personally believe I can see Fort Worth from here.”  It’s kind of obscure as far as jokes go, but we’re poking fun at the way our imagination starts to wander–as though saying what we’ll do makes it so.  Unlike this quip, these verses in 2 Corinthians are saying we are something new and what we had been is now gone.  This is a claim that seems unbelievable.

Romans tells us that Christ reconciled himself to us while we were still sinners.  He took the initiative to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves while we were still his enemies.  Christ came full of mercy, grace and forgiveness and because of what Jesus has done, those who follow him are right with God.  We are in a process of discipleship, which involves following him in this by helping others become reconciled.  We are to live and interact from the perspective of what we are becoming instead of who we have been.  So how is this different from working to please God?  In the beginning of this passage we are declared a new creation–we are given a new life before we have a chance to “earn” it.  We respond to that gift by allowing him to re-order our priorities and transform our lives.

The Christian life is a process.  We make mistakes, we fail to live up to expectations, we hurt other people and have trouble forgiving when others hurt us.  So how do we really live like this?  In addition to spiritual disciplines, we need the support of the Christian community.  Ideally this would be a source of encouragement, advise, challenge and love.  It’s in this atmosphere that the difficult aspects of life can be shared and worked through.  That can be a tall order because it’s nice to know ahead of time if that support will be there before making ourselves vulnerable.  If we can get to a place where we humbly give and receive support we not only help others grow closer to God but we ourselves will grow, we not only help others become reconciled to God but we become more reconciled to God in the process.

Let us believe what is written here about what God has done.  Let us respond in humility and participate in this great calling inasmuch as we’re able.

By faith we wait for the hope of righteousness.  When I think of faithfulness I usually think of the ways in which I’m not faithful.  For some reason the word immediately draws my attention away from the concept of grace to the opposite concept of looking at my failures.  This reveals that I have a faulty idea of what faithfulness is, because these verses are saying we do not become justified by works, but the only thing that matters is faith working itself out in love.

In looking at this topic I realized that my assessment of my own faithfulness is based on what I’ve done or what I’m doing.  Instead I should be looking down the horizon at what God is transforming me into.  What’s the difference?  Assessing what I’m doing creates an internal pressure to do more or at least to maintain my level of perceived righteousness.  The actions that might have started in sincerity quickly turn into a self focused treadmill of good works.  If I look at the horizon toward what God has promised he will transform me into, I then keep a healthy understanding that God is the one doing the transforming and I’m cooperating with him.  This can be seen here in the few words that can be easily skimmed over, “For through the Spirit, by faith…”  Because I don’t understand how this works I move right past it and yet this is the lynchpin.  The Holy Spirit is working in and with us to cause this transformation.  This process is what is known as our sanctification.

Sometimes when I’m walking down the sidewalk my son wants us to walk without stepping on any cracks.  We do this laughing and pointing out when each other misses and steps on a crack.  Walking this way is fun for about a minute and then it’s almost dizzying to walk looking straight down at our feet.  Not to mention you can only walk at a snails pace doing this.  And this is like our life.  As we walk through life, if we’re constantly analyzing the minutiae of what we want to avoid it’s like trying not to step on cracks in the sidewalk.  It’s not possible, it’s not efficient and it’s not enjoyable.  If we look toward our goal it’s still possible to avoid tripping over things blocking our way and it’s the way we are meant to walk, looking ahead toward the horizon.  To bring the metaphor back to real life, we want to look at our goal and not at the ways in which we fail.  And we know what the goal of this process is–it’s found just a few verses later in Galatians.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.   Galatians 5:22-23

We are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus himself and as that happens these qualities will become more prominent in our lives.  How does this transformation happen?  I think there are many things that God uses to bring about our sanctification but certainly spending time in prayer is a huge piece of the puzzle.  Our relationship with God is a relationship which is cultivated over time and we need to put in the time.  I know I spend the most time praying when something difficult is taking place in my life.  As I look back those are also the times when I gained more perspective or developed a better understanding for God’s love for me and for other people.  Difficult times will come and go but we don’t have to wait for those times before we build a relationship with God.  By getting to know him we will get to know his love more intimately.  By knowing his love we will experience the grace needed to face the areas in our lives where we need to grow.  When we bring those areas to God he will then empower us by his love and grace to grow and as we do, we will understand his love for us and others even more.  This whole cyclical process is where we will find faithfulness.  Mostly it’s God’s faithfulness to us, but it’s also where we can exercise our faithfulness to God by his grace.

Let’s keep our eyes on the goal and not on our failures.  By God’s grace, let us be faithful to the calling.

Very truly, I tell you, whoever receives one whom I send receives me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.

This preamble to the washing of the disciples feet starts out with a lot of subtext.  It says Jesus is aware that his hour has come, he will soon be crucified.  Then the verses move on to say that the devil had already entered Judas to incite him to betray Jesus.  Then the passage goes back to Jesus reflecting on who he is, his mission and his relationship with God.  All of that being said, he then washes the disciples feet–including Judas.  That piece can get lost in the mix because it’s easy to focus in on the interaction Jesus has with Peter here, but Judas is there.

Something inside of me wants this to not be how it went down.  I’d like to see the whole foot washing happen when it’s emotionally safe, when Judas has already left and Jesus isn’t humbling himself to the trusted person who will betray him just hours later. As it is, this set up disturbs me, but having Judas receive that gift is something we should look at full in the face.

We also start out as enemies of God and when Jesus gives us new life, he meets us where we are.  This is where the parallel breaks away because Judas didn’t follow Jesus, but what I want to look at is not Judas’ life, but rather Jesus and the humility he shows in the incarnational way he comes to us.  Sometimes our own personal distance from God doesn’t seem that bad or it doesn’t seem like we’re actually opposing God, but it’s a condition we could never overcome on our own.

We need Jesus to bring his mercy to us and it should be no less startling of a picture than Jesus washing the feet of Judas.  This act gives us a picture of what God’s mercy really is, it gives us a picture that helps us to reflect on the dire nature of our situation.  When we look at this Jesus, it should fill us with confidence and gratitude.  Confidence because “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  And gratitude because “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Sometimes it’s tempting to use the Bible like a “Christianity for Dummies” book that has a step by step guide on how to do Christianity.  We can’t do Christianity that way.  The Bible is more like a really long letter from a person who’s rescuing us and who loves us. When people use the Bible like a car manual, this is one of their favorite verses because its so plain and there are clear instructions that are so easy to foll……  Wait a minute—this is one of the most difficult instructions in the Bible to actually follow (aside from “be perfect like my heavenly father is perfect”).

At times I’ve experienced real “insomnia producing” anxiety and have had people glibbly dole this verse out to me like they don’t know why I haven’t already invoked this solution.  Like this verse is the rule to follow and my anxiety makes me the breaker of the rule and on top of everything else, I should be corrected.  Spouting this verse out of context to those in need is like giving a bandaid to an amputee.

I do believe this verse is true and good and has great value to us here and now, but not just as a set of instructions on how to ward off anxiety or as a rule we can follow and then check it off our to do list.  The next part of this section “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” isn’t simply a means to the peaceful end we desire, because that would miss the greater call.

These verses describe the kind of relationship we can have with God.  We can tell him anything and everything and should—not as a rule, but because our relationship with him is that intimate.  This relationship will bring us an increasing amount of peace as the relationship grows to a place where we become more thankful and more willing to go to God with all our struggles and needs.  Like any relationship this will develop over time.

We can’t drum up peace of mind by following rules.  I know—I’ve tried.  When we pray to God, let’s start where we are and we’ll see God meet us there in gentleness and love with his incomprehensible peace.

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.  God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 11:39 – 12:1-2, NIV

This list of notable Bible characters comes at the end of a whole chapter in Hebrews of how these people lived and died for their faith in God.  The writer then talks about how we are surrounded by this “cloud of witnesses” and because of that we should also follow God faithfully.

Why would this cause us to want to put aside every sin if we weren’t already inclined to do that?  Maybe we would be embarrassed by the thought of our sin in light of their example and try harder.  This wasn’t a group of perfect people, but faithful people.  I think there’s more to this section than just “they did it, so you can too.”

Looking at the verses right before the encouragement to throw off everything that hinders, they were commended for their faith, they didn’t receive what had been promised and only together with us would they be made perfect.  I think there’s an encouragement in here that even though life may get challenging, painful or even if we fail outright, we’re not left in the dust.  To use a different analogy, the dinner won’t start until everyone in the family is seated at the table.

I think this section of Hebrews is not meant to threaten (we’re watching you!) as much as it’s meant to give hope (we’re waiting for you!).  We can trust that Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, has already finished the work.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…how then shall we live?

“If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!  There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Exodus 16:3, NIV

Why didn’t those silly Hebrews see God’s provision ahead of time?  Of course God wouldn’t suddenly abandon them.  Of course Moses was God’s chosen man—it’s Moses for goodness sakes.  In our shortsightedness we might not stop to think that any of us would be in a state of utter panic in that circumstance.

The Lord’s Prayer has the sentence “give us this day our daily bread.” As I’ve said that prayer, I’ve believed that I trust God for my daily bread, but getting bread daily isn’t really an issue for me.  I’ve always had good jobs that allow me not only to get my daily bread, but to have it stocked up for a whole month in advance.  How would I know if I was trusting God for my needs or not?  I’m meeting them just fine on my own.  I assume I’m trusting God because I acknowledge his provision when I have more than enough.  Would my trust level change if my cabinets were empty?  I think that the degree of panic I experience in times of need shows me how much I was really trusting myself in times of plenty.  When the Hebrews started to experience that panic, God answered them.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you.  The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day.  In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.  On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.’ “  Exodus 16:4-5, NIV

I think that one reason God would ask them to collect only one day’s worth of food is that he wanted them to trust him as their only source of provision.

Because many of us in this country have our daily bread in our kitchen cabinets, some will say that “our daily bread” means whatever we need today that we don’t have.  This is true, but if we start to think of “our daily bread” as pure metaphor, when our need is literally daily bread we will think something has gone very wrong.  It’s not a bad thing to have resources for the future, but our security is in God, not the stockpile of resources.

In this economy, some of these thoughts are becoming realities for more people.  As we relate to God and talk to him about our needs and our fears, we should also remember that he’s still the same God that caused bread to fall from heaven in the desert.

On the day that I finally decided to handle the problem, I spent my first half hour battling with other drivers for a parking spot on the street—any spot.  Admitting defeat, I pulled into a lot and paid the attendant so I could park, all day if I wanted to.  I walked several blocks in the rain to the courthouse where I waited for a guard to look through my purse and hand it back to me after I stepped through a metal detector.  I proceeded to the room where you can pay or dispute tickets.  The cop asked me for my driver’s license number so he could look up my record on the computer.  When he saw that it was a parking ticket, he informed me that they only handle moving violations and I needed to go to the DPT building to resolve my ticket.  He gave me a printout that would expedite the process once I got there.  “At least he was a nice cop,” I thought as I left.

To get to the DPT I had to walk several blocks through a not-so-great neighborhood.  About halfway there I see a homeless guy approach another guy and ask him something.  The other guy shook his head, but the homeless guy walked beside him for a few paces before he gave up.  “There’s a man walking a few paces behind me,” I thought.  “If I slow down we’ll walk by this homeless guy at the same time.  Okay,” I thought to myself, “look straight ahead and don’t make eye contact.  There, we’re past, but now I’m walking next to this stranger, speed up before it gets awkward.”

As I got near the DPT I started to think about how the conversation might happen.  What do I say if the agent doesn’t believe me? I could act inconvenienced and angry, but what if that sets them against me?  I’ll have to play it by ear when I get in there.

Finally in line, I try to size up the two clerks, a man and a woman.  Which one would be better, man or woman, woman or man?  Man. “God, let me end up in the man’s line,”  I pray as I anticipate how to act when I tell my story.  Part of the problem is that these people only know me by my license number and our only relationship is based on what their computer says about me.  Currently, their computer says that I didn’t pay that ticket and those clerks are probably more inclined to believe their computer than me.  My turn.  I end up in the woman’s line.

I hand her the paper that the cop gave me—it already has my number on it.  My number, I hate that.  I’m not a number, I’m a human being!  She takes my information and I’m left standing at an empty window for a very long time.  I find myself thinking about what it means to be a number.  I think about the references in the Bible about the anti-Christ and the “mark of the Beast.”  This mark is supposed to show a person’s alliance with the anti-Christ and their opposition to Jesus.

“He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16-17, NIV

Sometimes Christians try to second guess what that “mark” will be.  Some believe it will be a number handed to us by the government because of the phrase “the number of his name.”  My name has a few numbers associated with it already–different numbers for different agencies. However, in the days that John received this revelation, the concept of numbering someone’s name may have seemed odd.  Now it’s commonplace.  It makes computer use more expedient, even if sometimes it feels a bit dehumanizing.

I look around at the people corralled in between ropes waiting their turn.  I look across the counter at the people corralled in their workstations.  The employees look just as dehumanized as those waiting in line.  I always think of them as “those DPT guys,” one big group of people whose mission in life is to extort money for the government through giving tickets.  Categorizing people in this way is just as degrading as numbering them.  I’m not sure what the “mark of the Beast” is exactly, but I think one of the resulting effects has to do with dehumanizing people.

When Jesus walked the earth he humanized people, he related in such a way as to build them up.

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.  A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.  He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.  When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a “sinner.”’ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord!  Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’   Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.’ Luke 19:1-10, NIV

Earlier in John’s revelation God promises a new name to those who overcome.  To be on a first name basis with someone usually implies a relationship with them.  To know their nickname or to have a term of endearment brings them closer.

My day at the DPT office is a true story consisting of real people with whom I interacted; yet I know none of their names.  I didn’t number them, but in my heart I had them categorized to shield myself from having to get to know any of them.  These are all people I could have met while getting my car’s registration worked out.

The DPT clerk (not her real name) came back to the window with a receipt for me to mail to the DMV.  Contrary to my judgment of her, she took my cancelled check at face value and corrected the mistake on the computer.