God was Banksy before Banksy was Banksy

Today, as I read through Numbers 3,4 I had to stop and think.  It's all about how God sets aside certain parts of the Levite tribe to be his servants in the temple.  It's a lot of numbers (hence the name of the book), and assignments for who is supposed to carry the poles to the tent, and who is supposed to cover what piece of furniture, and how much cloth they are supposed to use. 

So, I had to stop and ask, "God, what's in this that I need to see?"

He's so funny.  When you ask Him that kind of stuff, He'll answer it.  He's so funny.

Anyway....

Here's what I saw.  God tells Moses to set aside the tribe of Levi to serve Him.  They would be a kind of sacrifice from the nation to God.  Instead of God asking everyone for their first born son to come and serve Him, He would just have the tribe of Levi stand in for them and be a sacrifice for the whole nation. In fact, the Bible says they count how many Levites there were.  There were 22,000 even.  Then they count how many first born sons there were.  Want to guess?  22,273.  So God lets the nation pay a cash payment for the other 273. 

He asks for the Levites as this unique kind of national offering.  He doesn't want to kill them.  He wants them to be a living sacrifice. 

Hmmm....

So God appoints people to be a living stand in for the rest of the group, as this sacrificial group serves Him, the rest of His people are declared okay and equal, and everything is good.

Do you see it too, or is it just me?

The Levites, being set aside as a substitute for every first born son, is a lead up to God giving up His Son to be a substitute for the people.  It's the story of Jesus, thousands of years earlier.  Levites = picture of Jesus.

God is painting the picture way before anyone is even looking for it.

I love that!  I love how He works over thousands of years, even though we think in terms of minutes.  He paints huge murals across history telling His story, and leaves them there for us to look for.  One big treasure hunt.  That's awesome.  That's how creative He is.  That's how awesome our God is.  That's how much our dad loves us.

He's so funny that way....

I Love You with All My Guts!

In Exodus 28, there is a cool set of verses.  God is telling Moses to set his brother Aaron up as the first priest for the nation of Israel.  God is describing for Moses what Aaron's priestly uniform is to look like.  In the middle of a bunch of descriptions about gold, and tunics, and other stuff, it says:

29 “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord.30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord. 

At first, it's kind of a Hallmark card, "Aw, isn't that sweet" kind of deal.  But wait.  At this time in history, you didn't love someone with all your heart, you loved them with all your guts.  That's where it hurt when you were in love, so they described love as coming from the guts, not the heart.

So why have Aaron put the names of the people of Israel over his heart if it wasn't a symbol of God's love for them?  I'm not sure.  It might be that the heart was a symbol of life.  Aaron represents God.  The tribes names represent all of the people who follow God.  Maybe it's a beautiful symbol of God continually giving life to those who love Him.

Either way, it's amazing that God goes out of His way to be sure we know our names are on God's heart all the time.  

I don't need to understand any more than that, and I'm good.

It's the Tom and Chestnut Show

Last night, I was talking to our 7th and 8th graders (who rock, by the way!). We were in the middle of the lesson, and this example popped in my head. Thought I'd share it with all three of you who read this thing.

We have two cats now that we have moved to the country. Tom, and Chestnut. Both boys, brothers even. About 6 months old. So they play all the time. The other night, I was in the barn working on something, and they were running all over the place, being nuts. We have this little trampoline for the girls to jump on, one of the jogger kinds from Target. Tom was on top of the trampoline, Chestnut was under it. Chestnut knew that Tom was somewhere around, but for the little kitty life of him he couldn't figure out where exactly his brother was. Which, of course, was two inches directly overhead. So, Chestnut comes sneaking out from under the trampoline slowly, crawling with his tail sticking straight up in attack mode. Tom, patiently, waits and watches. Just a Chestnut clears the edge of the trampoline, Tom attacks. He launches himself into the air with all four paws out like wings on an airplane, using his brother as the landing strip. He lands on Chestnut just like one of the old westerns where the cowboy jumps on his horse, and the two of them are off across the floor. Tom is whooping and yelling things like "Yee Haa!" and "Get up, cowpoke!" Chestnut is just scared silly and running for his life. Finally, Chestnut runs out of steam and they both fall over and wrestle to the death.

Of course, I'm laughing my head off the whole time. It's literally one of the funniest things I've seen in person for a long time. At least since Mike Farnsley ran through the fountains at Kings Island, but that's a whole other story.

Here's what I realized. If I can laugh like that at two cats just being themselves; two cats that I had nothing to do with creating or bringing into being; then how much must God laugh with us? I mean, I just feed the little guys, pet them, and make sure they are safe from the big black cat that prowls our fields. God actually creates each of us everyday. He has to laugh and chuckle at us just being who He makes us to be.

That's comforting. I want my Dad to laugh with me. Actually, laugh at me is more accurate. Not in that second grade mean kind of way. In that "those darn cats" kind of way. He loves me, and actually adores me. It's really strange to write that out, but it's true. Not because I'm a pastor, a dad, or anything else. He loves and cherishes me because that's who He is.

I love that.

The Ah-Ha Moment

As chapter 16 in John finishes out, I love how Jesus speaks to His disciples. They don't get what He is saying, so He lovingly clears it up for them. And then they have the Ah-Ha! moment where they get it (vs. 31). Notice that Jesus tells them ahead of time that they will run from Him, but that He isn't alone even then. He comforts them before they are heartbroken.

But what of the point on the cross where God turns His back on Jesus? Did Jesus not know that part was coming? Honestly, I don't know. On the one hand, He could have been protecting the disciples by not telling them everything that was to come. He doesn't tell them every detail beforehand, so that could be the case here.

But the Bible is also clear that Jesus learned as He went, that somehow God gave Him knowledge as He got older. So maybe Jesus didn't yet know that God would separate from Him and turn His back on Him on the cross.

The whole thing is confusing to me, I have to admit. What did He know, and when? I would love to hear what everyone else understands about this idea.

Either way though, we see in Jesus this desire to care for those around Him, even as they are getting ready to dessert Him in His worst hours. What love He has for them, for me, for us! I bail on Jesus all of the time, yet He continues to love me. That is an example worth trying to follow.

I would love any feedback you may have.

It's a Love / Hate Thing

What a turn around! Jesus is talking about us loving each other as His followers, and then in John 15:18-27 He turns the corner and starts talking about how other people will treat us outside of the Kingdom. They will hate us.

Jesus says that if we belong to the world (the system of living life that goes against God's plans), then they won't hate us. But if we follow Him, they will hate us. I have trouble with this. I'm not sure how many people hate me. I'm not sure how many people I upset for my decisions to love others, to be sacrificial, to be generous and kind and merciful.

Does that mean that I'm not following God? I believe I am, I chase after Him each day. But I'm not sure that my love upsets anyone to this level. Why? Is it that our culture still has some admiration for Christian virtues? Or is it that I have insulated myself with people who all follow Jesus, and because of that, I'm not rubbing shoulders with those who would be mad at me? I have a gut feeling it's the second issue.

What do you guys think? Does anyone hate you for how much you love God and others? What do you make of this passage? Read it, and let me know.

A Thorny Issue

Jesus is the vine, we are all branches growing off of Him. He feeds us, nourishes us, provides life for us, and keeps us growing. We just grow. That's the picture He paints in John 15, in the first 17 verses.

A couple of things I noticed this time through. God cuts all of the branches, no matter what. Some He cuts off and throws away, others He prunes. But He is going to cut us all. Hmmm.... What does that look and feel like in reality? What does it mean for Him to prune the branches that are healthy?

Then in the middle of this, He discusses loving one another, just like He loves us. What a call. He gives everything for us, and then expects us to do the same for everyone else. Man. That's a challenge. Just this morning, I had someone completely abuse the relationship I have with them. It's been going on for the last six years that I have known this person. It has happened again. I don't want to love them, I want to hit them. But, that isn't our call. And Christ ties these two ideas together.

If I am going to remain in Jesus, if I am going to be allowed to continue growing and thriving, if I am not going to be cut off and thrown away, then I have to love others. That's not always what I want to hear. But Jesus connects the two ideas right here. How do we obtain the love of God in our hearts? How do we get His joy? By loving Him. How do we love Him? By loving others. When we do this, for Him, then He will produce fruit in our lives. Things like peace, hope, joy, love, kindness, generosity, etc.

So, we love people. Not in our own strength, or even because we want to. We love them, because in doing so we love God. And we grow.

The List

Reading John 14:15-31, I can not imagine how the disciples would have felt hearing this. Jesus is leaving them. He makes it clear. He's gonna send help, and God is going to be with them. But Jesus is leaving. And His main point is to do what He has told them. What has He told them at this point? Love God, love others, don't fall into the systems around them, be pure, and tell everyone about God's Kingdom. Heal the sick, help the poor, laugh with the happy, and cry with the sad. Do those things, and you love Jesus. Don't do those things, and you don't.

How are we doing? How am I doing? What about you? What about your local church? Or the American church? Or the church worldwide? Are we known for these things? No, we aren't. We're known for a lot of stuff, but not much in the above list. How do we change it? We don't start by trying to change the church worldwide. We start on the other end of the spectrum. We start with me. With you. Am I known for that list? I don't think so. I need to love others more. I need to help the poor and outcast more. I need to do more to help heal the sick. There is much for me to change.

So do I love Jesus since I come up short? Yes. Because I hear Him call for these things, I take Him seriously, and I am always working on change. It's the desire to know Him that leads to the change. God isn't waiting on us to perfect it to accept us. He loves us enough to accept us right where we are. But He loves us too much to leave us there.

Where are you in the list? Find the areas you need to grow. Pray for that opportunity today. Then go look for it and do it. Do it now, before it is time to leave.

Come With Me, or Go Away?

The pharisee's challenge Jesus in John 8:12-20. Jesus claims to be the light of the world, who has come to help people in the darkest parts of life. The religious guys want to argue whether or not Jesus can say these things according to the rules. For someone to make a claim about something, the rules they had said that there needed to be two witnesses. They don't argue Jesus' mission, they argue the rules about what He can and can't say.

Why don't they argue that they are there to help people in their darkest times? Why don't they stand up and prove that they are carrying out the work of God on the earth? Because they have gotten themselves down a path where they believe that God's work is about keeping the rules. Everyone needs to look and act a certain way, so that God can look better and be happy with them. Everyone who doesn't is "out" and they don't need to worry about them.

Jesus replies that He does have a witness, His Dad, God. He and God the Father are witness enough. He's right. But that doesn't help anything.

Here's what I see in this. I really like to keep the rules. I've invested a lot of my life in defining who is "in" (who is like me) and who is "out" (who bugs me, who disagrees with me, who has little to offer me). God is really riding me about this, and I hope it doesn't stop. Oh Lord, I beg you, please change me in this! Help me to be a light in my world, not a wall. Please help me!