The Descent Of Jesus

            Referencing the coming of Jesus into the world, Eugene Peterson paraphrases John 1:14 in a vivid way: “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (The Message).  And our “neighborhood” wasn’t a move up for the Son of God (2 Corinthians 8:9).  We could compare it to trading a Park Avenue penthouse for a cardboard shack in the slums and it would still fall short of what Jesus sacrificed for us.  Henri Nouwen writes of the descending of Christ in a letter to his nephew:

“I wanted to write to you about the love of God become visible in Jesus. How is that love made visible through Jesus? It is made visible in the descending way. That is the great mystery of the Incarnation. God has descended to us human beings to become a human being with us; and once among us, he descended to the total dereliction of one condemned to death. It isn’t easy really to feel and understand from the inside this descending way of Jesus. Every fiber of our being rebels against it. We don’t mind paying attention to poor people from time to time, but descending to a state of poverty and becoming poor with the poor—that we don’t want to do. And yet that is the way Jesus chose as the way to know God.”*

            We are called to mimic the descent of Jesus.  “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5–8).

            The way up is gained by descent.  Fullness comes through emptying ourselves. Exaltation is achieved through humility.  It makes no earthly sense.  But it is the way of Christ.

God loves you!

Mike

*Letters To Marc About Jesus, Henri Nouwen, 2009

The Comparison Game

            Mark Powell, a professor of theology at Harding School of Theology, shared an article recently about the danger of comparing ourselves to others.  He begins this way:

“It is a mistake to compare ourselves to others. Yet we still do it, even in our walk with Jesus.  Of course, there are people with exceptional gifts, or highly visible roles, or a clear calling for a specific ministry. It is easy to be envious—and even fool ourselves into thinking that it’s a holy envy—when God appears to be working so clearly in the lives of others, but not so clearly in our own lives.  Maybe we are enduring a season of suffering, or long-term suffering, that others don’t have to face. We ask, “Why me, God?”  Or maybe there is someone who has made a big spiritual impact on us, and we want to be like them and bless others in similar ways. The only problem is, we are not our spiritual heroes and that is okay. God may be calling us to something else.  There are many ways we compare ourselves to others. The comparison game, though, keeps us from seeing who we are and how Jesus is calling us to follow him.”*

Powell goes on to point to the post-resurrection encounter between Jesus and Peter at the end of the gospel of John as an example of playing the comparison game (John 21:15-22).  The temptation, especially when the difficulties of following Jesus come, is to compare my situation with that of others.  It’s easy to divert attention to others when I am confronted with the weight of my own call to discipleship.

I must remember that I am called to follow Jesus.  The call the Lord issues to others won’t look exactly like what He requires of me.  Lord, when the struggles come, please help me not to point at others and ask, “But what about this person?”  Help me to focus on my own discipleship and avoid the comparison game.

God loves you!

Mike

*http://wineskins.org/2019/12/05/you-follow-me/

Broken

“One of the greatest ambitions of any violinist is to play a Stradivarius. Meticulously handcrafted by Antonio Stradivari these very rare violins produce an unrivalled sound. So you can imagine the excitement of acclaimed British violinist Peter Cropper when, in 1981, London's Royal Academy of Music offered him a 258 year old Stradivarius for a series of concerts. But then the unimaginable. As Peter entered the stage he tripped, landed on top of the violin and snapped the neck off. I can’t even begin to imagine how Peter Cropper felt at that moment. A priceless masterpiece destroyed!

“Cropper was inconsolable.  He took the violin to a master craftsman in the vain hope that he might be able to repair it. And repair it he did. So perfect was the repair that the break was undetectable, and, more importantly, the sound was exquisite. The Academy was most gracious and allowed him to continue using the Stradivarius. And so, night after night, as Peter drew his bow across those string, Peter was reminded of the fact that what he once thought irreparably damaged had been fully restored by the hand of a master craftsman.”*

“I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel” (Psalm 31:12).  The words of this Psalmist resonate with those who have come to understand the devastating effects of sin in their lives.  In spite of our best efforts, we remain spiritually shattered.  Our only hope lies in the restorative work of a Master Craftsman, One Who can make us as good as new again.  If we are in Christ, we are made new -- our brokenness is repaired (2 Corinthians 5.17).

The first stanza of T.O Chisholm’s 1935 song “Bring Christ Your Broken Life”  says it well: “Bring Christ your broken life, so marred by sin.  He will create anew, make whole again.  Your empty wasted years He will restore, and your iniquities, remember no more.”  Thank you, Lord, for putting the pieces of our broken lives back together!

God loves you!

Mike

*storiesforpreaching.com

The Art Of Gratitude

“In 2008 a young Australian woman, Hailey Bartholomew, found that she wasn’t enjoying life. She described herself as feeling lost and stuck on a treadmill. It was almost inexplicable. She was married to a man she loved and had beautiful children who held her heart. So why was she feeling so down about her life? Hailey sought the counsel of a nun, who advised her to spend time each day reflecting on something for which she was grateful. Hailey began a project called “365grateful”. Every day she took a photograph of something for which she was grateful.

“It changed her life, for it allowed her to see things she had never noticed. Hailey had always thought of her husband as unromantic. One day she took a picture of him serving up dinner, the thing which she was grateful for that day. She noticed for the first time that the largest portion of pie was placed on her plate. She realised that the largest portion was always placed on her plate and that this was one small but profound way her husband showed his care for her. Hailey had found mothering a “boring job”, but as she took photos of her children holding out their hands to her, playing and exploring, she discovered how much joy and wonder there was in her world. Through the art of gratitude Hailey found herself lifted out of her rut and celebrating life.”*

If cameras had been available in the first century, I can imagine the apostle Paul having an album full of reminders of his gratefulness.  There would be pictures of the churches he had helped to establish.  Scattered throughout would be candid shots of fellow missionaries who had worked alongside of him in sharing the gospel.  Perhaps there would be photos of some of the places his travels had taken him.

Paul was a grateful man and he encouraged gratefulness in others (Colossians 3:17).  There is much for which to be thankful in our world.  Sometimes we just have to train our eyes to see it.

God loves you!

Mike

*storiesforpreaching.com