Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

Accepting the scars

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I live in the desert in the Southwest United States and I really enjoy the variety of cacti that are on display in the wild areas around me and in my neighborhood.

I especially like the seguaros, those tall, majestic cactus with arms that are the symbol of the American desert. They frequently appear in cartoons and movies. But there are many other varieties of cacti in the wild and in the landscape arrangements of the houses in my neighborhood. Each variety has a beauty that makes it distinct from the others.

But when you examine each one, some have holes in them from birds building nests. Others have parts of them that survived less than ideal conditions or downright abuse. Lack of water, animials, humans, and harsh condtions can cause them damage.

But they survive.

Until recently, when I would see this type of damage I would think it a shame that those conditions would have to be overcome. I would often get frustrated and think that the damage, the scars, on display marred the cactus and made it less than it should be.

But I am realizing that those wounds turned to scars also give each cactus a particular beauty. They have encountered difficulties and overcome them. They continue to grow despite the damage.

Then I think of myself and the people around me. In a fallen world, which is less than we would like it to be, we incur physical and emotional damage as we progress through life.

But we survive.

For the Christian, we rely on the promise of God that somehow each of these hurts, each of the scars, somehow will work out for our good and God’s glory (Romans 8:28). So instead of being embarrassed by the scars, we should instead look at them as a testament to the ability of God to get us through the hard times.

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Look to the sloth, you over-achiever

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In the churches of my youth, I was certainly taught the right way to behave. Or, at least, I was taught the right way to behave which was consistent with the leaders’ understanding of the Bible. Those churches were good at producing conformity among the congregants.

Image by Michael Mosimann from Pixabay

This conformity is not a bad thing in itself, but the danger is that the behavior of the people in those circles can be more heavily influenced by what other people think than about what God thinks. In other words, it can produce outward conformity without heart change.

Or, to put it another way, such a system can change behavior without changing desires. When operating in such a system, I can do the right thing for the wrong reason.

In thinking about this, my thoughts were directed to Jesus’ discourse recorded in John 15 where he begins:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” (John 15:1–4, NASB 95)

In verses 4 through 10 of John 15, Jesus uses the Greek verb meno 10 times. This verb carries the meaning of remain, stay, or reside and a common translation into English is abide. In the very first use of this verb quoted above in verse 4, it is in the form of a command when Jesus said, “abide in me.”

Abiding is not an activity as much as it is a mental state. One does not try harder to abide, one simply abides. It is an exercise in inactivity rather than activity. Sloths are very good at abiding.

I have always been intrigued and encouraged by Psalm 46:10 in which God encourages us to “be still” or “cease striving” and know that He is God. This is not a call to frenzied activity. This is not a call to strategic planning and execution. This is a call to acknowledge and revel in our relationship with God.

In Scripture, God promises to work things out for his glory and our ultimate good. If we can rest in that knowledge, then we are less likely to be overwhelmed by life in a fallen and broken world.

If we rest, abide, remain, stay, and reside in Jesus, and seek his comfort and instruction, then we can move forward in confidence instead of allowing our circumstances to push us to an unhelpful or sinful response.

Think of abiding in Jesus the next time you see a picture of a sloth . . .

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