Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Death is Dead

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No DeathDeuteronomy 14:1b-2

You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

As a child of God, death is no longer an enemy to be feared. As one in a covenant relationship with God, I should have a new and different perspective on death than those who do not know God.

The new perspective is that death is not an end but a transition from one existence to a better one.

In their role as a light to the nations, the Israelites were not to participate in the hopeless displays for the dead that the surrounding nations practiced. Israel was supposed to be a beacon of hope to those who did not know God, a beacon that God would use to draw people to himself.  Therefore, the Israelites were not allowed to disfigure themselves to honor the dead.

While most of us are not in immediate peril of experiencing death, we do face difficulties of varying degrees. As believers, we should look at difficult times in a different perspective than those who do not know God. The proper response to the fear of death should be instructive as to how to respond to less threatening difficulties. If death is not to be feared, why fear difficult times?

Yet, I do find myself gravitating toward fear. The antidote to fear is to refocus on the blessings I have in Christ that no political, economic or physical turmoil can take away. I am reminded of Peter’s prayer on the lake, “Lord save me . . . ” Or as the writer of Hebrews prescribes, “Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus . . . “

God is My Fortress

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Psalm 59:16b (ESV)

For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.

Matthew 10:28 (ESV)

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

In reading Psalm 59 this morning, I notice that David twice describes God as his fortress.  A fortress is a place of protection. In a physical sense I visualize impenetrable walls and a defensible location when I think of a fortress. When under attack, I want my body protected.

Fortress

Is David merely using symbolism in this description? Perhaps not.

The verse that came to me as I considered this was Matthew 10:28. There Jesus reminds me that God is the only one that has authority over my true self, my soul. Governments and thugs (sometimes two different groups, sometimes not) can kill my body but my soul is protected by God.

Perhaps David, the man after God’s own heart, had this in mind when describing God as his fortress. Saul, who was pursuing David at the time, could kill David’s body, but David’s soul was protected by his relationship with God.

The Fellowship of the Obtuse

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Luke 18:34 (ESV)

34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

You Just Don't Get ItTwo lines of thinking present themselves to me in reaction to this verse.

First, I am comforted that the men who God used to turn the world upside down had moments when they just did not get it. They, at times, were just as obtuse and blind as I often am. I feel as though I am in good company and take encouragement from it.

My second thought is concerning the veracity of the Gospel accounts. One of the lines of argument of atheists is that the New Testament was compiled by church leaders in later centuries to support the claims of the faith. In other words, the leaders made up stories to support their theological positions.

If I were making up stories about the men from whom I inherited my authority, I don’t think that I would include any statements that would denigrate those men.

Why would Luke include this statement in his Gospel? The only logical answer is because it was true and shows that the spread of the Gospel is not due to the incredible wisdom of the Apostles. They were regular men, just like you and I. They had the same periods of stupidity and struggled in their faith like we do.

A Matter of Perspective

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Storm at sea

The disciples lacked Jesus’ perspective on the storm that surrounded them. Luke 8:24 tells us:

And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”

The disciples are frantic. Verse 23 tells us that the boat was filling with water. Several of the disciples grew up fishing on this lake and know the capabilities of boats in such conditions. They are certain that they are going to drown.

In spite of all this, Jesus is sleeping in the boat.

The difference between Jesus and the disciples is perspective. Jesus knows they will not drown and is relaxed in that knowledge. He is in control and does not need to be stressed. He is calm enough to allow his body to rest.

I, limited by space and time, struggle to see God’s perspective. I sometimes think that my circumstances will overwhelm me and eat me alive.

I am learning that I can spend my time complaining to God about my circumstances, or I can accept them as part of God’s plan for me. The difference in perspective effects how I approach God and approach others.

If I am aware of God’s love for me and that there is never a situation where he is not in control, I can then approach life with confidence that God will show me the path for today. He promises to give me my daily bread. God is then my rock and my point of reference.

When I fail to maintain this perspective, I then become a man-pleaser and look to others to gauge how I am doing. I can then be overwhelmed by my problems because I find that neither I, nor the people around me, are capable of calming the storm.

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