From Barrenness to Blessing: Creation

This is an excerpt from a Bible study I wrote for the ladies at my church. The study focuses on how we all experience barren places in our lives. And while those places can seem dark and hopeless, if we allow God room to work, He can take those places and turn them into blessings.

From Barrenness to Blessing: Creation

In the beginning God… all too often we forget this and yet it is so essential to who we are. In the beginning…before the sun took the daytime stage to shine for the first time. Before a single tree put down its roots and stretched its branches toward the heavens. Before the first bird took flight against the backdrop of the beautiful blue sky. Before anything that is was…God was. God was there. God was here. God is here. God is. Stop and think on that for a moment...


...God always is…always has been. And God has always been in the business of taking nothing and turning it into something beautiful. God, since the beginning of time, has been taking the barren places of this world…of our lives…and blessing them and turning them in to something beautiful…into the Materpiece that only the Master of Masters can create.

I invite you during the weeks ahead to journey with me through scripture as we take a look at some of those barren places and discover the unending blessings of our loving Creator.

It all began with the world itself. The opening verses of scripture tell us that at the beginning of time there was nothing. Talk about barren! The Message says it like this, “Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, and inky blackness.” It goes on to tell us why things didn’t stay that way: “God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.” And that abyss became God’s canvas and creation was born. Light. Day and night. And the first day of creating was finished. Sky to separate water below from water above. God called the sky Heavens and called it the end of day 2. Land, which God called earth, and pools of water which God called ocean for formed. But God wasn't done working on day 3. God called forth vegetation from the land, and that was day 3. Light to separate night from day, to mark the seasons, days, years... The sun and the moon. Stars. And day 4 was complete. Fish, sea life, birds. God began to really let the creativity flow on day 5. But day 5 had nothing on day 6! God spared no imagination when cattle, reptiles, wild animals and bugs of every kind were created to add beauty to the canvas we call earth. But God still wasn't done. And believe it or not, neither was God's creativity. God saved the best for last: humankind. The crown of God's creation. Made in God's own image. And then God rested. And as God rested from all of this work, I have to believe that the Master Creator smiled with great delight.

Just 7 days before, all that existed was a soup of nothingness. What had become a beautiful world had been a barren wasteland, void of light and void of life. And then, in the beginning God… God took the barrenness of an empty world, blessed it, and created something far more wonderful that even the wildest human imagination could fathom. And perhaps the most beautiful part of the story is that it doesn’t end there. God created and God remains. God continues to create. The same Spirit that brooded over those dark waters of nothingness broods over us today. It is a seeking Spirit, looking for barren places in our lives, longing to paint a picture of beauty, of blessing, on the canvas of our hearts. But that Spirit can only create and transform to the extent that we are willing to open up our hearts and hand over the paint brush and the paint and let the Master Creator create.

Some questions to consider

• When I think about God’s creation, what strikes me as its most stunning aspect? Why?
• When I observe the world we have been given to inhabit, what does its beauty tell me about God? 
• When I think about the fact that as a human being made in God’s image, I am more important to God than any other part of creation, what does that mean to me personally? 
• Am I willing to turn the canvas of my heart over to God, allowing the Creator to take the darkest, most barren places, and recreate them and color them in a way that only God can? What in my life might be getting in the way of me truly surrendering my heart to such a transformation? What anxiety/fears are holding me back?

Creator God, when I look around me and observe the world that you blessed us with the privilege of inhabiting, I am in awe. The creativity and the love and care that you put into each and every aspect of the world as you painted on the blank canvas of barren nothingness is breathtaking. And when I realize that you stand ready to unleash that same creativity, that same love, that same care on my life, I am humbled beyond words. Help me to realize that you have so much more that you want for me than I could ever want for myself. Help me to move beyond the fear of the unknown, beyond the places in my life that are holding me back, and help me open up my heart and my life to the beautiful future that awaits me when I put my trust in you. I realize that it doesn’t mean my life will be trouble free and pain free. But I find comfort in knowing that it means You will always be with me, for you existed before the world began, and you will remain long after this world ends. Thank you for the promise of life in you. Amen.

Resurrection Responsibility

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:19-23

In this passage, we find the disciples gathered together on the evening of Resurrection Day. They have congregated behind closed doors. Some scholars believe they are gathered in the same upper room where they shared the Last Supper with Jesus just days before. Undoubtedly, that scene is replaying in their minds and certainly they are hearing those words He spoke to them that night. 


That evening He had told them that after a little while they would see him no more, but after a little while longer they would see him again. He also told them that the events to come would cause them grief, but that their sorrow would be turned into joy. On this evening they are scared out of their minds. They have just witnessed what the Jews have done to Jesus, through the trials and beatings and culminating with Jesus’ death. They worry that they might be next. They also have the words of Mary Magdalene who spoke with the Lord earlier that day. They have heard that He is alive, but to this point none of them have actually seen him. And while they are gathered there, suddenly Jesus is standing in their midst. “Peace be with you,” he says. While this was a common Eastern greeting, these words meant so much more than they ever had before. For here in their midst stood the one they have loved and followed for the past three years. Just 2 days earlier their worlds had come crashing down as they saw Jesus crucified. He had told them that he would have to die and that on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But had they really understood what he meant? In these moments, they did indeed have their darkest sorrows turned into the brightest joy. 

But Jesus doesn’t stop with a greeting of peace. He shows them his wounds and continues by telling them that just as God the Father had sent Him to earth to bring the Good News of Salvation, so now Jesus is sending out the disciples to continue the task of proclaiming this message. Then he does something rather interesting. He breathes on them and tells them to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is something that Jesus has been telling them about for some time. He talked about the Holy Spirit several times in the Farewell discourse that we spoke of earlier. The Holy Spirit would be there to guide them in truth and continue to teach them in Jesus’ absence. The fact that he breathes the Spirit on them no doubt takes them back to the very first chapters in Genesis where God created humankind. He formed Adam from the dust of the ground and then he breathed life into him. That was the first creation. Now it is as if Jesus is telling them what the Apostle Paul will proclaim later in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation is come: the old has gone, the new is here! (TNIV).” Indeed, just as sin tarnished God’s original creation, Jesus’ death has made it new again. Those who believe in Christ are recreated and restored to a right fellowship with the Creator. This is the message the disciples are challenged to go and share.

Jesus tells the disciples that with the help of the Holy Spirit, they will preach the Good News of forgiveness of sins. This passage may be a bit confusing at first glace. Is Jesus really giving the disciples the authority to decide whose sins to forgive and whose sins not to forgive? I don’t think so. What Jesus is telling them is that when they share this truth, some will believe. And those who believe will experience forgiveness of sins. Unfortunately, some will not believe. And those people will not experience the forgiveness that Christ has to offer. It is not that the disciples themselves have the authority to decide who to forgive and who not to forgive. They simply take the message, and it is up to the hearer to respond. To those who respond by believing, the disciples can pronounce them forgiven through the work of Christ.

Jesus gives them these instructions, then apparently He leaves them. Can you imagine the conversation that must have taken place in that room after Jesus left? I imagine that there was more than one shout of joy shared among the followers. Whatever their reactions, I am sure that they continued to recount this story among themselves time and time again. Perhaps because they were so excited that they couldn't help but speak of it and perhaps because at times it seemed to good to be true. But one thing is certain: they didn't keep this news to themselves. They followed Jesus' instructions and shared it with the world. And now we are are called to do the same.

The Good News of the Resurrected Christ brings with it the responsibility to go and tell. To proclaim that salvation has come to all through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. So what are you waiting for? You have a story to tell. Who do you know that needs to hear?

A Prayer for Us...

I imagine that in many ways Holy Week was a blur for Jesus and his disciples. So many things unfolded during those days. And much of what happened was beyond the disciples' ability to understand. From the triumphal entry into Jerusalem to cleansing the temple to growing anger toward Jesus to the upper room to the garden and eventually to the cross, the week must have been a whirlwind! I wonder what it was like for Jesus? I wonder what it was like to know that by the week's end, He would be nailed to a cross? I just can't imagine. And yet, knowing that death was just around the corner, He wasn't wrapped up in that and sulking about his coming fate. Instead, we find that he was concerned about His disciples. And He was concerned about us - those coming after Him and his disciples who would also believe in Him. Yes, that's right. He mentions US during Holy Week. That's right. He mentions you and me.

In John 17, there is a beautiful prayer recorded. It is a prayer that Jesus prayed in the upper room on the night before he died. The prayer has three basic parts. In the opening verses he prays for himself and the things that will happen to him in the coming hours, that God's glory may be revealed through Him. Then he prays for his disciples, that they will be guarded against the evil one and that they will have the strength to be faithful to their calling. And then He prays for us. Here is that part of his prayer, found in John 17:20-26.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Jesus prays that all who believe in Him will be one. Jesus knew that there would be plenty of things to divide those who believe in Him. From styles of worship to theological debates to simple human squirmishes, there would be plenty to distract us from our mission: to continue the work that Jesus started during His time on earth by sharing the news that the Kingdom of God has come. And it was important enough to Jesus that we not let these things get in the way of this mission that He took time to pray about it hours before he was betrayed and put to death.

Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that we all need to worship the same way or agree on all points theologically. Nor am I condemning denominations. I am simply pointing out that sometimes as Christians we let these things get in the way of the bigger picture. And in doing so, it can be a stumbling block to those who have not yet believed.

So as we continue moving through Holy Week toward the cross and the empty tomb, I challenge us all to think about what may be getting in the way of our Christian witness as the Church. Perhaps we could take our focus off of our theological difference and place greater emphasis on the theological tenants upon which we all agree: that Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, and willingly gave up that life in order that each of us might experience eternal life. And the story did not end with death. Instead, three days later he arose. There is an empty tomb that stands as a symbol of the promise that death will not have the last word! Think about how powerful it would be if all believers would unite with one voice to proclaim the mystery of our faith: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again!

More in common than we'd like to admit...

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to perform a monologue from the perspective of the woman at the well. When I was approached about this presentation, I was very excited because this is one of my favorite scripture texts. I love her story because it turns every pop culture expectation of its time upside down.

In case it has been a while since you have read this text, go here and refresh your memory.

So here is a woman whose choices and circumstances have landed her in a predicament. She has certainly been the talk of the town in the past. And most likely that negative attention has driven her into a withdrawn lifestyle. She is coming to the well to draw water during the middle of the day so she can avoid contact with others in the community. She is an outcast. And she would rather perform her task of fetching water during the hottest part of the day than have to face the jury of her peers.

As she approaches the well, she is extremely surprised to find someone there. And not just any someone...a Jewish man. Jews didn't care much for Samaritans in her day. They tried to avoid the region altogether, but if they did find themselves traveling through her neck of the woods, they certainly wouldn't stop. And if a Jewish man did stop, he would never be caught having a conversation with someone like her....a Samaritan woman...a SAMARITAN WOMAN!

And yet, there he is. And he speaks...asking her for water. She is flabbergasted! "Are you asking me for water?" she asks. "You do know that you are a Jewish MAN and I am a Samaritan woman, don't you?

"If you knew who it is that asks you, you would have asked me for living water," he tells her.

She laughs. He has no rope or jar or other container with which to draw water. "How are you going to do that?" she challenges. "Who do you think you are?"

"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again," he explains. "But those who drink the water that I give won't thirst anymore. It will be like a spring of water within their souls that bubbles up into eternal life."

Water that would eternally satisfy!? Wow! The thought of not having to keep coming to the well to draw water day after day must have been like a dream come true for her. "Oh, please give me some of this water," she asks.

"Go get your husband and come back," Jesus says.

Uh-oh. Ummm... Well... You see...

I am sure she stumbled for words. You will recall that she finds herself at the well at mid-day because she is an outcast. And she is an outcast because she doesn't have a husband. She is caught! "I don't have a husband," she tells Jesus.

"That's right. You've actually had 5 husbands," Jesus tells her. "And the man you are living with now isn't your husband."

Can you imagine the look on her face!? How did this man, this stranger traveling through her town, know these things!? "You must be a prophet!" she declared. "Our ancestors worshipped here on this mountain but you Jews say that Jerusalem is where we are supposed to worship."

"A time is coming when the place for worship won't matter any more. You Samaritans worship what you do not know, but we Jews worship what we do know. Salvation comes through the Jews. Instead of worship in a certain place, the true kind of worship that the Father desires will be worship in spirit and in truth, for God is Spirit, and therefore those who follow God must worship in spirit and in truth."

Wow! She can't believe her ears. Men don't talk to women about anything. Especially about matters of faith. She has never been involved in such a conversation and doesn't know where to take it.

"I know that the Messiah is coming and when He does, he will explain all of this to us," she explained.

"That's me," he declares to her.

About that time, Jesus' disciples return and their conversation is interrupted. She puts down her jar and slips away while Jesus and his disciples converse. She heads back into town. But this time, she is different. She no longer tries to slip through the shadows, hiding because of her shame. Instead, I imagine that she is seeking people out. "Come with me! There is someone you have to meet! This man....he told me everything I have ever done! He says He is the Messiah!? Could it be true!? Come and see!"

Many people in the town believed because of the testimony of this woman, "He told me everything I have ever done!" They came to him and asked him to remain with them. Scripture tells us that Jesus stayed in her town for two days. Many people heard Jesus' teachings and many more believed in him. "We no longer believe just because of your testimony. We have heard for ourselves and we know that this man is the Savior we have been waiting for!"

What an unlikely story. A WOMAN. An OUTCAST. And yet she became a compelling witness for Christ.

You know when it comes down to it, we aren't so different from her. Admittedly most of us haven't had 5 husbands and aren't living with a man who isn't our husband right now. But we all have things in our past that we would rather remain secret. We have all had thoughts that we would prefer no one else ever know about. But just as Jesus knew all about her life, about her past, He also knows all about us. He knows those thoughts. He knows those actions. He knows the times we have been jealous of others. The times we have doubted. The times we have lost our temper. The times we have just down right failed at this thing called life! And yet He is reaching out to us. He has initiated a relationship with US.

When you really stop and take a look at things, we have more in common with this lady than most of us would like to admit. We are imperfect human beings who are called by God to share the Good News. For we have met this One who knows every last detail of our lives and chooses us in spite of that fact.

The encounter this woman had with the Christ, the Messiah, affected her life in such a way that she couldn't keep it a secret. She had lived in the shadows, defeated by shame, for years. But now the light of Christ had come to her, to the darkest parts of her life, and she couldn't contain it. She shared it with everyone. She went running to the very people from whom she had been hiding, and she invited them to come and see.

And we are called to do the same thing. To introduce everyone we know to this One who knows all about us and yet chooses us anyway. So what are you waiting for. Who do you know that needs to be introduced to Jesus today?

Those Who've Gone Before Us Light The Way...

One of my favorite songs of all time is the song "Find Us Faithful." It is an older song, one that was written by Steve Green some years ago. But it is a song that has stuck with me throughout the years. It means so much to me that it was one of the songs that I chose to have as part of my ordination service. Perhaps it is because of how it talks about life as a journey, a metaphor that I find deeply meaningful in my own life. Regardless, it is a beautiful prayer, and one that I pray will be found true of me. It may not be a song you know, so let me share the lyrics with you:

Find Us Faithful by Steve Green
We're pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road 

And those who've gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God's sustaining grace

Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses 
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who've gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives


CHORUS:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful


After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone

And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful 

Life can be extremely hard at times. Being a follower of Christ isn't always the easiest task on earth. It often times requires going against the status quo, challenging the crowd, being a voice for the voiceless, living the way Jesus lived during His time on earth. But these lyrics remind us that we don't journey alone. We journey alongside other followers of Christ. And we follow in the footsteps of countless generations of others who have gone before us, who were faithful to the calling, and whose testimony of a faithful God light our way.

We all have people in our lives who walk with us, who have gone before us, who have provided an example of what it means to be faithful. Perhaps for you it is a friend, a parent, a pastor or teacher, a grandparent...or maybe you have been fortunate enough to have several or even all of these people who have helped you as you journey through life with Christ.

While I have several people that come to mind, today I want to share with you about my Grandmother. Tomorrow would have been her 73rd birthday. We sent her on to be with Jesus just over 2 years ago after a courageous battle with cancer. I recently came across the recording of her memorial service which took place on February 16, 2009. She was indeed one who has been found faithful, and the footprints that she has left on my life encourage and teach me every day as I seek to live a life that leads others to "the road we each must find."

 Here are the words that I shared about her that night:

In the Gospel of Luke, the story is told about Jesus visiting the home of Mary and Martha. In chapter 10, beginning with verse 38, we read these words:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

In the last couple of months as Grandmother became weaker and weaker from the affects of her cancer and it became more and more clear that her race was almost won, the Lord kept bringing this story to mind when I would think of Grandmother.

Sarah and I had the very special privilege of having our grandparents close by. Hardly a day went by when we still lived at home that we didn’t see her and as I began to look back at her life I realized why God kept bringing me back to this story again and again.

When most pastors and scholars talk about this passage they praise Mary as the model. After all, Jesus does tell Martha that Mary has chosen the better part. But if you look closely at the story you will notice that Jesus doesn’t really condemn Martha for tending to the meal and worrying about making her guests comfortable. After all, the gift of hospitality is one of the spiritual gifts. I believe that when we listen closely to Jesus’ words and when we consider this passage in the broader context of Jesus’ ministry, we will discover that the model woman is actually a Mary-Martha combination.

My grandmother represented this combination as well as any woman I know. She was committed to her church, she loved her Lord, and she studied her Bible regularly. She did, indeed, take plenty of time to sit at her Lord’s feet and learn. But she also spent a great deal of time serving others. Whether you found yourself sitting around a table at one of the many restaurants she and Granddaddy ran, enjoying one of  her many wonderful dishes at a church potluck or family gathering, or sitting around her kitchen table, you knew to expect nothing less than the best. She enjoyed cooking, especially for others. And that is something that she has passed on to Mom, and Aunt Mel, and Sarah, and I. In fact one of my most prized possessions is a cookbook with a collection of hand written recipes of some of my favorite foods that she made. I use that book often, but I have to confess things never seem to turn out quite like they did when she made them.

Yes, my Grandmother was a great balance of the Mary-Martha combination. She loved her Lord, her church and serving others and she loved her family. She was always very supportive of us, expecially Sarah and I. From our Kindergarten plays to piano recitals, to band concerts and competitions, to graduations, to my ordination almost 2 years ago she was always there to show her support. In fact it was at my ordination that her “hints” about her desire to become a Great-Grandmother and have a great-grandchild went from subtle ones to quite blunt. As she held the baby of one of my closest friends in her lap, she looked at me and said, “Naomi, don’t you think we need one of these?” And about a year later, I called her to let her know that her wish had come true and at that point she started praying for a boy. And several months later I called to let her know that once again her prayers had been ansewered and she would be the Great-Grandmother to Elijah. She wasted no time hitting the stores and within weeks brought several outfits over for him after one of her treatments. I know the expectation of his arrival gave her something to fight for and while they won’t meet in person on this earth, I know that she will watch over him and he will know her through our stories and through the footprints that she has left on each of our lives.

I am challenged by her example of what it means to be a woman of God. What a blessing it is to have had such an example to light my way.  As a wife to a wonderful husband and mother to a vibrant, adorable toddler, it can be such a challenge to find time to spend with God. It is so easy to be like Martha and get caught up in doing life. There are certainly days when I wish I could be Mary and sit at Jesus' feet, soaking in all that He has to say. But a 2-year-old pulling at my leg, "Mommy, I need snack!" or "Mommy, let's pay tains (play trains)!" brings me back to the reality that I am called to be both Mary and Martha. I am called to serve and to listen, often times both at the same time. 


Thank God for those who have gone before us who have shown us that it can be done. It isn't easy, but through God's grace, we can. And when our journey on earth comes to an end...

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.