God’s absence…

 

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:21

Lazarus sisters had sent a message to Jesus that their brother whom He loved was seriously ill. Jesus reassured them saying, “This illness is not meant to end in death. It is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” But their brother died shortly after, without Jesus deigning interrupting His business to run to His friend bedside. When He eventually got there, Martha and Mary expressed their disappointment: ‘‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’’ (ISV, John 11:3-4,21,32)

Moses had clearly been sent to go and tell Pharaoh to let the Children of Israel go. The Lord had also promised to use him as the instrument of their deliverance. Moses thought everything would be quick and smooth but to his utter dismay, the Hebrews’ condition which was already difficult, worsened instead and the foremen of the people were furious and blamed him and his brother for it: “The LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” Vexed, Moses turned back to God and said: “O Lord, why have you done evil to this people? Why did you ever send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have not delivered your people at all.” (Exodus 5.21-23, ESV)

In short, ‘You sent me, I went and now they are all angry with me and You still have not kept Your promise! Where are You? What are You doing? What are You waiting for? And the Lord replied, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.” (Exodus 10:1b-2)

The same answer was given to Martha and Mary centuries later.

Jeremiah cried: “O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.” (Jeremiah 20:7, ESV) other versions have, “You have persuaded me, and I was persuaded.” In many of our "desperate" situations, we have also often heard God’s voice calming our worries down. We read all the appropriate passages with promises in the Bible, we pondered and recited them with faith (not to say with fervor) until we received in our minds that things were not over yet and there was still hope. We heard Him say He would use the problem for His glory and that restored our courage and hope. And then, to our greatest bewilderment, nothing happened as we had begun to expect it to, and disaster stroke: our loved one still died despite all the prophecies, the divorce was still pronounced, we still tested positive to HIV, the cancer’s diagnosis was still confirmed and we still lost our job or pension… And, just like Moses, Jeremiah, Martha and Mary, we're taken aback, we question ourselves, we wonder where has God gone and we doubt the word that we originally heard and from which had sprung out our faith. “Lord, if You had been here, this would not have happened...”

Behind this dismay, is the belief that misfortune must not and cannot hit the just, the upright or the pious. His life is supposed to be a permanent long quiet river. That’s why Job’s friends were harassing him to confess his sin because for them, it was unthinkable that he could loose his wealth and children without breaking any law. His affliction was the proof that God had abandoned him and was absent during his trial time. And, according to their ‘theology’, the only thing that could keep the Lord away was sin. “Have you ever seen destruction come to an upright man? or when were the god-fearing ever cut off?” As for his wife, she could hardly understand the reason of such a cruel treatment on someone who had so faithfully served his Lord: ‘‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.’’ (Job 4:7, BBE & 2:9, ESV)

Lord, if You had been here…This would not have happened. It did because I fell on Your voicemail and when You got the message, it was too late!

And yet, He was there! Martha did not noticed His presence, but He was truly there. If not, how could He have said: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am leaving to wake him up." … "Lazarus has died. For your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let's go to him."’’ (ISV, John 11:11,14,15) The emissaries of Martha and Mary had only spoken of a disease; how then did He know that Lazarus had died? Because, He was fully with the two sisters in Spirit, just as He had been with Nathaniel before telling him: "before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you." (John 1:48)

He was also there during Job’s turmoil and, He is always there in our difficult moments. Only, when we are torn by pain and tears cloud our eyes, we usually fail to distinguish His presence. And that’s when faith must intervene.

Faith that believes that He is there, simply because He said He would always be.

Faith that would rather say that if He is not visible, it is just because He is 'hidden' in the crowd.

Faith that knows that after all, it doesn’t need to see nor to feel His presence, to know that He is there.

“No temptation has overtaken you that is unusual for human beings. But God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. Instead, along with the temptation he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to endure it.” (1Corinthians 10:13) He is present throughout the test and ensures that we don’t break down. He is The Medium that helps us out and He is also The Grace that enables us to endure it.

“It is good to wait with silence for the salvation of God.” (Lamentations 3:26, DRB) If Lazarus sisters had not spoken too quickly, they wouldn’t have been disappointed. The Lord’s promises are Yes and Amen. Jesus was on His way to the miracle even before seeing them. He was there, neither as nor when expected, but had He not been at this funeral, Lazarus would have never been raised from the dead. He was there!

He is the Resurrection and the Life! There is no resurrection without prior death. He is capable to call forth any of our rotten issues and dashed hopes.

He is moved by your grief and pain and He is crying with you as He cried with Mary. In the midst of your suffering, hear this : “The Master is here and is calling for you! ” (John 11:28). Get up and go to Him: He is there…for you !

God bless you.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil

Genesis 2:9,15-17, “And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil… 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge (da’ath) of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” 

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is neither an Apple tree nor sexual intimacy. Indeed, right after creating Adam and Eve, God said to them: ‘‘… Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and subdue it…’’ (Genesis 1:28) This was clearly a way of blessing their sexuality. 

The tree of the knowledge, da’ath… This word (da’ath) is found 90 times in the Old Testament and stands for knowledge, perception, comprehension, discernment and skill. It comes from yâda‛, a verb that has as many meanings as: to know, to learn to know, to comprehend, to perceive, to find out, to discern, to discover, to discriminate, to distinguish, to know by experience, to recognise, to be wise, to feel, to admit, to acknowledge, to confess, to consider, to be wise, to be aware of, to be privy to, to be acquainted with, to be familiar with, to be endued with, to be skilful in, to know how and to know intimately (sexually). (Strong and Brown-Driver-Briggs Dictionaries) 

Based on these definitions, I would like to suggest that God forbade our first parents to eat of the fruit of that tree because He did not want them to learn to do evil. He didn't want them to experience it and to intimately know it, in a way that they would become familiar with it, trained and skillful in its practice. Consuming the forbidden fruit would have made them know the good indeed, but the evil that was as inseparable to it as the sides of the same coin, represented a danger too great. 

And if one asks: ‘‘Why then all-knowingly plant this tree in the middle of the garden?’’ I shall say, “Who would not buy stoves or knives on the pretext that one has kids at home? And why does one buy cookies and chocolates when one knows very well that they will not resist the urge to take more than reason?” That tree was a test of maturity. And I will say no more… 

The Bible says : “You know that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her, don't you? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." ” (1 Corinthians 6:16, ISV)

And ‘‘the two shall become one flesh’’ was said within the context of marriage. Indeed, “…Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) But just as a man becomes one with his wife by 'knowing' her, the man also become ONE with good and evil by knowing them. Ever since, these two principles coexist (often too peacefully) in him and it is a soiled nature, corrupt and contaminated by evil that he now pass onto his progeny. Thus, when the psalmist says: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me,” he is referring to the original sin, and not to a possible adultery nor an illegitimate birth (Psalm 51:5, ASV). 

Romans 7:15ss (KJV), “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I…17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me…19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do…21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord…” 

With the original sin, a perpetual war between the flesh and the Spirit and between evil and good took place in man (Galatians 5:17-22). Fortunately for him, the Son of God came precisely to destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8). Man can finally find his deliverance in Christ; and this is not through the extirpation of the evil that lives in him, but through the grace that has now empowered him to overcome it.

 

See you soon ;-)

God’s wealth…

 

I was listening to the radio in the car two days ago, when I heard this: "Say, 'my Lord is not sick so I can’t be sick. My Lord is not poor, so I can't be poor. My Lord is rich, so wealth is my share.' "And other similar statements.

This is actually just a symptom of a deeper disease: the humanization of God. We easily tend to forget that it is figuratively that the Scriptures tell us of His voice, His hand, His arm, His wrath etc. We have eventually imagined that God do have a mouth, a heart, a head and four limbs, …just like us! Besides, it is not by chance if He has often been represented as an august old man. And knowing that we were created in His image and after His likeness, has not made things easy. We really think that God looks like us, that He is a ‘human being’ like us. Someone has well said, "We have made God in OUR image."

God is Spirit. This is what Jesus reveals to the Samaritan woman. God is Spirit and we must worship Him in Spirit as well.

God is Spirit. He cannot be physically ill, unlike us, who are made of flesh and blood. It is not necessary to remind us that many God-fearing people fall sick or even die as a result of a disease, without any possibility to question their faith.

God is Spirit. He is neither poor nor rich; He doesn’t need well-provisioned bank accounts. He doesn’t need money to purchase cars, houses, expensive watches or designer’s shoes. But we do. When the Bible speaks of His wealth, it does not refer to material wealth. I would not say that His wealth is therefore spiritual, it would still be very reductive. A man may be spiritually rich, but God is far above and beyond this description. Indeed, when talking about wealth, there is always implicitly an element of comparison underlying with something else which is not wealth yet. God is outside any possible categorization. He cannot be compared in whatever way to whatever. The entire cosmos is His, as well as everything that might exist beyond or outside of the universe. He can destroy everything in an instant and rebuild it all as well instantly. EVERYTHING belongs to Him; I belong to Him and we all belong to Him. What does our notion of wealth and riches worth in view of that? A mere concept that can only be applied to men…

If you are running after 'prosperity', I mean wealth as understood by the vast majority of people, then there will always be someone richer than you. There will always be someone who can allow himself some more extravagances that you will never be able to afford and beside whom you will always feel poor. What are you looking for? What is your contentment gap? In short, what is the minimum you need and the maximum with which you will be totally satisfied?

The next time someone tells us that our fate is to be rich because our Lord is, let us take the time to ask ourselves in which manner the Father actually wants to enrich us.

“Beloved, in regard to all things I pray that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” 3 John 2

God knows our needs

A poorly dressed lady with a look of defeat on her face, walked into a grocery store. She approached the storeowner in a most humble manner and asked if he would let her charge a few groceries. She softly explained that her husband was very ill and unable to work, they had seven children and they needed food.

He scoffed at her and requested that she leaves at once.
Visualizing the family needs, she pleaded: "Please, sir! I will bring you the money just as soon as I can."
He told her he could not give her credit, since she did not have a charge account at his shop.

Standing beside the counter was a customer who overheard the conversation between the two. He walked forward and told the grocer that he would stand surety for whatever she needed for her family.

The merchant asked in a very reluctant voice, "Do you have a grocery list?"
She replied, "Yes sir."

"Ok," he said, "put it on the scales and whatever it weighs, I will give you that amount in goods."

She hesitated a moment then, reaching into her purse, she took out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it. Her head bowed, she carefully laid it on the scales which amazingly went and stayed down.

Staring at them, the grocer slowly turned to the customer and begrudgingly said, "I can't believe it."
The latter smiled and the grocer started putting the goods on the other side of the scales. They did not balance; so he continued to put more and more groceries on them until they would hold no more.

In utter disgust, the man finally grabbed the piece of paper and looked at it with even greater amazement. It was not a grocery list, it was a prayer which said: "Dear Lord, you know my needs and I am leaving this in your hands."

Standing there in stunned silence, the grocer gave her her ‘shopping bag’. She thanked them and left the store. The other customer paid the bill, saying: "It was worth every penny of it. Only God Knows how much a prayer weighs."

I did not write this story. I can’t even remember how I bumped onto this marvellous illustration. I just felt that someone might need to (re)read it and hear it echo in his spirit today.

God Alone knows the weight of a prayer and He has promised to gloriously supply ALL our needs according to His riches (they are inexhaustible). With Him as a Father and Christ Jesus as Lord, we shall not want.

Have a wonderblessed day!

The art of making good choices…

 

Although new to some, this topic has an air of ‘‘déjà vu’’ for many of you. If this should be the case, I hope that the reminder will nevertheless be refreshing enough.

How often have we not found ourselves lost and clueless at the crossroads, sandwiched and completely undecided as to the direction to follow? Sometimes we ended up making the right decision (by chance) but many other times, it was disastrous. The intention of this posting is to help us as much as possible, avoid this kind of inconvenience.

What are good choices? They are right, sure and reliable enough to lead us safely to port, especially if we take certain principles into consideration.

 

We can choose anything but…

The Bible says that if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed (John 8:36). If due to professional travel, you leave your 28 year-old daughter in charge of your house for a week, it does mean that you trust her doesn’t it? She is free to do whatever she wishes during your absence, but… Thus, he who lays down his life at the foot of the Cross is also free to do whatever he wills (wants) but...

1Corinthians 6:12 & 10:23 (ISV), “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not allow anything to control me… 10:23 Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up.”

Or as other versions have it, “All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient…but I will not be brought under the power of any… but not all things edify.” (ASV) and  “I am free to do all things; but not all things are wise… but I will not let myself come under the power of any… but not all things are for the common good.” (BBE)

ALL THINGS are lawful to me, EVERYTHING is permissible: EVERYTHING, absolutely EVERYTHING!!! The apostle Paul puts a lot of emphasis on this and yet, with the same insistence, he adds : BUT…

1) I will not allow anything to control me. I will not be enslaved by anything. Is there any risk of dependency? Is this going to totally absorb me? Will I be able to stop at any time? Everything can become an addiction or a prison : sex, work, video games, social networks on the Internet, esotericism, spouses, children, bets, music, alcohol… you name it.

2) Not everything edifies. Not everything is virtuous. Will I be comfortable if someone discovers my choice? If people see me fighting or stealing or…or…or…, how will they feel? Is this going to help me grow in my faith or keep me away from God instead? If the choice I am about to make doesn't build me up, I must abandon it.

3) Not everything is helpful or expedient. And this seems more important to Paul than the rest because he repeats it. Is this useful? Do I really need it? Is it going to help me move towards my destiny? What is this going to bring to my life, my family, my friends or my calling?

We are on parole ;-). Free indeed but…avoiding to scandalize anyone, avoiding to fall under the power of things or people and knowing to be contented with what will actually be useful to us. The Lord has not promised to supply all our wants, but all our NEEDS.

 

We have to sincerely desire to make the good choice

John 7:16,17, “ Jesus answered them, and said…If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”

Or, “If any man is ready to do God's pleasure he will have knowledge of the teaching and of where it comes from…” (BBE)

“If you really want to obey God, you will know if what I teach comes from God or from me.” (CEV)

“Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know whether what I teach comes from God or whether I speak on my own authority.” (GNB)

“Those who want to follow the will of God will know if what I teach is from God or if I teach my own thoughts.” (GW)

If any man WILL DO His will, if he REALLY WANTS to obey… This is where the problem lies: WANTING to do God’s will. If you do not desire it above any other thing, it is pointless to pray or to pretend seeking His Face.

“Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” He who comes to the Lord for advice must have resolved in his heart to obey whatever the cost. If he knows the right choice can only be that of God, if he understood that the safest decision can only be that which is in accordance with the will of the Omniscient One and if he is ready to put his preferences aside to accept those that the Spirit of God will show him, then he will certainly know what to do; he will know what to decide. The father will always be found of those who seek Him wholeheartedly. He will answer those who call unto Him and will tell them things that they do not know and cannot find out.

 

Ultimately, the art of making the right choices boils down to acting in accordance with the reply we received when we asked ourselves the question: “What would have the Lord done in our place?”

John 8:32 “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

What is it to be a Christian? (addendum)

 

I have realized afterwards that to maintain a certain balance, it was important to complete my portrait of the Christian through the analysis that follows.

 

Christ as a model of holiness

Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

1 John 1:8-10, “If we say that we do not have any sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we make it our habit to confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us those sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have never sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.”

Proverbs 24:16 (ASV), “For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…”

 

Whenever a Christian does something wrong and whenever one is involved in a scandal, people have no mercy at all for him. It is even worse for clergymen. People are quick to forget that they are merely humans (with their faults and their qualities) that God uses.

In the minds of many, Christians are just little pretentious and paragons of virtue who believe they are better than ordinary mortals. Unfortunately, we have done our best to help them think that way. Our haughty attitudes, our ‘‘black and white’’ vision of the world, in short, our lack of tolerance and compassion are responsible for this. It is not surprising then, that the least of our misdemeanours comes with a very expensive and immediate price.

A Christian is a saint (that is sanctified by Jesus) but not a saint (that no longer sins). He still falls but, with time, his falls are more episodic because of his visceral horror of sin. Every time he stumbles, a deep despondency comes over him for saddening the Holy Spirit and, he repents. He generally suffers more than anyone else for his actions. Indeed, the day he invited the Lord to transform him, he caught a glimpse of what his life could become in Christ. And the beauty of that vision transported him and restored his ability to dream and hope…This is why everyone of his shortcomings is cruelly perceived as moving away from that ideal standard.

Is it surprising to see a baby slaver or wear diapers? Is it strange if crying should be his most common form of expression? Why then should anyone be scandalized when a 50 years old family man who is also a 9 months old spiritual baby makes (spiritual) blunders of his age? Being a Christian is to be once born in Christ and then, as it is the case for any new birth, gradually go through the stages of baby, infant, child, teenager, adult and elderly man.

Being a Christian is not being perfect but it is being en route to perfection. Being a Christian is to be confident in the fact that He who started this good work in us - perfection - will complete it (Philippians 1:6). Being a Christian is just all in all, … being a sinner saved by Grace.

God bless you!

What is it to be a Christian? (Part 2)

 

Christ as a model of compassion

Generally thinking they are holier than God, many of those who identify themselves as Christians, do not hesitate to throw the 1^st, the 2^nd, the 10^th and the 100^th stones at those who are convinced of sin. And yet it is written, “To him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend; Even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.” (Job 6:14, ASV)

Jesus showed concern and compassion to the Samaritan woman, despite her flirtation and her immorality (John 4). If He succeeded into reaching her heart, it’s because He had first of all overcome the social, moral, ethnic and gender barriers existing between Himself and her.

It is really about time we remember the sight-distorting beams in our eyes, when we are on the verge of judging, condemning or simply removing the mote in someone else’s eye…

That said, I am not in favour of the ‘‘do not stop, do not see and do not speak because we are all dirty’’ attitude. This would not honour the Spirit of the One who urged us to be holy like our Heavenly Father (Leviticus 11:45 and 19:2, 1 Peter 1:15). The One who told the adulterous woman ‘‘Go and sin no more’’, immediately after sympathizing with her and saving her life (John 8:3-11).

If we want to bring people to the ineffable encounter with Christ, then we must absolutely change our ways and stop looking at them through the spectacles of our prejudices, just like Jesus does.

Being a Christian, is being able to grant a truce when your opponent is suffering. Let’s say your arrogant blaspheming atheistic neighbour loses his son a few weeks after mocking God once again; will you jump on the occasion, right in the middle of his grief, to tell him that it is certainly his incredulity that has caused the death of his child? I hope not ! You’d rather go to comfort him and suffer with him. There is a time and a way for everything. The Samaritan woman in John 4 was certainly used to hearing all sorts of gibes. Therefore, if Jesus had frontally addressed the matter of her affairs or her cohabitation, He would have antagonized her and she would no longer have listened to the Word of Life that she yet so desperately needed.

 

Christ as a model of love

Luke 9:51-55, « And it happened in the fulfilling of the days of His taking up, He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers before His face. And they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him. And they did not receive Him, because His face was going toward Jerusalem. And seeing, His disciples James and John said, Lord, do You desire that we command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did? But He turned and rebuked them and said, You do not know of what spirit you are. For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save…»

This anecdote reminds me of a conversation I once had with a brother. He was called to the ministry and was about to graduate from the Faculty of Theology in Brussels. He was coming from an African country ruled by a supposedly bloody dictator. During a prayer meeting, we were to pray for the salvation of our authorities when he bluntly refused to do so for his president, saying: ‘‘He deserved to roast in hell’’ ! I was flabbergasted; especially after all our attempts to make him understand that his attitude was not Christian at all and his country had a lot more to gain from a repentant dictator.

There was also this young and sturdy sister, that I vainly tried to persuade to forgive her brother and her sister. They were suppose to have hurt her. When I asked her to pray for their salvation, she refused saying: "That’s too easy. They must first suffer as much as I did and once I am satisfied, I will then be able to pray for them! »

Whatever the situation, a Christian should not wish the misfortune of others. It is antinomic. Indeed, a dog does not mew and a giraffe does not eat meat: it is a question of nature. Being a Christian, is to continuously strive not to think, say or do evil to anyone. Following Jesus, is doing one’s utmost to always do good to all (Acts 10:38). I stress that, a Christian cannot deliberately harm - nor even think of harming - his neighbour: it is impossible. It would tantamount to committing an unnatural act. If this is your story, then question yourself, because there is definitely something fundamentally wrong. As Jesus said, ‘‘You do not know of what spirit you are.’’

The Bible exhorts us not to allow evil to overcome us, but to overcome evil by good (Romans 12:21). The modus operandi of the Christian must always be love; that is his trademark, that by which he is essentially recognized: «...love one another. As I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this all shall know that you are my disciples, if you have love toward one another. » (John 13:34-35) This love gives and gives itself; it covers a multitude of sins (Proverbs 10:12b; 1 Peter 4:8), not by concealment, but because through the grace of forgiveness, erasing and forgetting everything, even the most ‘inexcusable’ offenses eventually disappear, completely covered by it.

 

Christ as a model of equity

Equity is a natural feeling of the just and the unjust, an inclination to treat people equally and to recognize the right of everyone impartially. According to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, it is a freedom from bias and favoritism. And Jesus was no respecter of persons. He knew how to be close to outcasts and society scraps: lepers, publicans, Samaritans, Canaanites and even Roman officers. The poor would come out of his anonymity and women would feel revalorized beside Him. He complimented and reprimanded rightly. He never handled the excesses and shortcomings of the rich and the clergy with kid gloves. He would tell some that it would be easier for a camel to go through the hole of a needle than for them to enter into the Kingdom of God and He would address the others as offspring of vipers, hypocrites, whitewashed tombs and children of the hell (Matthew 19:24 & 23:33,27,15). All that mattered to Him was the heart and what was in it.

Many are those frustrated by all sorts of injustice, who now come to Sunday services by routine. And for good reason! Our churches provide the sad spectacle of poor people not taken into account while the rich are treated as a VIP so that they may never think of giving their tithes and offerings elsewhere. The apostles also misjudged the liberality of the widow and the offering of the wealthy (Mark 12:41-43). And believe me, notwithstanding the Lord’s comments, many pastors will not think twice between the exorbitant gifts of the opulent and the widow’s small coins. They would rather have badly Christianized big donors as members than faithful and dedicated ones without bank accounts. After all, ‘‘money has no smell and overheads cannot care less where the funding comes from. Let God take His farthing (a cent) if He wants!’’

 

Christ as a model of service 

Hebrew 10:5-7 (ISV), “For this reason, when Christ came into the world, he said, "You did not want sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings you never took delight. Then I said, 'See, I have come to do your will, O God' (in the scroll of the Book this is written about me).”

John 5:36, «…for the works which the Father hath given me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. »

Ephesians 2:10 (ASV), “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.”

God formed us a body to do His will, and we came to Earth to serve. “Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, let my people go, that they may serve me.” (Exodus 8:1) That’s why Jesus always talked about His Father’s works that He came to accomplish and why He staged good or bad servants in so many parables and anecdotes. Besides, the words servant and servants appear 150 times throughout the New Testament among which 85 times in the Gospels alone: talk about emphasis!

The other image in relation with service that I like, is the one of the vessel: “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work.” (2 Timothy 2:20-21)

We live in a world where - crises helping – people are increasingly reluctant to serve but more prone to be served and to help themselves. Embezzlements, extortions, insider trading, astronomical bonuses as laurel crowns to reward managers responsible for bankruptcies, you name it, all these regularly make headline news in the media.

In another register, servants of God are less and less in contact with their sheep and are even sometimes harder to meet than heads of States. They are in the frontline when it comes to TV ministry, fundraising or mega-conferences organized by the superstars of Christianity but they delegate for prayer requests, diseases, deaths, burials, visits etc. except of course if required by a rich man or a politician. To serve or to serve (oneself): that is the question!

 

As you should have already noted, I did not mention the sinner’s prayer, baptism or the other sacraments, church membership, attendance to prayer meetings, the gift of miracles or the ministry gifts (pastor, evangelist…) and all the likes, as criteria to identify Christians. The maid possessed by a spirit of python (divination) in Acts 16 was 'evangelizing' and maybe some were even converted because she had urged them to listen to Paul. And yet, she was not a Christian, she was sold to the devil. The aforementioned things merely represent the form and not the substance of Christianity. Our gatherings are often filled with people who having observed them, will nevertheless be openly told: "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven… Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. "(Matthew 7:21-23). They will also be in absolute dismay when they will hear that those people they thought were damned instead receive a: “good and faithful servant… enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25:21,23)

Being a Christian is much more than a compilation of rituals and dogmas and expressions.

Being a Christian is a way of ‘being’, a way of being like Christ.

Being a Christian is reflecting more and more, the sublime character of the Lord. So it is just like he who has seen an admirable and irresistible light at a distance, then by getting nearer to it each day, ends up by being wholly absorbed in it. While he is being immersed, the Light begins to radiate from him, drawing to him and therefore to It, all those who have set their eyes on him (from afar, they first mistake him with the Light Source but as they come closer, they realize that he is only just an emanation of It and thus aspire of an identical finality)...

God bless you!

What is it to be a Christian?

Even though the subject has been widely dealt with on the Internet, I still found it useful to make it the starting point of this journey and the bedrock of future postings.

Nowadays, the word 'Christian' rather evokes a large holdall into which are indiscriminatingly thrown Catholics, Orthodox, Copts, Adventists, Lutherans, Calvinists, Baptists, Anabaptists, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Evangelicals, liberals, Methodists, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Emergents, Quakers, Mormons, Celestials, Jehovah's witnesses and many others… In the end, the question remains: who is Christian and who is not ?

Acts 11:26 (ISV), «… It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. »

Christian : the word appears three times in the Bible (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16) and the first group to use it were the Gentiles, who in those days were pagans. The Jews, careful to avoid any possibility of association with the Messiah - the Christ - contemptuously preferred to speak of ‘the sect of Nazarenes’ (Acts 24:5). In both cases, they were all referring to a group of people whose words and behaviour recalled significantly those of Jesus of Nazareth, a group of people who were self-proclaimed disciples of Christ.

But the word disciple alludes to someone who follows the teachings of a master and adheres to them, meaning, who puts them into practice. Thus according to Farrar, the disciple of Christ is he who believes in His doctrine, soaks himself in His spirit and imitate His example. (See International Standard Bible Encyclopedia). To be Christian, is therefore to have Christ for model.


 
Christ as a model of the respect of the Scriptures : The importance of the Bible

If all those who claim to be Christians were really behaving as such, nobody for instance, would wish to become a Buddhist. When it comes to spirituality, Buddhism seems to be the most associated with the concepts of peace and tolerance. But when I consider how they seek to attain it, as long as the awakening, I do realise that I can do better and even more, by simply putting Christ’s teachings into practice. What then is wrong ? The problem lies in the fact that we have become very complacent with our faith and now live it by power of attorney. We are so lazy to go to the fountain ourselves that we pay others to go; then we hasten to drink without taking the time to check whether the water that has been served to us is limpid, drinkable and indeed fetched from the Spring of Living Water. Is it not written: « … you have rejected me, the source of life-giving water ? » (Jeremiah 2:13)

The Lord was the Word, the Word of God ; and every time He opened His mouth, the Word was flowing out. « It is written » and « It is also written » were both naturally coming out : the Word of God had became flesh. No one could trap Him on any point of the Scriptures ; the devil tried and left empty-handed. Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees also tried their luck with in vain.

Paul’s wish is that we should not be tossed to and fro and carried away by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). But how will this happen if we cannot say « It is also written » as easily as the Master ? That is why we must absolutely read and re-read the Bible. We have to rediscover it. It is such an unrecognized treasure of pure wisdom ; and is within everyone’s reach. The Bible has been said to contain many things that it doesn’t and has also been accused of all sorts of intentions.


Like the Church of Laodiceans (Revelation 3:14-22), we have become so rich, so ‘prosperous’ that we no longer know neither spiritual hunger, nor spiritual thirst… I pray for a thirsty people who would run to the waters, even without money (for the God’s gifts are not for sale) in order to drink ; yes, a thirsty people who would massively come to the Lord to quench its thirst with the waters that He gives, those living waters that can quench one’s thirst forever (Isaiah 55:1, John 4:10,14 et 7:37). Such a people would be assured to be satisfy and to such a people is promised the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:6,3). I pray for such a people…


« …Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you. » (Matthew 28:20, KJV) The pioneer Christians were ‘faithful’ because of their attachment to the teachings of the Lord. We have to (re)learn to do like the Bereans (Acts 17:11). Not intimidated at all by the interplanetary or the supra-galactic profile of the evangelists and the Apostles who were speaking to them, they systematically cross-checked in the Scriptures, the accuracy of what was taught to them.
In case of conflict, they would have held the Scriptures for true and the preacher for false, notwithstanding its possible letters of credence. Indeed, "let God be true, but every man a liar." (Romans 3:4) As for us, we no longer examine a thing. In the name of the anointing or the 'revelation' we accept anything and those who dare to speak are marginalized or accused of rebellion and lese-majesty crimes.

However, to be a Christian is having for reference manual, for highway code, for bedside book and for thesaurus the Bible and the Bible in its entirety. They are wrong, those who believe that they can pretend to be Christians while awarding themselves the right to decide what is true and what is not, what pleases and what doesn’t, in short decide of what is divine, and what is not in the Bible. If this is allowed to continue, then there would soon be as many bibles out there as there are Christians. Some would have more than 66 books (like Catholic bibles), others would be limited to strict to ten or so pages and others would have gained additional chapters, taken from esoteric and Gnostic Writings or Eastern mysticism.

After all, doesn’t the one who seeks to be naturalized, accept tacitly to learn the habits and the customs of the country he wishes to obtain citizenship and doesn’t he comply with the laws and institutions? Doesn't he accept 'integration'? There are obviously things he will not concur with but he will have to accept them, or choose another homeland. If one day China were to write down in its Constitution that women are no longer allowed to wear skirts, regardless of the merits of this law, those who aspire to become Chinese will have to take it into account and conform themselves to it, under penalty of going in prison or being deprived of their nationality. As someone said, "France, either you like her or you leave her." Well, so it goes in the Kingdom of God. No one is forced to become a Christian ('naturalization') but when someone chooses to become one, as it is in any kingdom and in any nation, there are strict rules that govern relationships between citizens and their relations with the Authority (God). There are laws and there is a Constitution (the Bible) that should be known and respected. Simply said, there is no more Christianity without the Bible than there is a France without French or a Vatican City without the Pope. For those who choose to be Christian, the Bible is not an option, it is included in the welcome-pack and is authoritative.
 

Christ as a model of tolerance

One day, the disciples came to boast to have prevented a man to cast out demons, on the pretext that he was not following them! The Lord rebuked them explaining that who was not against them, was in fact for them (Luke 9:49-50). But consider their blindness: because of mere clans’ considerations, they’d rather see their brothers suffer in the throes of Satan than rejoice to see those unfortunate set free at last!!! Clearly, "Either we cast the demons out, or nobody does." A sectarian attitude that is particularly frequent in Christian circles. "I refuse to be friend with him because he doesn’t pray in our church"; "I will not go to this Conference (yet Christian) because it is organized by a rival denomination"; "So-and-so has ceased to be my brother when he decided to leave OUR Church to go X." The worst is when this is done or said by Servants of God: “Either you are with me or you are against me!” (implied: you stay with me in my church and you have to blindly support me because I am God’s mouthpiece) If you don’t bend, you are directly resisting God of course; it is immediately noted and you are henceforth enemies. And I just wonder: where is Christ in all that? Must His body be this divided? This torn? I thought the Church only had one single enemy, one Adversary: Satan… How do we read and understand these words: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring"? (John 10:16)

To be continued…