Day 160: Guidance

Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.'  Therefore your sin remains."  John 9:41

I find that the use of blindness as a metaphor is quite harsh.

We have other metaphors in the Gospels that are much easier to understand.  We are sheep that are not too good at living on our own, but we can be led in a direction and can be taught.  We are children who are innocent and willing to learn.  We are salt to give good flavor to the bland world.  We are light to illuminate the darkness.  But, are we blind?

I have to wonder, does blind in the New Testament mean not being able to see anything at all, or does that mean to be just visually impaired (nearsighted/farsighted)?  The metaphor would be easier for me to grasp if the latter because I have to wear glasses in order to see well.  At the same time, though, am I just being so prideful that I need to say that I can see?

I interpret Jesus' saying above as being against judgment.  We as humans have no right to take God's place and exercise judgment on the world.  When we judge, we claim to be seeing while we ourselves are blind.  After taking that into account, I can start to understand that blindness in this sense truly is blindness, where we cannot see a single thing no matter how hard we try or how thick of lenses we wear.  This makes Jesus' power that much more glorious, though, for Jesus not only teaches us, but he also transforms us.

As I consider blindness more and more, I think all about our stumbling around in the world without direction or help.  When we wander around, we will find it very difficult to get anywhere.  So, why should we take it upon ourselves to cast judgment on all of those around us?  Can we really lead others without Jesus?  Do we even know where we're going?  We can sure try to get around, but then, what if there's a hole right in front of us that we can't even feel our way out of?  What if there's somebody chasing after us?  A car?  That's what this world is to us.  There are so many unknowns, and we can't just wander around without any direction or guidance.

The most important fact for us to consider is the fact that we are truly blind.  We need Jesus to guide us through all the difficult places.  We need that strong hand to guide us at all times of the day, not just during the daytime.  We need someone who won't abandon us, and that's what Jesus is here for.  When we acknowledge that we need Jesus, Jesus will start walking beside us and in front of us.  With Jesus, we will find ourselves walking in infinite grace.

Day 157: Witnessing God

Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  John 8:19

Although this response is quite negative and condemning of the Pharisees, it's a great revelation to us as Christians.

I have just finished reading From Sin to Amazing Grace by Dr. Patrick Cheng and have been starting to take many of his ideas into my own understanding of the scriptures.  One of the things that Dr. Cheng writes about is the Out Christ, who serves as our revelation of the Godhead.  The Old Testament God is difficult to understand many times, and that particular manifestation of God was never seen face to face.  Jesus, on the other hand, came down to earth so that we can see God face to face and live (I love that song, "Come O thou traveler unknown").  In one sense, God came out of the heavenly closet in the form of Jesus Christ.

And this is where things are important with the above response.  The Pharisees refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah for many reasons, but none of them explained away their intentions.  They hated Jesus.  And Jesus was honest (if not blunt) with them.  He told them like it was.  What Jesus told them is what he tells us all, that God is love.  We are being called every day by God to show our love for one another.  That's where our understanding can get to be difficult.

God will never be what we envision.  God is so amazing, so transcendent, so great that we can never truly fathom or comprehend God.  Yet, we don't need to be doing that.  Despite the fact that we as humans are creatures of patterns and habits, we don't have a need to be putting God into a box or a drawing or a writing.  God's love transcends all of that.  What's even better is that we have all that we need in order to understand right in front of us.  Jesus has spoken to us in so many different ways to explain all that we need to know.  When we read the Gospel, we will come to understand love just a little bit more.

Yes, Jesus might make us uncomfortable because he calls us to come out of our closets made of prejudices and selfish pride, but to come out and embrace love is so much better!  When we make that step to receive and internalize love, we will see that the world all around us will become a better place.  When we learn to embrace one another, seeing the image of God in each person, we will be able to see God and know God better than we ever have.

Day 112: Resolving Issues

"When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."  Luke 12:58-59

This is a harsh message.

We always want Jesus to be on our side, even when it involves our own wills and not his.  But, Jesus is a preacher of Truth, and if we are not of the Truth, we will feel that Jesus is standing against us.  Jesus reprimands us so that we can walk along the straight and narrow path, and that will involve us learning to turn away from every temptation that is out there, no matter how enticing each might be.

In the American court system, many times the case will be settled in favor of the one who has the better lawyer.  A great example of how this plays out is with immigration hearings, where the court will provide a lawyer who probably can't even speak the language of the defendant.  Of course, that would easily put that person at a disadvantage.  Indeed, cases are very hard to settle because of the gathering of evidence, and if there is not much evidence, the details can become very difficult to figure out.

The easiest way to resolve these issues is for both sides to put aside their pride and start speaking truthfully to one another, so that they can resolve the issues quickly and smoothly.  It is because of lies and pride that court cases can go on for so long.

In the same way, we need to make sure that we are resolving all our conflicts with those around us.  It is one thing to ignore issues just because we want to appear nice, or we want to make sure we can squeeze as much money out of a relationship with an acquaintance.  It is another thing, though, to speak truthfully and lovingly to those around us.  For, when we are brought before God, the ultimate Judge, there will be no ifs, ands, or buts that we can speak of.  God will judge us on the one commandment: to love one another.  When we hold grudges against other people, we project our hate towards them, and they become an embodiment of a deep sin within us.  We need to let them go and reconcile ourselves with those people whom we hold grudges against.  When we learn to resolve our issues like that, we will be able to spread the love that God has shown us to everybody around us.  Rather than continue living in a hate filled world, we will be bringing the Kingdom of Heaven into our daily lives.

Day 075: Bias

"But from those who seemed to be something - whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man - for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me."  Galatians 2:6

We need to go around remembering this.

Favoritism is a dangerous thing that has plagued humanity for quite a long time.  Holding onto just one person while disregarding everybody else who is much better qualified is something that can be harmful for a business, a class, a church, or a project.  Favoritism blinds us.

God, on the other hand, is not blind.  God sees all that we are worth and puts us to in places where we can shine the best.  God provides us with the opportunities to grow and to shine in ways that we couldn't ever have imagined.  On top of that, God can see through the acts that we each put on in order to deceive all of those around us.  God is the one with the sharp eye and the discerning ways to read past the papers that are framed and hanging on an office wall.  God can examine us entirely.

We allow for our own biases to rule over our lives.  But that adds nothing to our lives.  When we start deceiving ourselves about people that we like just because they went to a certain school, speak a certain way, or even have a certain skin color, we end up hurting ourselves.  Rather than making our lives better, we start to degenerate, undoing all the work that we had done to begin with.

What's a way to eliminate this issue?  How about turning to God?  When we make ourselves the boss, we don't know when to stop picking and choosing what we want.  We have gotten so used to allowing our biases to rule over us that we can't even make good decisions.  However, with prayer and meditation, with a constant communication with God, we can be more discerning.  When we allow for God to rule over us, God will put God's master plan into action.  We will discover greater things when we work together with what God gives us.

This Lent, meditate on what God has in store for you.  What issues are pressing you right now?  What kinds of goals do you have?  What are the God-given gifts that you have that you can use to get to your goals?  Pray and communicate with God.  God will show you the best way to live your life, and you won't have to worry about any biases putting you at a disadvantage. 

Day 071: Simplicity

"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."  2 Corinthians 11:3

We have been deceived many times that simplicity is something to be suspicious about.  We respond to things that are simple with, "it's too good to be true."  In order to cope with this sentiment, we have decided to make everything around us more and more complex.  On top of everything else, though, we have done this to the Gospel.

Jesus asserted many times in the Gospels that the whole message is just one of love.  Love God.  Love your neighbors.  Go out into the world with this message.  Bring the love that I have given you to everybody in every nation, in every language.  But that's too simple for us, isn't it?  I mean, God, the creator of the universe and all that is in it, the governor over everything and every day, only asks for us to love.  That's it.

However, we have gone out into the world, baptizing ourselves in the name of our own thoughts.  We have taken not only two tunics, but an entire wardrobe with us: all of our interpretations, all of our biases, all of our judgments.  Instead of accepting others with welcoming hands, we have gone into other houses and poured our dust over everybody who comes to us with a question.  We have isolated everybody around us in the name of something we call our own "gospel".

That's not what Jesus preached.  That's not what we have learned.  That's what we have deceived ourselves into believing and doing.  Rather, we are called to love everybody with the same love that God has given us.

This Lent, meditate on the simplicity of the Gospel.  Let the Gospel of love permeate all throughout your mind and body.  Let the love shine through you in everything you do.

Plants

"He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" (Luke 13:8-9)
Jesus has come down into our lives to put in new fertilizer and other vitamins so that we can grow and bear fruits.  The only way we can bear fruits is by taking all that Jesus teaches us in and applying it in our lives.  In this parable, in particular, Jesus mentions that we are given a chance to become better.  In fact, God is always working within us to make us better.  When we allow God to dictate what happens in our lives, we will grow to bear great fruit.
Another note is that Jesus preaches against judging.  Therefore, He considers this to be of such a great importance, for He speaks of it before teaching us that we need to live in Him.  Thus, by making peace with our neighbors and becoming a unified family of God, we shall live and breathe the gospel.

God's Grace

So, today's readings are all about God's grace.  The parable for today can seem difficult to understand, for it exhibits what seems to be inequality among the workers.  However, as Jesus says, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?" (Matthew 20:15, NKJV)  This passage reminds me of another parable, where a servant is forgiven of all of his debts, but then that same servant goes out to demand the debts of his workers.  After remembering that, I remember what I did yesterday.
I had decided to wear a new shirt that my mom had gotten me two weeks ago.  The thing about the shirt is that it was a tank top, a shirt style I had never worn before (gasp! I know).  Moreover, it had the word "proud" written in rainbow letters on the front. So, when I was walking about, I felt a little bare and nervous, but that did not stop me entirely from going about my normal day.  When I walked to the pizza joint just outside of my house, I hesitated to walk any farther, for a man was walking in before me: baggy, long sleeved shirt reading "Born Fly" on the back, pants sagging lower than the knees, basketball shorts breathing in the wind, and tattoos on either cheekbone and forehead.  He placed his order.  I placed mine.  He got his food and took a seat.  I got my food to go.  There was no interaction between the two of us, and there was no harm done.  No harm.
I judged.  I projected my own prejudices towards that man.  I accused him of planning and conspiring things against me and all of my fabulous family that had never crossed his mind.  In fact, it crossed my mind before his.  Who am I to determine what he is going to do? Who am I to judge him for his outward appearance? Who am I to take out my own fears and angers on him?
In the same way, who are we to judge who gets God's grace? Who are we to call ourselves saints and everybody else sinners?  God has the last say.  God has the grace and the punishments.  I, like Jonah, must eat my hateful thoughts.  I, like Christ, must prepare myself as a worthy sacrifice to the living God, the God of abounding grace and reluctant punishment.