Elephants and Angels

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

– Luke 24: 31-32

There's an old story about three blindfolded men, who were asked to touch and identify an undisclosed object. And that object happened to be a live African elephant.

The first man touched the elephant's muscular trunk. The second man grasped its boney tale. And the third man — moving his hands across the beast's rugged hide — marveled at the rough texture. Although a 10,000-pound elephant was right in front of them, all three failed to see the big picture.

Many people these days also miss the big picture when it comes to spiritual matters. And that's even true for some long-time Christ-followers. So, to correct this shortsightedness, God has throughout history communicated his message in several ways, including through prophets, Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and of course his Son, Jesus.

God also uses angels to help spread the word. These beings are his special messengers who can appear in broad daylight, remain invisible, or communicate through dreams. The Bible advises us to remain hospitable because we might be entertaining angels without even knowing it.

Angelic messages are much more than words of conversation. Instead, they’re words that change eternity. It's in Luke’s gospel that we read about the angel Gabriel, who told an obscure girl named Mary that she’d soon give birth to the Savior of mankind. In a dream, an angel informed Joseph (Mary's fiancé) that the Holy Spirit had caused her pregnancy. Likewise, angels announced the Good News of Jesus' birth to shepherds, who’d seen a brilliant star in the sky marking the Christ-child’s location in Bethlehem.

It's through these revelations and confirmations that God has opened eyes and healed spiritual blindness — and not just in a tiny village somewhere in the Middle East 2,000 years ago. His big picture message continues to appear today … and unfold to the entire world. 

It's the reality that's right before our eyes. But first, we must be willing to see it. So, here’s the BIG question for you and me: Are we spiritually aware of how Jesus is revealing Himself in both small ways and large? 

That’s the elephant in the room.

City of Joy

He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

– Luke 23:25

Our nation is divided politically, affordable housing is scarce, and the cost of living is on the rise. It’s hard to think of anything to feel joyous about these days. However, millions around the world would do just about anything to trade places with us. That’s because even the poorest of our fellow citizens are considered rich (at least statistically) when compared with the rest of humanity. And despite its many imperfections, inequities, and injustices, America the Beautiful is still the Land of Opportunity.

If that thought doesn’t brighten your day, maybe the City of Joy will put things in perspective. In his book of the same name, author Dominique Lapierre wrote about Anand Nagar (The City of Joy), which is a slum in the center of Kolkata, India. Its residents are of different castes and religions, but they help each other unceasingly amidst grinding poverty and injustice. As one book critic observed, Lapierre met people there who possessed nothing — yet seemed to have everything.

The City of Joy is a place where the innocent thrive on poverty because of their zest for life and freedom from care. In fact, Lapierre found more heroism, joy, and happiness in the Indian slums than in many cities of the affluent West. The residents’ unlikely perspective on life turned a place of darkness into a City of Joy.

It was 2,000 years earlier that Jesus called his disciples the Light of the World. And that’s still his vision for you and me today. Through our faith in Christ, we have access to our Creator — a loving Father who hears our prayers and looks for ways to bless us. So, no matter how dire our situation may be, we already know that our story will end on a very positive note. 

Every Believer is called to reach the world with our Savior’s joyous message of grace, light, and joy. Likewise, we’re to show compassion and convey truth to a broken, dark, and unjust world. As Proverbs 31: 8-9 directs us:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Celebrate!

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

– Isaiah 43:19

What is it that every Bible-believing church in the world will celebrate this weekend — and every weekend to come?

It’s the radical notion that God loves his creation so much that he sent his only Son to personally pay for the mess we’ve all made of our lives and a once unspoiled creation. With this immense price now cleared from our individual accounts, every believer — through their faith in Jesus Christ — is free to serve as his hands and feet throughout the community and even the world.

But Christ-followers are in a predicament these days. Relativism rules America, and that which is obviously right or wrong is no longer considered so black and white. Popular culture brands those who believe in Jesus and his teachings as old-fashioned and intolerant. And those who dare to point out our nation’s retreat from God are labeled as bigots, hate-mongers, or similar monikers. 

The world really is upside down. For example, it’s actually a career move for many celebrities, musicians, and sports stars when they break the law and go to jail. But if a Christ-follower — real or in name only — slips up and does something wrong, the word hypocrite quickly follows through the media.

Of course, Christ-followers should be happy to plead guilty to holding some narrow and politically incorrect beliefs. One is that Jesus is the one and only way to God. Ultimately, the world’s false philosophies and religions fall far short of our Creator’s standards. And that’s Good News that the world curses and can’t tolerate. 

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,” responds God, “who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

Although there’s bad news all around us, it’s particularly reassuring to know that God continues to do a new thing through Christ-followers around the world. Likewise, Jesus encourages every Believer to continue being salt and light to a distorted world in need of guidance, truth, and character. People are watching to see if our words match our deeds. May it be that we celebrate the Good News through changed lives marked with love in action! 

Time to Reflect

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!”

– Luke 22: 20-22

It takes just a tiny point of reflected light from a telescope’s mirror to clarify our understanding of the universe. But when there’s a barrier — such as the earth’s atmosphere in the case of astronomy — we can be fooled by the resulting distorted image. This principle also applies to our daily walk of faith. After all, if we can’t see where we’re going, we can veer off the path and wind up in a ditch. So, let’s consider Jesus’ famous solution to this dilemma in John 8:12:

“I am the light of the world,” he proclaims. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

It’s a reminder that our lives should always reflect Jesus’ love in action. Unfortunately, the world says we must beat the competition, climb the corporate ladder, and keep up with our neighbors. We also need the biggest, the fastest, and the shiniest. And most of all, it’s not bragging if we can back it up. But Christ’s concise message to us is starkly different: 

To be first, we must be last.

This sheds a new light on things … and that’s just the point. After all, how much better would society be if Christ-followers were to adopt a servant’s attitude and put the interests of others before their own?

Jesus answered this question through his own example. Although he was God’s only Son, he entered the world in the humblest of circumstances — a birth among farm animals in a filthy stable. And as he grew up, he learned to make a common-man’s living as a carpenter. Of course, Jesus could have lived in splendor as the King of Kings. But instead, he chose a nomadic existence for teaching the Good News of salvation to undeserving people like you and me.

How can we mirror Christ through our own lives? Jesus says it all starts by putting our faith in him as our Savior. As he explained to Nicodemus, a respected religious leader of the day, we must all be born again:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,” John 3:16 tells us, “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The fact is that we are nothing without Jesus … and we can do even less by ourselves. But when we surrender our will to God’s plan — even in the most difficult moments — it’s through this brilliant Light of the World that we find our purpose in life. Let’s reflect on that.

 

The Law of the Seed

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

– Matthew 21: 10-11

In 2005, National Geographic reported that Israeli researchers had grown a 3-foot date palm sapling from 2,000-year-old seeds discovered at Masada, an ancient mountainside fortress captured by the Romans in A.D. 73.

Isn’t that amazing? Tiny seeds — dried up and dead since Jesus’ day — were literally born again centuries later into a vibrant young tree. Who knew those dormant seeds held so much potential?

It’s the perfect illustration of a biblical principal called The Law of the Seed. It states that harvesting and sowing take place in different seasons, and it takes both patience, and the death of the original seed, to produce new life. In other words, life follows death — not the other way around. And Jesus lived that out through his perfect, sin-free life. After completing his three-year ministry to save the world, he willingly died on a cross to pay the enormous price for all our sins — past, present and future. It was then he proved that he was indeed God’s Son by being raised again to life. This fulfilled Old Testament prophecies and convinced many of his disciples that they were following the right person all along. 

How does The Law of the Seed apply to 21st century Christ-followers like you and me? It sounds strange, but we all must choose to die. Of course, that doesn’t mean being nailed to a cross and earning our own salvation because Jesus already did that to pay our way. But it does mean dying to our selfish desires and dying to sin. For example, instead of spending all our free time in front of a video screen, we could spend some of it imitating Jesus by feeding the hungry, tutoring a child (or adult) to read, running errands for shut-ins, and generally helping the less fortunate. The possibilities are endless.

Let’s ask ourselves: Are we welcoming the REAL risen Jesus into our lives, or do we expect him to fit our own agendas? The Law of the Seed — personified through Christ’s own words and example — reveals that it’s through dying that we’ll find life.

 

Giving from the Heart

The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

– 1 Chronicles 29:9

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease (CVD) takes over 940,000 lives each year as the nation’s leading cause of death. The AHA also reports that roughly 50% of adults have some form of cardiovascular disease, and that a heart attack occurs about every 40 seconds in the U.S.

It’s obvious that America is dealing with a major health crisis. But there’s another serious heart problem that doesn’t involve cigarettes, cholesterol management, or low-fat diets: 

It’s that far too many Christ-followers lack a heart that’s willing to give according to the resources God has presented them. They might not be wealthy, but these Believers have something to offer. And when they do open their wallets, it’s often done grudgingly. But the biblical principle is for you and me to be generous with our money and possessions. That’s because we worship a God of generosity, and we should follow His example.

A related precept is the tithe, which means giving the first 10% of our income back to God through our local church. Of course, the One who created the universe with a word hardly needs our money. But embracing this savvy practice is immensely beneficial. For example, tithing helps the church serve the community, nation — and even the world — by turning the Good News about Jesus into tangible actions. Such purposeful giving also helps Christ-followers grow spiritually and demonstrate how much we differ from society. Moreover, it’s a declaration of our trust in God.

Why do many Christ-followers fail to give to their potential? For some, it’s a lack of sound biblical teaching on the matter. For others, it might be a lack of financial planning or even debt issues. And unfortunately, basic selfishness often figures into the equation.

Whether we’re rich or poor — or somewhere in the middle — being generous with our money and possessions is the antidote to worldly materialism. And when we give Jesus some of it, He can do lots with it … and with us along the way. So, with that in mind, let’s take this confirmation from Deuteronomy 15:10 to heart:

Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

A Dollar Saved

She went and told Elisha. And the prophet said to her, “Go, sell the oil and pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

– 2 Kings 4:7

“Money in the bank is like toothpaste in the tube,” writer Earl Wilson once quipped. “Easy to take out, hard to put back.”

He makes a good point. After all, ours is a buy-now-pay-later culture. And if an unexpected expense (or the latest smart gadget) comes along, it’s second nature for us to put it on a maxed-out credit card — and then worry later about making the minimum monthly payments. With such an unrealistic approach to money, finances, and debt, is it any wonder that millions of Americans these days are subject to bankruptcies, foreclosures, and repossessions?

During His brief ministry, Jesus taught His followers about the proper relationship with God, family, neighbors … and even enemies. But Christ also spoke extensively about money-related issues. In fact, the Bible is full of financial wisdom that’s as applicable today as it was centuries ago.

For example, one principle is to give the first 10% or more of our income to the church. This honors God by actively promoting His purposes on earth and demonstrating our faith in Him for meeting our needs. And another precept is to appreciate all that God has given us. That's because when we foster an attitude of gratitude, we’re unlikely to spend what we don’t have on unaffordable material possessions that we don’t really need.

Next, we must attack debt and anticipate tough times. This means developing a budget, spending less than what we earn, paying off those credit cards (especially the ones with sky-high interest rates), and setting money aside to cover unexpected expenses. Following these steps can help your savings grow little by little over time — especially when they earn compound interest.

Above all, we must be rich toward God and invest in the eternal. Saving for the future is obviously important. But also look for ways to put your money to work promoting God’s interests. In addition to your weekly Sunday contribution, this might involve giving toward a special church initiative, supporting overseas missionaries, or maybe even starting your own community ministry. Whatever it is, ask God in prayer to show you what to do … and clear the way to let you do it. 

Lastly, we can rest assured that our Creator is a great provider. But let's not forget that while His provision doesn’t ignore debt, it also doesn’t excuse irresponsibility. As Proverbs 21:20 tells us:

Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.