Agony For Me

“And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Lu 22:43-44 AV)

Sometimes we read something so often that the impact of the passages doesn’t hit us like it should.  According to Luke and others, when Jesus was in agony praying for the world, He bled sweat drops of blood.  That is no small thing.  According to my web browser’s AI answer, “The phrase "sweat drops of blood" refers to hematidrosis (or hematohidrosis), a rare medical condition where extreme emotional or physical stress causes capillary blood vessels around sweat glands to rupture, mixing blood with perspiration.  This phenomenon is most famously associated with Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, as described in Luke 22:44, where his sweat became "like great drops of blood" due to his profound agony.”  The problem with this, albeit a slight one, assumes Jesus’ body had a defect.  We know He was perfect in all His being, so when He sweat drops of blood, his agony must have been immeasurable.  To take this to the natural conclusion, when Jesus was in prayer, He had me in mind!

There is no one who agonized and is agonizing for us like Jesus.  No one!  I know I have used this example before, but it is the closest I can come to.  Many years ago, serving as a Chaplin, I got a page to the room of a patient who was facing some very bad news.  He was a diabetic and was looking at a quadrupedal amputation.  They were going to take his arms below the elbow and his legs below the knee.  Some may remark that a diabetic who does not take care of themselves faces the possibility of a similar outcome.  They would be totally wrong.  Especially in this case.  When visiting with this fella, I learned that he had recently lost his wife to cancer.  This man has spent the better part of a decade caring for his wife and neglected to care for himself.  One can hardly blame him.  If my spouse were in such a way, I wouldn’t worry about myself, either.  It is the nature of caregiving.  He sacrificed his own health so that he could make the last years of his wife’s life a bit more bearable.  He suffered in agony so that another might be made free.

What the patient above did pales in comparison to what Jesus did for us.  Praying so hard that He bled through His pores was only the beginning.  He still had His passion to endure.  He still had a horrible execution to suffer.  What Jesus faced for the sinner cannot be compared to any torture since.  He suffered!  But what He experienced in the garden was not something that was done to Him.  It was something He did himself.  He prayed.  He prayed in such a way that His body literally began to bleed.  He agonized over the lost souls of mankind and the coming debt He was to pay for us all.  When we complain about things required of us from a loving Savior who prayed so hard He bled, perhaps we won’t mind reciprocating that love.  He prayed.  He prayed hard.  He prayed so hard that he bled. What is the least we could do for Him?

He Has It All

“LAMED. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness [is] unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all [are] thy servants.” (Ps 119:89-91 AV)

The writer of Psalm 119 equates the eternality of the word of God and the stability of our present planet as similar.  As impossible as it is for mankind to obliterate the entire planet into non-existence, it is equally impossible to alter or destroy God’s written word.  Much has been written and debated on the latter.  It is the former point to which I wish to meditate.  The present world exists and operates by the sovereign will of God.  That includes all that happens on this rock.  God’s sovereignty is not limited to nature.  His sovereignty also extends to the actions of mankind.  Nothing happens without God’s direct or indirect will affecting it.  Mankind may have a belief that he is a free agent capable of acting as they wish without divine intervention or cooperation.  This simply is not true.  We live in a rapidly changing world.  The threat of Gog and Magog lies at the door.  If we were uncertain yesterday, tomorrow promised to be even more concerning.  This are going downhill faster than we can record them.  The last bastion of Judeo/Christian influence is quickly ascending the pit of secular hedonism.  One election isn’t going to stop it.  Unless there is a worldwide revival of many coming to Christ, the next major event will be the coming of the Antichrist.  The child of God cannot forget that the world and its systems continue because God has a plan!

One major truth the scoffers forget is the last part of our passage.  Both the word of God and the created universe continue according to the ordinances God has in place.  There are universal laws baked into God’s creation that might be stretched, but they cannot be broken.  There are physical laws that our brightest minds are well aware of and it is by these laws they make new discoveries.  What is true in the physical world is also true of the moral and metaphysical world.  Just as someone cannot jump of a tall building without wings or a chute and expect to land safely thousands of feet below, man cannot live without morals and expect to life safely.  Mankind cannot exist without submission to its Creator without fear of consequences.  The material universe exists by His power and for His purposes.

As we await the conclusion of all things, let us wait in patience.  God does not promise a smooth journey.  No doubt there will be some serious bumps along the way.  But it will be all good!  Eternity awaits the child of God.  Eternity awaits those who have trusted in Him.  Eternity awaits the dear saint whose hope is not in the present, but in the eternal presence of the Creator.  Don’t fret.  God has it all under control.  Nothing will escape His notice.  He will pull the plug in His time.  We will be safe in eternity where no more harm can come.  He has it all!

The Uncomfortable But Loving Truth

“Open rebuke [is] better than secret love.” (Pr 27:5 AV)

Although not pleasant, correction is far better than flattery.  No one likes to be rebuked.  I cannot think of a single soul who hopes his day is filled with the critical remarks of others.  Most would rather have the opposite.  In our proverb, the king is making a comparison.  The one who could rebuke or possesses secret love is one and the same.  The secret that he keeps is the issue of rebuke.  The love is not secret because the receiver is unaware of that love.  Rather, it is secret because he is unaware of the rebuke he needs.  The second party has a choice.  Either correct an errant brother for his own good and those show open love for him.  Or bury the transgression and love him anyway while the transgression continues.

We often allow behavior to continue because “that’s just his nature and everyone knows it”, or “that poor soul has had a rough time of it and we pity him”, or “we don’t want to lose him so we all put up with what he is and love him, anyway”.  Now, the Bible does give counsel to pass over transgressions and not make issue of them.  Sometimes forgiving and forgetting is the best thing to do.  We are not talking about a one-time minor issue.  Rather, I think Solomon is speaking of habitual behavior that is unacceptable, would be an embarrassment to the offender, or cause immediate and irreversible harm to others.  Letting something go may not be prudent.  But that doesn’t mean we need to point out everything, either.  The point is simple.  If the honorable saint observes poor behavior that is destructive to the errant one, ignoring it is not love.  I agree with Paul that any correction should be offered in the spirit of meekness with great wisdom.  Being blunt is a last resort.

Being on the receiving end of thoughtful correction is not comfortable.  It is not easy taking advice from others.  It is difficult to hear where we might be failing.  However, if we are honest, we would rather have someone intervene and perhaps deal with short-term ill will than to go on in our error and cause great harm later on.  This is the point Solomon is making.  If we truly say that we love others, it is better that we say something with a heart of charity and meekness than to ignore it, thinking that loving on them is the better choice.  That is not love.  That is self-love.  We don’t like confrontation.  We don’t like to be the bad guy.  We want to be the one everyone likes.  In the interim, we are allowing great harm to be the result of our silence.  It is time to do ministry.  It is time to say something.  It is time to love someone even though they may not at first appreciate it.

Wasted Blessings

“And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Lu 15:31-32 AV)

The wealthy father spoke these words to the faithful son upon the return of his wayward brother.  He spoke these words to an envious son because he didn’t realize what he had all along.  Note that all that the father possessed was in the control of the faithful son.  There was nothing the faithful son was prohibited from doing with the remainder of what the father had.  The fatted calf could may have very well been slain, and a party thrown, for the faithful son anytime he wanted.  As far as the father was concerned, what he had, his faithful son had as well.  We often find fault with the prodigal.  As well, we should.  He wasted his father’s living on a self-indulgent life.  Before we empathize too much with the faithful son, in a manner of speaking, he wasted his father’s living as well.  He was too self-righteous to enjoy a bit of the blessing of the father.  He blames his father.  He states that the fatted calf was never slain for him, nor a party thrown.  Well, who stopped him?  What struck me was how ignorant we are of God’s blessings and how under-used they often are.

Isn’t that just like us, sometimes?  We think it more noble to be self-abasing beyond what God might require.  My mother made some extraordinary cutout cookies.  They were to die for.  My wife got her recipe, and it took about eight years before she finally perfected it.  These cookies are so good that we have had professional bakeries asking for the recipe.  At Christmas time, our family would bake and fill a freezer with her cookies.  It was an eight-hour process.  If each batch took ten minutes, you can do the math.  That was a lot of cookies.  As we were baking, she would often leave a few to the side.  She wouldn’t say a word.  She simply left them there.  She intended for us to nibble here and there.  After all, who can bake and decorate cookies without the temptation to eat them?  Some of us had her voice stuck in the back of our heads.  “Don’t eat those before dinner.  You’ll spoil your dinner”.  But she left them there!  She did so out of the kindness of her heart.  Still, our overly active conscience forbade us to nibble until she released them to our pleasure.  We had a blessing right in front of us that was expected to be enjoyed, but because of our lack of initiative, they went uneaten.  This is how we are with God’s blessings sometimes.

Pride, masquerading as humility, is often our enemy.  We don’t deserve God’s blessings.  So, we torture ourselves by refusing His blessings, thinking that somehow He is impressed with our sacrifice.  One has to wonder the reasons behind the faithful son’s sacrifice.  Perhaps he wanted to earn the respect of his father not knowing he already had it.  Perhaps he saw enjoyment as indulgence.  Whatever the cause the loss was his.  His father told him as much.  When the faithful son complained at the lack of pleasure in his life, the father rightly placed the blame right at his feet.  If God has blessed us, there is no sin in enjoying those blessings.  There is no sin is having a life which the LORD has already given.  The key is our focus of life.  For the prodigal, pleasure was what defined his life.  Whereas for the father, pleasure was a benefit and not a goal.  The same could have been true for the faithful son.  We are so blessed, yet the blessings of God often go unused.  Especially the spiritual ones.  We don’t spend time in His word or in prayer.  We pick and choose which church service to go to like we were going out for ice cream.  We have the blessing of service, yet we would much rather spend our time in personal pursuits.  The fatted calf has always been there.  Why not use it?

More Than Bare Necessities

“The life is more than meat, and the body [is more] than raiment.” (Lu 12:23 AV)

The soul that learns this is most contented of all.  This goes far beyond mere materialism.  Jesus is speaking of the necessities of life here.  He is not speaking of a nice home, two cars in the garage, and a hefty retirement account.  Our Savior is speaking about survival.  He is speaking of food and protection from the elements.  He is speaking about healthcare, the grocery bill, or the means to work for a living.  Our Savior is not speaking of a closet full of options.  He is speaking of that one set of clothes needed daily.  He is not speaking of struggling over the menu because of too many options.  Rather, He is speaking of that one can of soup in the cupboard.  Jesus is telling us that life is more than our absolute needs.  Life is more than finding a cure for horrible diseases.  Life is more than a full stomach.  Life is more than heat in the winter or water to drink.  Life is more than all the things of our temporary world.  Life is far more than what we think is absolutely necessary.

Recently, I visited my new favorite place.  I have several.  There is Top Of The Falls Café at Niagara Falls, NY.  There is the Gap of Dunloe in Ireland.  I enjoy the shores of Lake Michigan when the wind is blowing briskly from the east.  But my new favorite place is Eagle Point Park in Dubuque, IA.  It sits atop a bluff that overlooks the Mississippi River valley.  The bluff is about 150 above the waterline.  It is called Eagle Point Park because bald eagles winter there.  The first time I heard an eagle call out, before I saw it, I knew what it was.  They have a distinct call.  The park was quiet.  Not too many people were there.  The scenery was absolutely breathtaking.  It was peaceful.  Now I have this ambition to take a camp stove during a warm winter’s morning and cooking a hot breakfast while watching the eagles and the river.  Complete with hot chocolate or coffee, my hope is to sit in warm clothes and a hot breakfast and just enjoy the open spaces, quietness, and the clean air.  There are more fulfilling things in life than what we think we need.  To make it the best morning ever, the Bible and time with God would be the center of it.  While sitting and overlooking the river, a plate of vitals in front of me, the Bible would be open as I read along.  Prayer would be offered as the Spirit would lead.  That is a special place.

It is interesting what those who are close to eternity desire from life.  Those who know God and have walked with Him are not really concerned about the meal card that needs completing.  They are not all that worried about what treatment lies ahead.  They are not concerned about the roof that needs patching, the taxes that need to be paid, or even the laundry that needs to be washed.  What they are most concerned about is meeting their Savior.  That is where their heart is.  Life is not about all those necessary things.  Life is about our walk with God.  The things of this life will perish with the using.  The only part of this life that carries on to the next is our relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ.  It amazes me how many people treat their walk with God as an add-on to life.  Rather than treat their walk with God as the only essential, it is an extra somewhere between a holiday and a night out.  This is really sad.  When Jesus tells us that life is more than the essentials we think we need, it is the most important truth we could ever learn.  Praise God for His wonderful salvation in His Son, Jesus Christ.

A Great Question, Or a Tough Challenge?

“And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.” (Lu 8:25 AV)

A piercing question to be sure!  Although I am not so sure given the same set of circumstances, that I wouldn’t react the same way.  The master is asleep.  The ship upon which they rode was close to breaking apart.  Their lives hung in the balance.  Yet there was Jesus, asleep in the hull.  Being rocked to and fro like a baby in a cradle, our Savior was sound asleep with no concern regarding the future of the ship or His twelve.  The twelve should have taken a que.  If the master is unconcerned and asleep, perhaps they should relax.  Easier said than done.  What we do know is that Jesus corrects them for having no faith.  They should have.  Even though they possessed little to no faith, the LORD took mercy on them and calmed the seas.  When our lives are turned upside down, we can ask the same question.  Where is our faith?  The question above is a good one.  Especially for an unsettled heart.  It could be that Jesus is not so much rebuking them as He is teaching them.  At a time when they should have had faith, they did not.  Perhaps the above question is a challenge.  Perhaps Jesus is asking, and then rhetorically answering it with a miracle.  Perhaps His question could be understood in the following: “where is your faith? I will show you where your faith should be.  Now, have faith.”

My wife and I used to watch cooking shows.  We watched all sorts of them.  We particularly liked the competition-based shows.  We enjoyed watching contestants use their imagination to come up with a dish the judges would like.  The shows we liked best were the Master Chef Kitchen series.  There were different themes each night, and after the evening was over, one or more chefs were disqualified.  Sometimes, there were specific dishes each chef had to prepare.  One particular beginning round was frying the perfect egg.  The more the chef could do, the less likely he or she was eliminated.  The dishes that were most difficult seemed to be the sweets, or the baked goods.  There was the time each chef had to make a sleeve of macaroons.  Then there was the challenge to assemble croquembouche.  But the one that was featured the most was baking a souffle.  They are extremely finicky desserts.  Once in the oven, faith in the recipe and process is paramount.  If the souffle falls, regardless of its taste, is seen as a failure.  Take the dessert out of the oven one minute too soon or late, and the dessert could taste like a million dollars, but it would still be considered a disaster.

Faith is not easy to come by.  It comes by a process.  The process starts with learning the truth.  Then is begins to mature as the truth is examined and verified.  Then it must be tested.  That is the hard part.  It is hard knowing things by experience and not merely academically.  One can look at a rollercoaster and know that it is engineered with safety in mind.  Not until one rides it is he sure.  We can only imagine what it must have been like for the disciples.  They were tossed around like a pinball.  There was no logical guarantee for their safety.  To see one wave after another breach their hull, bailing out water all night, and rowing in any direction to reach land, they had every right to be frightened.  The difference was that Jesus was in the boat with them.  He was not destined to die by drowning.  He had an appointment with a cross.  As long as He was safe, they were as well.  But there is only one way to know for certain.  One must go through storms.  One must pray to God.  One must stay in the boat with Jesus.  One must call upon the LORD for help.  One must hang on until the duration.  One must be at the conclusion and not just the beginning.  Where is our faith?  It is growing.  It is there, but not sufficient.  Where is our faith?  Under the care of the Master who controls all things.

Sweet On The Inside, Sweet On The Outside

“For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.” (Lu 6:44 AV)

What do thorns have to do with the type of fruit a tree or vine produces?  Having grown up with the woods, I am a bit familiar with fruit produced on thorny trees or vines.  As a pattern, fruit produced on thorny trees or vines tend to be tart or sour as opposed to overly sweet.  This is not always true.  But it is a pattern.  I read of the wild orange tree that, when young, possesses thorns.  The fruit is very bitter.  However, as it matures, the thorns go away, and the fruit becomes sweet.  What I wondered is if the presence of the thorns and the nature of the fruit are somehow related.  Not that the thorns produce bitter, tart, or sour fruit.  However, I wondered if the gene that produces the thorns also cause the fruit to be bitter, sour, or tart.  Most sources will say no.  But then I read of the orange tree.

The orange tree will grow thorns early in its life.  It does so to protect the bark and the fruit.  For the first few years, the young tree is focused on maturing.  During that time, the bark contains thorns.  As the tree ages, the bark outgrows the thorns.  What is fascinating is that the orange tree, if grown from seed, will take 7-15 years to produce sweet oranges.  Until then, the immature tree may produce bitter and inedible fruit.  That leads me to believe that in some species, the genetic makeup of the tree or vine correlates with thorn production and fruitfulness.  Thorns do not produce bitter fruit, and bitter fruit do not necessitate the appearance of thorns.  However, both are the result of an inward quality of the plant.  The two are related in the sense that they both come from the same gene pool.  A general rule is that thorns are always present.  Unless they die and fall off or are snapped off, thorns are pretty much there until the plant dies.  Fruit, however, is cyclical.  It arrives in the spring and is harvested in the fall.  Therefore, thorns are a great indicator that waiting for edible fruit is a waste of time.  What is inside and produces the thorns will also eventually produce unusable fruit.

Which brings us to our application.  What we are inside will come to the surface.  If someone has a thorny personality, then do not expect words of a sweet-smelling savor to come from his lips.  If a person has a cantankerous, churlish, or agitated state of being, then one cannot expect words that will do some good.  The same is true of those who may not be naturally so.  We can be surly, impatient, frustrated, or angry at any given time.  We can be argumentative, disagreeable, or downright mean.  Perhaps it is best to remain silent at such a time as this.  What we are on the inside comes out on the outside.  The thorns of a disagreeable spirit are evident before the words flow from the lips.  It is best to have that sweet spirit before the can look for sweet words.  I like the orange tree because when it is young, it is prickly.  But time, experience, cultivation, and outside influences grow a tougher skin.  The bark overgrows the thorns.  The thorns disappear because the tree allows patience to have her perfect work.  Perhaps the key to eliminating the thorns is to have thicker skin.  Then our fruit can be sweet to all who enjoy it.