Have You Considered Job - 4.5.11 1110

Have you ever gone through the book of Job?

I’ve been reading it with some guys on (some) Monday nights, and not only has it sparked some lively discussion, but it has really gotten me to think about how old some biblical concepts are, specifically the concept of a Christ.

Job is allegedly one of the earliest written books of the bible. And while he is reputedly Semitic, he’s not an Israelite. So what we have with this book is an ancient perspective on God, as seen through the eyes of a non-Israelite, meaning we also have a nearly undeveloped image of God. Job does not have the Exodus event to draw on, or the Law to refer to. There is no Abrahamic covenant or promise of reconciliation through the seed of that covenant. All Job has is the raw, unrefined, basic understanding of God’s operation with humanity. If for nothing else, this book of poetry offers us a fascinating insight on, what is essentially, the old testament equivalent of a non-believer, and how this “Gentile” (for lack of a better word) sees God.

With a specific variable. Suffering.

Your Last Marble - 12.28.10 0800

There's a story about John (the one who wrote the gospel) that has been tattooed to my brain since the first time I heard it years ago.

When he was too old to get around by himself, people would sort of carry him around. As they passed by others he would keep saying one thing over and over. Placing his hands gently on people's heads he would say, "Love one another."

Can you picture it? An endless, repetitive motion punctuated by and endless, repetitive phrase? When I hear the story I wonder if he could say anything else.  I wonder if he mumbled it inaudibly and people just dismissed it as the ramblings of an old man. I wonder if he recognized anyone. This was the self proclaimed beloved disciple, the only one rumored to live into old age and escape martyrdom. Being so close to Jesus, possibly his closest friend, has to have had an effect.

Mostly this story makes me think hard about what I might be mumbling when Father Time has worked his magic on me. What is going to be my catch-all phrase when I only have the strength to say, and maybe even remember, just one sentence. I've heard about people visiting the more mature generations of their families and talking about how their grandparent didn't seem to be all there, or how they kept reliving a single moment of their past. Was this how it was for John?

Imagine being so ingrained with Christ's message that when you had but one marble left rolling around upstairs, the one memory you latched onto until your passing was the message of love.

I hope that'll be me.

I hope that as time passes and God refines me more and more into the image of Christ, that his message of love just saturates me. I hope that the final image I leave my friends and family with is as obviously stamped by Jesus as John's was.

 II Corinthians 12:6-10

Christ in Harry Potter - 7.29.10 1720

"It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high." -Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

There is a page and a half in this book that caused me to elevate the entire series as one of the best ever written. It has such remarkable implications on the sacrifice of Christ that I can almost picture the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus' struggling prayer of anguish. There are, of course, massive differences between the two and I'm positive J.K. Rowling did not have Christ in mind with this scene, but if Jesus ever - at any time - felt like he was being pressured, forced, or manipulated into the cross, this is the scene that would have played out.

I could literally break this scene into three or four separate blogs, but I will keep it short by singling out some things.

Harry is struggling with the concept that it is because of the prophecy that he must try and kill Voldemort, almost that he is fated and being pushed into the arena. Dumbledore, agitated, stresses that Harry going to battle has nothing to do with the prophecy, that yes, Harry must fight, but not because of the prophecy. It's because Harry himself has it in his nature and attitude to not stop until Voldemort is destroyed. And one of the things that not only drives him to this ambition but also protects him from being overtaken is Love.

He cannot become a dark follower because his love keeps him from doing it. He must carry the battle to it's natural conclusion because love drives him to stop at nothing. Indeed, Harry's unstoppable desire to crush this evil stems from a power that Harry has and Voldemort doesn't...Love.

This is Christ.

The thing that caused Jesus to say, "Not my will, but yours be done," is love. Love for us, love for God, love to see evil vanquished.

The nature of Christ led him to battle, to see the victory won at any cost. And when he desired the "cup to pass" from him, it was his love that saw him through.

It was not because God foreordained it to be. It was because love would have it no other way.

Christ went to the cross willingly, head held high in victory, to give his life as a ransom for many.

Thank him everyday for it.