Hiding What God Cannot Heal

I was struck today by the interaction between Jesus and Martha recorded in the John 11.

Martha's brother Lazarus had died four days earlier. Jesus now arrives on the scene with a very good and wonderful plan. He's going to raise Lazarus from the dead.

First step?

Gotta get that stone away from the tomb entrance.

John 11:39
"Take away the stone," he said.
"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."

By Martha's reasoning, the stone is a help and not a hindrance. Why? Because Martha assumes that this is a problem too big for Jesus. Jesus can do wonders, but Lazarus is dead. Even Jesus can't fix that. That being the case, why remove the stone? What's the point?

But Jesus surprised Martha. And I am pondering where I ought to let him surprise me.

What stones do I have over problems and sorrows that I think are too big for Jesus?

Am I afraid of letting the stench of my hidden wounds see the light of day?

Jesus, I lay before you my hidden sorrows. Take away the stones that hide them. Bring to life that which was dead. Bring your fragrance and life to that in me which stinks unto death.

And, as with Larazus, let your healing power displayed in my life be testimony to the world that Jesus conquers all.

Even death.

Symptoms Don't Kill You

I've been meaning for some time to jot down a quick reflection on a recent article I read entitled Metabolic syndrome: A game of consequences?

The gist of the article, should the link grow cold, is simply the fascinating thesis that being fat is not bad for you.

What???

Yes. Being fat is not bad for you. Eating too much is the real culprit. The new thinking is that, when we eat too much, our bodies convert the stuff we eat into fat. So far so good. No surprises there.

But the next thought is that it is literally the food that is killing us, and not the fat. Fat, by this reasoning, is merely an indicator of the thing that's really killing us. The details get pretty scientific, but the short of it is that food itself (great in moderation) is toxic in bulk quantities.

That's a revolutionary restatement of the problem, and it has real-world implications in how we think about things. If it's true, for example, then liposuction is not helpful, nor even neutral, but rather harmful in that it not only hides the problem but also strips the body of a key tool in its arsenal to fight the toxic effects of food.

I was struck by this for reasons noted in the article and also for reasons not explored in the article. Chief among those thoughts that ran through my mind was the fact that a healthy habit of fasting regularly is, in light of this research, clearly an extremely healthy thing to do. Fasting is one of those spiritual disciplines widely practiced throughout church history up until a few hundred years ago.

A lot of good Christian habits have fallen by the wayside in recent centuries. Silence. Solitude. Hospitality. The roadside to modernity is littered with the corpses of good Christian disciplines. I know hardly a soul who practices fasting regularly.

But I digress.

On further reflection, I was also struck by other areas in Christian life where I have seen this sort of confusion in play. For example, I have learned in recent years to not lament the decline of a local church.

Christ's bride is alive and well. Where God is served, the Spirit is present. Where Christ is honored, his people will, as he promised, have life, and life abundant at that.

If a local congregation is dwindling... if a church closes... that's fat. An external indicator of a critical problem that lies elsewhere. The real problem? That Christ is no longer honored at that church. That is what we ought to lament.

Once this thinking is in place, we are all freed of the ritual hand-wringing when churches are run poorly or close up shop, etc. Let us focus rather on watching God and serving His church. The other stuff may come and go, but in the end are just symptoms of how well or poorly the Christians within them are living out God's calling.

God's calling, and His church... are quite safe. And I can rest in that peace.

So let's worry about honoring Christ. The churches we call "home" on Sunday morning will take care of themselves if we do that.

Just like fat doesn't gather on a body that eats in moderation and exercises regularly.

Why I Am Angry

[Spoiler alert for the last fifteen westerners who have not yet viewed "Slum-Dog Millionaire"]

[And to you fifteen souls.... hurry up and watch it, for heaven's sake!]

I just watched "Slum-Dog Millionaire" tonight with my lovely bride.

At the pivotal moment (or one of them, anyway) I realized that Kumar, a man in a position of power, was lying to Jamal, the hero of the movie. It dawned on me slowly, but as the scene unfolding I began to realize that
(a) Kumar did not have Jamal's best interests in mind
(b) the answer (b) that Kumar had fed Jamal was incorrect, and that
(c) Jamal also saw through Kumar's motives and therefore knew that
(d) the alternative answer (d) was the one to go with.

I rooted for my slum-dog hero. Don't do it, Jamal! (b) is going to be the wrong answer. The dude is lying to you! Go with (d)!

Yay!

Slum-dog hero Jamal went with (d) and proved his lack of trust to be well-placed — and very, very well rewarded.

A few seconds after the scene had played out before my eyes, I felt a deep anger welling up from within me. Where was it coming from? And then the feelings rushed forth.

Whereas my protagonist had been through hell and back with some of the worst sorts of scum (and gained his mistrust by this route), I owed my jaded cynicism to experiences I had endured within the hallowed halls of churches I have attended in recent years.

Yes, I learned to smell liars out and watch for ulterior motives by watching men in power at church. That it was in church that I had to learn these survival skills makes me angry. Really, really angry.

And I know it makes Jesus angry too.