What does ruminating have in common with rummaging? Nothing except that rummage is the word that immediately follows rumination in the dictionary. This morning as I was preparing a lesson on “Bible Study” for Xiaoka (pronounced Sho’ ka), I was contemplating the different components of studying the Bible. One of the ideas that leaped to mind was the word, ruminating. Following that word, images of Biology class and a cow with four stomachs chewing on regurgitated grass flooded my mind. It seemed to me that I heard someone using the illustration of a cow chewing on its cud and applied it to meditation. That’s how I ended up with Funk and Wagnalls in hand. I wanted to refresh my memory on the process of ruminating.
When I read through the definitions of ruminant, ruminate, and rumination I was surprised to see that synonyms of these words included, “meditative, reflective, contemplate, and ponder.” It was obvious how someone could have made this application to studying the Bible.
As I read these definitions, my eyes went on to the next word, rummage. Its definition was, “1. To search through (a place, a box, etc.) by turning over and disarranging the contents; ransack. 2. To find or bring out by searching thoroughly. 3. To make a thorough search.” As I read this, I was amazed because this is also the way I study and search Scripture. This might sound a little strange, but I rummage through, or ransack Scripture to find God because I am convinced that He is the Pearl of great price. I guess ruminating and rummaging have more in common than I thought.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Why Not Me?
A friend once heard me mutter, “Why me?” and she asked, “Why not you?” That led to some serious reflection on my part. I began to wonder, “Why not me? Why should I be exempt me from the “interruptions” of life that is common to everyone? What makes me so special to think I should be excused or immune from life’s disruptions, discomforts, or tragedies?” This also led me to think, if our LORD was the target of the world’s assault (Hebrews 4:15), am I better or greater than He was to be spared from any or all of life’s difficulties? Just who do I think I am? What a sobering thought.
I think that the main reason why we are “inconvenienced” or suffer is so that we will be challenged to know God. Isaiah said, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed Him not” (Isaiah 53:3-4a).
I know that this passage of Scripture is a prophecy about Jesus, but I also think that this is a commentary on God. I don’t think that God needs a body to feel hurt. In fact, some say that mental and emotional pain sometimes leaves the deepest and the greatest scars.
Early in Scripture, I see a God that hurts. When Adam hid and God asked him, “Who told you that you were naked” (Genesis 3:11), I hear great disappointment in God’s words. God’s pain might not be obvious to some in this passage of Scripture, but a few chapters later, the Bible tells us that God was grieved as he looked at the wickedness of man (Genesis 6:6).
One of the books of the Bible that speaks powerfully to me about the pain that God feels is the book of Hosea. Over and over again God reveals His heartache through His prophet, Hosea.
The Scripture also says that the Lamb (Jesus) was slain from the formation of the world (Revelation 13:8). The Scriptures also tell us that God lives in all time zones (Isaiah 57:15). What this says to me is that even though God is eternal and “invincible,” emotions—in this case pain, is a part of the nature or character of God.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Jesus didn’t come to earth in a human body so that He could understand, experience, or feel what we go through. I think that Jesus came to earth so that we could see and know the face of God as He suffers.
It is an amazing thought that God would put up and suffer for me. It is also beyond me why anyone who has “seen” the anguished face of Jesus would continue to hurt Him. Maybe it’s because we haven’t seen Him. Maybe that’s why we continue to cry out, “Why me” stemming from an arrogant heart instead of a humble one…
I think that the main reason why we are “inconvenienced” or suffer is so that we will be challenged to know God. Isaiah said, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed Him not” (Isaiah 53:3-4a).
I know that this passage of Scripture is a prophecy about Jesus, but I also think that this is a commentary on God. I don’t think that God needs a body to feel hurt. In fact, some say that mental and emotional pain sometimes leaves the deepest and the greatest scars.
Early in Scripture, I see a God that hurts. When Adam hid and God asked him, “Who told you that you were naked” (Genesis 3:11), I hear great disappointment in God’s words. God’s pain might not be obvious to some in this passage of Scripture, but a few chapters later, the Bible tells us that God was grieved as he looked at the wickedness of man (Genesis 6:6).
One of the books of the Bible that speaks powerfully to me about the pain that God feels is the book of Hosea. Over and over again God reveals His heartache through His prophet, Hosea.
The Scripture also says that the Lamb (Jesus) was slain from the formation of the world (Revelation 13:8). The Scriptures also tell us that God lives in all time zones (Isaiah 57:15). What this says to me is that even though God is eternal and “invincible,” emotions—in this case pain, is a part of the nature or character of God.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Jesus didn’t come to earth in a human body so that He could understand, experience, or feel what we go through. I think that Jesus came to earth so that we could see and know the face of God as He suffers.
It is an amazing thought that God would put up and suffer for me. It is also beyond me why anyone who has “seen” the anguished face of Jesus would continue to hurt Him. Maybe it’s because we haven’t seen Him. Maybe that’s why we continue to cry out, “Why me” stemming from an arrogant heart instead of a humble one…
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
More Reflections on "Why Me?"
As I was reflecting on the other day’s thought of, “Why me?” a few more answers came to mind…
1. Things happen so that we will trust God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.” Then Paul concluded, “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead…On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, (II Corinthians 1:8b-10).
2. Things happen to make us humble. Paul said, “To keep me from becoming conceited…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.” The LORD answered Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (I Corinthians 12:7-9).
3. Things happen so that we will look at the bigger picture. Again, the Apostle Paul said, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (II Corinthians 4:16-18).
4. Things happen so that we can know the comfort of God. Paul said, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (II Corinthians 1:3-4).
5. Things happen so that God’s power will be revealed in us. Paul said, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Read the rest of what Paul said about this in II Corinthians 4:8-11.
6. Things happen so that the works of God can be revealed. In John 9, Jesus disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
God has truly taken the “weak” things of the world to astonish the wise. Maybe in avoiding to ask, “Why me” I’ve been doing a smart thing. Perhaps the wiser thing for me to ask is, “Why not me?”
1. Things happen so that we will trust God. The Apostle Paul wrote, “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.” Then Paul concluded, “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead…On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, (II Corinthians 1:8b-10).
2. Things happen to make us humble. Paul said, “To keep me from becoming conceited…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.” The LORD answered Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (I Corinthians 12:7-9).
3. Things happen so that we will look at the bigger picture. Again, the Apostle Paul said, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (II Corinthians 4:16-18).
4. Things happen so that we can know the comfort of God. Paul said, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (II Corinthians 1:3-4).
5. Things happen so that God’s power will be revealed in us. Paul said, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” Read the rest of what Paul said about this in II Corinthians 4:8-11.
6. Things happen so that the works of God can be revealed. In John 9, Jesus disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”
God has truly taken the “weak” things of the world to astonish the wise. Maybe in avoiding to ask, “Why me” I’ve been doing a smart thing. Perhaps the wiser thing for me to ask is, “Why not me?”
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Why Me?
I’ve learned not to ask, “Why me?” or “Why does this happen to me?” because I kinda know the answer to these questions. I don’t know the details of why things specifically happen, but the Bible gives a range of “answers” for us to reflect on. These are some of the things that immediately flood my mind when I find myself asking myself, “Why…”
1. To remind us of who we are. We are creatures. We are the created. Many times we have a sense of self-importance and we think that the world revolves around us. To this, James asks the question, “What is your life?”(James 5:14). James then goes on to say, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
2. Things happen so that we will remember Who is in control and Who is the Creator. James says, “You don’t even know what will happen tomorrow…Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will…”
3. Things happen so that we will seek God. Often in our day to day life, God’s not even on our radar. The writer of Proverbs admonishes us, “In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes…” (Proverbs 3:6-7a). Isaiah adds, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us have turned to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6). Things happen so that we are driven to seek God.
4. Things happen so that we can assess where we are in God’s plan. Paul says, “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son…” (Romans 8:29). We are predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus. Things happen so that we can know our hearts and surrender our wills to His.
5. Things happen so that we will look to God for our complete salvation and deliverance. Sometimes we think of our salvation as futuristic. God wants us to know Him as our fortress, refuge, security, sustainer, as well as our Savior yesterday, today, and forever. We live closer to the edge that we realize, but God wants us to abide in Him.
6. Things happen because of sin in the world. Sometimes things happen because of our sin, other times the sins of others affect us. Sometimes things happen to us because we deserve it. Other times we are affected unfairly. We know this because the only innocent man in all of history was afflicted by sins that were not His own. He was not only the target of our sinful hearts, but the sins of the world were laid on Him by the Father (Isaiah 53:3-6).
7. Things happen to us so that we can give honor and glory to God. Jesus came to do the will of God (Hebrews 10:5-7). We are told to have the same mindset (I Peter 4:1-2). After Jesus was abused, violated, tortured, and nailed to a cross, Luke tells us that Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them…” (Luke 23:34). Peter adds, “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” And just before Peter makes this statement, he said, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps (I Peter 2:21-23).
To be willing to suffer unjustly doesn’t sound right and doesn’t feel good to me. But when I think about the opposite end of this spectrum—about Jesus and how He was treated and how He responded to me and for me, I cannot help but to be humbled and be in awe of Him. To Jesus’ display of compassion, I also ask, “Why me?”
Even though the words at the beginning and at the end are exactly the same, “Why me” comes from two totally different contexts and therefore asks two different questions. In God’s eyes, there is but only one answer and it involves Jesus Christ. That’s the reason why I don’t ask, “Why” or “Why me” anymore because I know it leads to a deeper question. That question is, “Am I willing to align my heart and mind to be in harmony with Him?” and I kinda don’t want to answer this question.
1. To remind us of who we are. We are creatures. We are the created. Many times we have a sense of self-importance and we think that the world revolves around us. To this, James asks the question, “What is your life?”(James 5:14). James then goes on to say, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
2. Things happen so that we will remember Who is in control and Who is the Creator. James says, “You don’t even know what will happen tomorrow…Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will…”
3. Things happen so that we will seek God. Often in our day to day life, God’s not even on our radar. The writer of Proverbs admonishes us, “In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes…” (Proverbs 3:6-7a). Isaiah adds, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us have turned to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6). Things happen so that we are driven to seek God.
4. Things happen so that we can assess where we are in God’s plan. Paul says, “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son…” (Romans 8:29). We are predestined to be conformed into the image of Jesus. Things happen so that we can know our hearts and surrender our wills to His.
5. Things happen so that we will look to God for our complete salvation and deliverance. Sometimes we think of our salvation as futuristic. God wants us to know Him as our fortress, refuge, security, sustainer, as well as our Savior yesterday, today, and forever. We live closer to the edge that we realize, but God wants us to abide in Him.
6. Things happen because of sin in the world. Sometimes things happen because of our sin, other times the sins of others affect us. Sometimes things happen to us because we deserve it. Other times we are affected unfairly. We know this because the only innocent man in all of history was afflicted by sins that were not His own. He was not only the target of our sinful hearts, but the sins of the world were laid on Him by the Father (Isaiah 53:3-6).
7. Things happen to us so that we can give honor and glory to God. Jesus came to do the will of God (Hebrews 10:5-7). We are told to have the same mindset (I Peter 4:1-2). After Jesus was abused, violated, tortured, and nailed to a cross, Luke tells us that Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them…” (Luke 23:34). Peter adds, “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” And just before Peter makes this statement, he said, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps (I Peter 2:21-23).
To be willing to suffer unjustly doesn’t sound right and doesn’t feel good to me. But when I think about the opposite end of this spectrum—about Jesus and how He was treated and how He responded to me and for me, I cannot help but to be humbled and be in awe of Him. To Jesus’ display of compassion, I also ask, “Why me?”
Even though the words at the beginning and at the end are exactly the same, “Why me” comes from two totally different contexts and therefore asks two different questions. In God’s eyes, there is but only one answer and it involves Jesus Christ. That’s the reason why I don’t ask, “Why” or “Why me” anymore because I know it leads to a deeper question. That question is, “Am I willing to align my heart and mind to be in harmony with Him?” and I kinda don’t want to answer this question.
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