Devotions – January 17-23, 2010
by, JoAnne Barrix
Faith, Rock
Sunday, January 17
“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take.” Nehemiah 9:19
I recently finished reading the book “The Shack” by Wm. Paul Young. My husband and several friends had recommended the book to me. I could not tell from the title what the book would be about, so I was quite surprised when I discovered that it was basically about God and our relationship with God. During the holiday season, there were many times that a passage would come to my mind. The book brought up points, questions and interesting explanations that all Christians wrestle with from time to time.
When Mack goes to the shack to “meet God” he is alone at first. He says: “So where are you? I thought you wanted to meet me here. Well, I’m here, God. And you? You’ve never been around when I’ve needed you!”
How many times have we each asked that question? No matter how strong a person’s faith…commitment to Christ…we can feel so alone during the tough times. So many evils can spring up to block our way…illness, loss of a job, death of a loved one, estrangement from a family member…so many things to send us reeling, and wondering: Where is God in all of this mess?
Two things that we need to remember: First, we are never ever alone. God does not ever abandon us, or those we love, or any of His creation. We are human and may not be able to feel God’s presence, but God never leaves us. Second, God does not cause bad things to happen to his children. God does not need tragedy to accomplish his purpose. But wherever there is suffering, you will find the grace of God.
Dear Heavenly Father, I can become so independent and feel so confident in my own strengths that I forget that you are always with me, blessing and helping me, leading me to show the way I am to take. Grant me the peace of knowing your presence in my life…always. Amen. |
Monday, January 18
“As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:10-11
In “The Shack” Mack goes to the shack to meet God. He is first greeted by a large black woman who refers to herself as Elousia. He is overwhelmed by the love that seems to emanate from her. He then meets a man who appears to be in his thirties and of Middle Eastern descent. He is Jesus. Mack feels an immediate connection with him. Finally, an Asian woman introduces herself as Sarayu. Mack’s emotions and thoughts struggle to take this in. “Since there were three of them, maybe this was a Trinity sort of thing. But two women and a man and none of them white? Then Mack asked, ‘Which one of you is God?’ ‘I am,’ said all three in unison.”
God is in relationship in being “The Trinity.” God is one God, three persons, each of the three being fully and completely the one. There is no leader among the three. There is no competition. There is no need for power. There is simply a circle of relationship. We are created in the image of God. We are created to be in relationship…relationship with God and one another. Our need for independence threatens relationship. Our society has created leaders and power, rules and law. God’s intent was that we love Him and love one another as ourselves. Power struggles, prejudices and wars are the result of a loss of relationship.
We are meant to be in relationship and “see” God in everyone around us. They may be women or men, black or white, rich or poor, homeless, imprisoned…we do not choose. All are God’s children. By serving each other, we serve God.
Dear Heavenly Father, Teach me to love as you love and serve as you serve. Remind me that God is in everyone that I encounter and that others can see God in me. Help me to live with that in my mind…always. Amen. |
Tuesday, January 19
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
In “The Shack” Mack is having a conversation with Jesus about the three persons of God. Mack is not familiar with the name “Elousia.” Jesus tells him: “That is a wonderful name. El is my name as Creator God, but ousia is ‘being’ or ‘that which is truly real,’ so the name means ‘the Creator God who is truly real and the ground of all being.’ Now that is also a beautiful name.”
When reading the Bible, especially the Old Testament, it is easy to start feeling that first; creation was something that happened a long time ago and second; God is strict and uncaring…wanting us to follow “The Law.” Mack does not truly believe that God is good. After all there is pain and sadness and death. How can these things be, if God is good? Why doesn’t God stop evil?
We are often blind to our place in creation. God gave us free will out of deep love for us, but then we are angry when God doesn’t step in and stop the darkness and the chaos, that we create, that allows horrible things to happen. We humans center our lives around the things that may seem good, but those things do not free us. When we face disaster, we see the problems with putting our faith in false powers, but many times we still do not turn to God. God is creating even today. Our choices are not stronger than God’s purposes. God uses our choices ultimately for good and for the best outcomes for us.
Dear Heavenly Father, Help me to learn that I live in your love. Help me to experience life by being together, sharing the journey and learning from your wisdom. Continue your creation by returning me to you…always. Amen. |
Wednesday, January 20
“For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so than he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” Romans 14:9-10
In “The Shack” Mack and Jesus are discussing what it means to know and love Jesus. Mack believes that this is the definition of a Christian. Jesus says: “Those who love me have come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims; some are Democrats, some Republicans and many don’t vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions. I have followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous. Some are bankers and bookies, Americans and Iraqis, Jews and Palestinians. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of God, into my brothers and sisters, into by Beloved.”
Whatever path that we may follow…whichever way we may try to find Jesus in our lives…even when we don’t know we are looking…doesn’t really matter because Jesus will travel every path to find us. Jesus did not come to our lives to judge us, he came so that we may live our lives to the fullest.
We can find it so easy to judge…we know what is good and what is evil…we decide what is good, what is evil. However, don’t we change over time? Doesn’t our judgment change as we experience life? And what happens when our ideas are different from those of our neighbor? Fights…arguments…wars?
Jesus has chosen us all to be worthy of love at the cost of his life. God loves all of his children perfectly. Love does not force us to be in relationship with God, but it is God’s nature to open the way. God opened the way with Jesus. God’s part is done, completely, perfectly and finally. Evil is the absence of good. Darkness is the absence of light. Separation from God plunges us into evil and darkness and death. Jesus is good…Jesus is light… Jesus is life!
Dear Heavenly Father, Bring me to trust in the promise and fulfillment of Jesus. Help me to follow good…light...and life. Help me to follow Jesus…always. Amen. |
Thursday, January 21
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
Early in “The Shack” Mack meets Sarayu. She says that she is the keeper of the gardens. Later when discussing her with Jesus, Mack asks if she is the Holy Spirit. Jesus responds: “Yes. She is creativity; she is action; she is the breathing of life; she is much more. She is my Spirit. Sarayu is a simple name from one of our human languages. It means ‘Wind,’ ‘a common wind,’ actually. She loves that name.”
Mack spends time with Sarayu. He follows her to a magnificent garden and orchard, although it is like following a ray of light full of unpredictable shades, colors and motion. He finds her difficult to understand and relate to. The garden is wild chaos, filled with randomly growing vegetables, herbs and flowers. It contains everything; pleasant and poisonous. She explains to him that even the “bad plants” have a reason in creation. Some have incredible healing properties or can create magnificent wonders when combined with something else.
The Spirit is always with us. Sometimes we are unaware of this presence. Sometimes, when we listen, we are very aware of this presence. When we spend more and more time with the Spirit, we learn to hear the Spirit. We won’t always get it right, but as our relationship grows, we will be right more and more of the time.
Learning to trust God… growing in love for the people around us with the same love that God brings to us; How can we change when we are struggling for control over our lives: bills, family, commitments? We can be assured: we are not expected to do this. This is the work of Sarayu. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the care and nurturing of the gardens of our hearts. We can hear the wind, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.
Dear Heavenly Father, You are complete without me. You are perfect without me. Why do you love me even though I can offer you nothing? Let your Holy Spirit fill me that I may grow in a loving, trusting relationship with you…always. Amen. |
Friday, January 22
“God said to Moses, ‘I Am Who I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I Am has sent me to you.”’” Exodus 3:14
Near the end of the “weekend” that Mack spends with God, he is still struggling to understand the nature of God. Whenever he thinks that he understands he finds that he is more and more confused. He has made much progress and has emerged from The Great Sadness, but is still having trouble understanding. Sarayu tries one more time to “define” God. She says: “I am a verb. I am that I am. I will be who I will be. And as my very essence is a verb, I am more attuned to verbs than nouns. Verbs such as confessing, repenting, living, loving, responding, growing, reaping, changing, sowing, running, dancing, singing, and on and on. I am alive, dynamic, ever active and moving. I am a being verb.”
God is a verb. When we see God as a verb, we can see that our relationship is not to be filled with judgment and expectations and rules, but instead filled with life and light and grace. God gives us opportunities to respond and our response is a freedom to love and serve. Through love and service, God is present in us. Our love and service is not a responsibility or an obligation, but a unique, wonderful joy.
God is a verb. As a verb, God is living…living at the very center of our lives. He wants to live in us and in every part of everything that happens to us. He wants to be the center. Then everything else in our lives: family, friends, work, thoughts and activities revolve around that center. Everything is connected to God, the center, and moves with the wind…the Holy Spirit.
Dear Heavenly Father, In a world where everything around us is constantly changing and demanding, we can find life and grace in you. Be at the center of our lives…always. Amen. |
Saturday, January 23
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Throughout Mack’s encounter with God in “The Shack,” the most constant theme is God’s great love for us, his children.
Elousia says: “Living unloved is like clipping a bird’s wings and removing its ability to fly. Not something I want for you.”
Jesus says: “To force my will on you is exactly what love does not do.” “It is not the nature of love to force a relationship, but it is the nature of love to open the way.”
In a particularly moving part of the story, Mack is placed in the judgment seat. He is told that he has shown himself to be very capable of judging and has judged many times throughout his life. “If you are able to judge God so easily, you certainly can judge the world. You must choose two of your children to spend eternity in God’s new heavens and new earth. And you must choose three of your children to spend eternity in hell.” He cannot choose…he is told that he must choose…he cannot…he must…finally, he pleads, “Could I go instead? If you need someone to torture for eternity, I’ll go in their place. Please let me go for my children.”
God knows each and every one of us much more clearly and deeply than we even know ourselves. He loves every person as His own child, in ways that we cannot even know or love our own children. In this time after Christmas, let us remember how he became incarnate of the virgin and became human. He became like us so we could be reconciled with God. He gave his life so that every one of us could be saved. We are the Beloved.
Dear Heavenly Father, Grant me the faith to know that I am important to God. Help me see that everything that I do is important to God. Let me reach out and touch a life and change the world. Let me bring kindness and service where it is needed to accomplish His purpose. Remind me that I am loved…always. Amen. |
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