"Life is hard, then you die" Pessimist's creed

I'm in the middle of a time of discipline; a time of difficulty, pruning, hostility, a year of grayness without much color. My life feels like one of those photos where everything has been turned to shades of gray, except for one or two splashes of color. 

The author of Hebrews writes to people in the midst of hardship and talks about enduring discipline. 

What is discipline? 

The discipline being talked about in Hebrews 12 refers to external events or situations that are intended to remedy or heal internal character weaknesses. Discipline is a process of being made fit for duty, fit for service, fit for life. God has arranged our lives, our personal situations to serve as our drill sergeants, to hone our bodies and minds until we are ready to serve well.

My 13 year old grandson sleeps sprawled kitty corner across the bed we bought for him when he was still in kindergarten. It seemed so big then. Now his legs dangle off one side while his arm drags on the floor on the other side of the bed. Someday he'll be .... well, that depends on the discipline, training, love he receives now AND how he responds to it.

I'm 61 years young and I'm having to unlearn patterns of thinking and habits that I spent a lifetime forming. It would have been easier if I had got it right the first time, but it's okay - this old dog will learn some new tricks.  Young or old, we will encounter discipline. How should we respond to discipline, hardship, pruning, etc.?

Think about Jesus: 

"Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. " 

We like to compare ourselves to others around us, usually to people who are better off than we are. Bad idea! If you are going to compare yourself to anyone, compare yourself to Jesus. Watch the Passion of the Christ  again to see how your suffering compares to his. He didn't do anything to deserve his suffering, but rather endured all for you and me.

Remember who you are:

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.  And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?  “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.    For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”    It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
The word "son" is used 5 times. We are "sons of God". I'm under training by my heavenly Father who loves and receives me. I'm part of the family of God, but the expectations are high in this family, and I'm going to be disciplined, trained and shaped.

Understand, keep in mind the purpose of discipline

For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.  

After I have undergone discipline I will share his holiness. My life will have in it the peaceful fruit of righteousness. I will be someone who has been trained by my heavenly Father. I will be so heavenly minded that I can't but be of great earthly good.

Suck it up! 

Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,  and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

We need to (I need to) suck it up, take responsibility, respond rightly, make sure that I do my part so that this discipline and training leads to my healing. There are at least 3 actions I can take: lift up drooping hands, strengthen weak knees, and make straight paths. I'll explore them on another day.

Seduction

I was given the Daily Bread book My Soul Thirsts for God, a collection of meditations on Psalms. As I read Psalm 1 this morning it struck me that this Psalm, the doorway Psalm is designed to draw the reader into the whole book of Psalms and perhaps into the whole Bible. He makes clear the benefits of reading, meditating and acting on the Word, AND he does this in an intriguing way. He talks about meditation AS he takes you through a simple and obvious practice of meditation. It is so simple that it is almost impossible to miss. The reader feels the payback immediately.

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, 
                                              nor stands in the way of sinners, 
                                                    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;   

The reader sees the progression: walk -> stand -> sit -> what's next? (lie down with ...) and thinks "I'm meditating! I saw that! Did anyone else notice that?" Wow!" It is perfect pedagogy, and we are seduced into reading and meditating and hopefully obeying the Word.

What joy?

"who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross"

What could have motivated Jesus to endure the shame and the pain of the cross? Was it that through this act he was reconciling everything in heaven and earth and bringing them back into proper relationship with their Creator? Did he see families like mine experiencing healing? Did he envision a new earth where righteousness reigned, without poverty, disease and death? Did he think about the lion and lamb? Was it the prospect of finally being able to return to the right hand of God the Father from whence he had come? What exactly was this joy?

Maybe it was all of the above, but what knocks me flat, rings my bell, what really gobsmacks me is the word "JOY". Jesus did what he did, including enduring the shame of the cross, especially enduring the shame of cross - for joy.

What motivates me? When the alarm goes off, when I know the day ahead will be tough, when it is non-stop rain and grey skies - why do I do what I do?

I know the gospel is "joy to the world", but I never thought of it as "joy to Jesus". Someone has said that we are all narcissists, that we do what we do - for ourselves and that we can not ever say we are truly devoid of self-interest. Was it in Jesus' self interest to redeem the world? And if so, so what? Because I receive a benefit from helping others does NOT make that a selfish act. It seems that God has designed the universe in such a way that "self-less" acts have beneficial consequences that extend also to the self-less one. The rubber band of my brain is starting to reach it's breaking point here, so I'll stop with the philosophy.

What I wanted to focus on was my motivation. It's been a hard 2 years for me and my family. For much of the time we gritted our teeth and pushed forward. I rarely thought about joy. I kept going because it was the right thing to do, and I hoped, I trusted things would get better, but it wasn't joy that kept me going. What would it take, what paradigm shift would I have had to undergo to say "I'm looking forward to JOY"? I don't know the answer. In a little while I'm going to head off to the office and face a myriad of challenges. Lord, please help me to see beyond the challenges to the joy that is awaiting me, that you have prepared for me.

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ME TOO!

I've been discouraged for years, hanging on like an unpopular Survivor contestant at an immunity challenge, knowing that if I don't win, I'm going to be voted off the island. My endurance has not been a hopeful endurance but more of a resigned, what else can I do - kind of endurance. It is the endurance of a soldier hunkered down in a foxhole while machine gun bullets fill the air overhead, the kind of endurance one has while waiting for the doctor to stage the cancer that you know is there.

Today I reread Hebrews 12:1-2 for the 359th time (I'm not really counting), and I saw something I didn't see before - a 4 letter word. Do you see it?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Heb 12:1,2

let us also lay aside

My first reaction was "oh no, did I miss something? Is there something more I need to do? Isn't laying aside weight and the closely clinging sin enough? What else Lord?" As I read and reread the passage it dawned on me that the "also" was not referring to actions I need to take but to people I needed to emulate. "Also" refers to the phrase before not to what comes after (though it does that too, you need a noun & a verb, right?). What I am trying to say so poorly is the great cloud of witnesses laid aside weights, put away sin, and ran with endurance the race before them. Not all of them ran that well (David and Samson are in the list of heroes, and they lived soap opera lives for a time) but they finished and made it into the hall of faith. They finished and I can ALSO finish.

"Also" means I can ALSO do this. I can ALSO finish my race well. I can ALSO be cited as someone to look up and emulate. (That is really hard for me to believe right now, and writing it down is an act of faith.) And if I can, then you can ALSO do this.

"Also" gives me hope. I don't want to run the rest of race feeling disqualified and discouraged. Jesus, because of the "joy" set before him, endured the cross. "Consider him" we are told. I want to run like the heroes of Heb 11. I want to run like Jesus. I can't run perfect like Jesus. I've already fallen way behind the pack. But just finishing is not enough anymore. I want to finish with joy. I want to believe that there is an incredible, fantastic, awesome reward at the end of the race for everyone who finishes, including me. No more waiting to be voted off the island. It's not going to happen. There is joy awaiting and I'm going to run to it.

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You are surrounded. Surrender.

In Heb 12:2 Jesus is described as the "founder and perfecter of our faith". Sounds a bit like "beginning and the end", "alpha and omega", "start and finish", "first and the last". It reminds me of the description of God in Ps. 139 where the songwriter says "Where can I run from your presence? If I ascend to heaven you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol (place of the dead), you are there! If I take the wings of the morning (travel at light speed?) and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me."

In our church we sometimes sing a Matt Redman song that goes
"Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me"

Matt Redman - You Never Let GO Lyrics | MetroLyrics "

If Jesus is the founder and perfecter of my faith, then what do I need to do? He said "It is finished" so what is left for me to do? How do I work out my own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) knowing that God is working in me both to will and do his good pleasure (Philippines 2:13)?

Lord, I am surrounded. You hem me in. I try to run this way and you block my path. I dodge another direction and suddenly you appear like a phantom in front of me. I can't get away. You are determined that I should experience your love and grace, that love and grace that you have prepared and perfected. What is left for me to do? Surrender. Walk with you. Relax and enjoy your presence. Focus on Jesus.  Learn from Jesus.

Lord, Some of the people I know have been deeply hurt by others. They have a hard time trusting anyone. They have a hard time trusting you. Afterall, you're in charge of the Universe, right? They don't understand how you allowed them to be abused, lose their parent, their job, their health, their child. The suffering they have experienced has hardened and softened them. They are tender inside with unhealed hurts, and they have hard shells on the outside to avoid re-injuring an old wound. Would you help them? Please continue to pursue them, hedge them in, help them to finally experience the love of the one who, for their sake, endured the cross, even though he hated the shame of it, because he was focused on the joy of having them as part of his family. Lord, when we've been injured we resist even the touch of the doctor who knows how to heal us. Overcome our resistance and help us experience your healing touch.
Amen.


HEB12.2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Bible.com/app

Jesus the Pioneer

I'm from the West Coast of the US, Washington and Oregon. In the 1800s people took the Oregon Trail west to seek their fortunes. Pioneering is in our blood. My father found his bride in England during the war, settled in Nebraska (mid west) for a while, then took the family to Washington state where I grew up. Ione's great grandfather was a rogue who travelled across the US from the East Coast to the West and joined the gold rush in the Yukon. He painted and decorated famous homes up and down the West Coast of the US, and some of these homes still sport his artistry and craftsmanship. Recently Ione transcribed his diaries and has been putting them online. Great grandpa Atwood did not go to the Yukon territory alone, he followed a guide, a leader, a pioneer who knew the way and understood the dangers. The guide knew what time of year was safe for a mountain pass crossing. He knew when to pull the boats onto shore and carry them around rushing rapids and waterfalls that would have drowned everyone in the expedition. He knew the way, because he had travelled it many times. Their leader was a pioneer.

In Hebrews 12 Jesus is described as "the pioneer and perfecter of our faith" and we are told that we "must keep our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith". The Contemporary English version puts it this way

We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. 

Heb 2:10 says "For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

When reading this I felt confused by the word "pioneer" so I looked it up in the dictionary. Dictionary.com says a "pioneer" is:

a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others.

Jesus is the pioneer who opened the land of salvation for you and me. He is the leader who prepared the way for us through his sacrificial death on the cross, and he personally leads us into the amazing kingdom of God. There is one thing you and I need to know about the journey...

The way through this wilderness is dangerous. The Oregon Trail and the Yukon trail were littered with the graves of those who didn't make it. They fell behind and lost sight of their leader. Like stragglers from a herd of wildebeasts they were picked off by the lions along the way.

Modern life is also filled with dangers that can lead to the death of our spirits. Distractions: smart phone notifications, news bulletins, telephones ringing, people constantly interrupting, easy access to pornography, ladies on the street offering 'massagee, you like?'. Then there are the temptations to covet and envy others. Most of our customers make a lot more money than we do. Their lives seem glamorous compared to ours. If I don't keep my eyes on Jesus, my leader, I can and will easily go astray. The path will look wide and smooth at first, but before long I will find myself lost, trying to hack my way through briars and brambles, with no idea where Jesus is. There will only be the quiet terrifying sounds of wild beasts following my trail, waiting for me to injure myself or give up, so that they can move in for the kill.

What should I do? Keep my eyes on Jesus!

"Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come". But there are still more to come. Keep your eyes of Jesus, the leader, the pioneer, the one who has gone before and prepared the way. Don't get distracted, don't turn off to the right or the left. Go straight after him.  And if you have strayed off the trail that he has blazed for you, cry out to him. "Jesus, help me. I'm lost. I need you."  He will come. He will rescue you and lead you in the way.

It's not easy

Yesterday as we were finishing our set of TaiChi a young man who looked to be 26 or 27 years old came over and watched. After we finished he asked my Sifu if he would teach him TaiChi. Yu Sifu told him that he would have to meet certain conditions and then took a few minutes to demonstrate a few basic warm-up exercises. The young man tried his best to follow Master Sifu, but after a few minutes he was panting for breath and holding his thighs and knees. Gasping for breath, he said "I thought it would be easy." I wonder if he'll be back today.

It reminded me of the young people who came to Jesus and said "I'll follow you anywhere", but then found they had more pressing matters to tend to (planning farewell parties, taking care of their parents, looking at a field, growing their money and building a financial empire, finding an actual bed to sleep in at night. Did they think following Jesus would be easy?

Every path we choose has its difficulties. The path that promises pleasure and ease leads to chains, pain and regret. The path that seems more difficult at first leads to the peaceable fruit of righteousness. I deeply regret the times I walked away from the Master thinking that I was denying myself some pleasure that 'normal people' got to experience. It was a lie, and the pleasures were a well laid trap. Following Jesus is not easy, because it is a daily choice. Still, I can't say it is hard because Jesus said that his yoke was easy, and the burden light.

Following Jesus is not easy, but it is worth doing. If you have the chance (and you do) don't walk away. Walk as close to Him as you can.