My son and I have recently found a program on the Discovery Channel, other than Mythbusters, that we enjoy. The program is called Futureweapons. On this show an ex Navy Seal gives viewers a tour of some of the newest state of the art weapons in the US arsenal. Many of these weapons are quite impressive. I am not sure what we like most about the show but I might have a clue.
That clue involves something I heard a friend of mine say recently about how boys tend to be impressed with power. I never really thought about it before, but I think that they are right. If true, it would explain my son’s fascination with history and warfare,and It would certainly explain his fascination with Futureweapons. The one thing that I am certain about is that this show is about power, pure military power.
While watching an episode about missiles that could hit a postage stamp from 50 miles, I began to contemplate the power it takes to accomplish such an amazing task. Then, being the ADD person that I am, my mind began expanding its review of power until I was rummaging through mental topics that had almost no resemblance to television program that got this train of thought going in the first place.
I began thinking about how power is all around me. My computer is running on power. My Bluetooth stereo headphones are running on power. In the morning I will drive to work using power. Nuclear weapons have an incredible amount of power as do power plants, duh. But what is it about all of these that makes them powerful? I think that it has to do with something very simple, but also intimidating. That something is change.
Think about it. In every instance power allows someone or something to change their environment. In some instances, Bluetooth headphones for example, that change is very small. In other instances, like nuclear energy, that change is profound. Recently, I chanced upon another type of power that though profound, is exceptionally subtle. That power is belief.
This subtle form of power revealed itself to me while I was reading about the life of Jesus. It happened when I came upon a story that seems insignificant at first. Basically, Jesus had just succeeded in running off many of his disciples by saying that they must be nourished by his body and blood. I don’t think Jesus was recommending cannibalism. If so, I am sure I would check out as well.
Instead, I think that Jesus was saying something important about what should nourish us. He was telling us that when you get right down to it the thing that should give us life is him. His body, His blood, they should provide us with purpose and meaning. Do you remember when Jesus was encouraged by his disciples to eat because he appeared weak? His disciples were emphatic. “Jesus, you’ve got to eat,” they said.
He replied, “I’ve got food to eat that you don’t know anything about.” Jesus then said that the food that he was talking about was doing the will of His father. Amazing isn’t it? Jesus said that in fulfilling his purpose on earth He was getting more sustenance than eating at an all you can eat Chinese buffet.
It was in this context that I realized Jesus was expecting his followers to be sustained by doing the will of Lord God that most of them left. They realized that there is little room for personal agendas when following this guy.
So, after being deserted by most of his followers, Jesus is hanging out with the few remaining disciples that he has, and is waiting on the upcoming feast in Jerusalem. Now things get complicated because Jesus has some brothers. Can you imagine how hard life would be if Jesus was in your family? Talk about the world’s worst big brother. You would absolutely never get by with anything, ever.
In the story Jesus’ brothers say hey big brother, why don’t you take your few remaining followers and go down to Jerusalem and show them some of your cool tricks? Seriously brother, if you have political plans you are going to have to get out where the people are.
You see, they said this because they did not understand who their big brother was. I mean really, can you imagine the awkwardness around the family dining table when conversations inevitably came to birthdays? Seriously, what did Joseph and Mary say about the birth of Jesus to his siblings? I don’t know what they said, but that is a conversation that I would have loved to have heard.
So it is not without sympathy that I bring up Jesus' brothers. They were in a tough situation. If you read the story you find that John, the writer of the story, says that the big problem with Jesus’ brothers was that they did not believe. After thinking about the complications of actually having the Savior of the World in your own family, I am not sure that I can blame them. I guess that it is understandable that they did not believe who Jesus was or what He was about, especially after watching him grow up. They could not comprehend that this big brother was the messiah, nor could they have had any idea what kind of messiah he would turn out to be.
The fact that they did not believe is significant, but more importantly look at what Jesus says to their invitation to go to the feast. Jesus says, “You go on ahead. It is not my time to go. You can go when ever you want, but I have to wait for the right time to go.” What would Jesus have said to them if they had believed? Would he have said wait with me? Would he have given them an explanation to the cryptic statement that he left them with? I don’t know.
Here is what I think, though. I think the significance of the story is that Jesus said that he had to wait. It is not as significant that his brothers could go whenever they wanted, but rather that Jesus had to wait because he had a purpose. Think about it. On Saturdays I get to sleep late because there is no one telling me what to do. I have no boss expecting me to punch the clock at the right time. I don’t have to do anything that I don’t want to do on Saturdays and I usually don’t, but when Monday morning comes I have to change my plan. I have a purpose on Monday morning. I have to get to work and get that purpose done. There is a right time for this, and a wrong time as well.
If Jesus’ brothers had believed, they would have been unable to do whatever they wanted. Why? Simple, belief is powerful. Belief changes your agenda and gives you a purpose that is foreign to your normal status quo. Belief changes things, not the least of which is your schedule. Seriously, how can you believe that Jesus is the son of God and not change? How can you believe that Jesus is who he says he is and not be moved to action in response to the needs of people all around you?
I am afraid that the answer to this question is also simple. I still walk past hungry people, I continue to neglect hurting people, and I do what I want like it is a Saturday. Why? I don’t believe. Lord, help thou my unbelief.
That clue involves something I heard a friend of mine say recently about how boys tend to be impressed with power. I never really thought about it before, but I think that they are right. If true, it would explain my son’s fascination with history and warfare,and It would certainly explain his fascination with Futureweapons. The one thing that I am certain about is that this show is about power, pure military power.
While watching an episode about missiles that could hit a postage stamp from 50 miles, I began to contemplate the power it takes to accomplish such an amazing task. Then, being the ADD person that I am, my mind began expanding its review of power until I was rummaging through mental topics that had almost no resemblance to television program that got this train of thought going in the first place.
I began thinking about how power is all around me. My computer is running on power. My Bluetooth stereo headphones are running on power. In the morning I will drive to work using power. Nuclear weapons have an incredible amount of power as do power plants, duh. But what is it about all of these that makes them powerful? I think that it has to do with something very simple, but also intimidating. That something is change.
Think about it. In every instance power allows someone or something to change their environment. In some instances, Bluetooth headphones for example, that change is very small. In other instances, like nuclear energy, that change is profound. Recently, I chanced upon another type of power that though profound, is exceptionally subtle. That power is belief.
This subtle form of power revealed itself to me while I was reading about the life of Jesus. It happened when I came upon a story that seems insignificant at first. Basically, Jesus had just succeeded in running off many of his disciples by saying that they must be nourished by his body and blood. I don’t think Jesus was recommending cannibalism. If so, I am sure I would check out as well.
Instead, I think that Jesus was saying something important about what should nourish us. He was telling us that when you get right down to it the thing that should give us life is him. His body, His blood, they should provide us with purpose and meaning. Do you remember when Jesus was encouraged by his disciples to eat because he appeared weak? His disciples were emphatic. “Jesus, you’ve got to eat,” they said.
He replied, “I’ve got food to eat that you don’t know anything about.” Jesus then said that the food that he was talking about was doing the will of His father. Amazing isn’t it? Jesus said that in fulfilling his purpose on earth He was getting more sustenance than eating at an all you can eat Chinese buffet.
It was in this context that I realized Jesus was expecting his followers to be sustained by doing the will of Lord God that most of them left. They realized that there is little room for personal agendas when following this guy.
So, after being deserted by most of his followers, Jesus is hanging out with the few remaining disciples that he has, and is waiting on the upcoming feast in Jerusalem. Now things get complicated because Jesus has some brothers. Can you imagine how hard life would be if Jesus was in your family? Talk about the world’s worst big brother. You would absolutely never get by with anything, ever.
In the story Jesus’ brothers say hey big brother, why don’t you take your few remaining followers and go down to Jerusalem and show them some of your cool tricks? Seriously brother, if you have political plans you are going to have to get out where the people are.
You see, they said this because they did not understand who their big brother was. I mean really, can you imagine the awkwardness around the family dining table when conversations inevitably came to birthdays? Seriously, what did Joseph and Mary say about the birth of Jesus to his siblings? I don’t know what they said, but that is a conversation that I would have loved to have heard.
So it is not without sympathy that I bring up Jesus' brothers. They were in a tough situation. If you read the story you find that John, the writer of the story, says that the big problem with Jesus’ brothers was that they did not believe. After thinking about the complications of actually having the Savior of the World in your own family, I am not sure that I can blame them. I guess that it is understandable that they did not believe who Jesus was or what He was about, especially after watching him grow up. They could not comprehend that this big brother was the messiah, nor could they have had any idea what kind of messiah he would turn out to be.
The fact that they did not believe is significant, but more importantly look at what Jesus says to their invitation to go to the feast. Jesus says, “You go on ahead. It is not my time to go. You can go when ever you want, but I have to wait for the right time to go.” What would Jesus have said to them if they had believed? Would he have said wait with me? Would he have given them an explanation to the cryptic statement that he left them with? I don’t know.
Here is what I think, though. I think the significance of the story is that Jesus said that he had to wait. It is not as significant that his brothers could go whenever they wanted, but rather that Jesus had to wait because he had a purpose. Think about it. On Saturdays I get to sleep late because there is no one telling me what to do. I have no boss expecting me to punch the clock at the right time. I don’t have to do anything that I don’t want to do on Saturdays and I usually don’t, but when Monday morning comes I have to change my plan. I have a purpose on Monday morning. I have to get to work and get that purpose done. There is a right time for this, and a wrong time as well.
If Jesus’ brothers had believed, they would have been unable to do whatever they wanted. Why? Simple, belief is powerful. Belief changes your agenda and gives you a purpose that is foreign to your normal status quo. Belief changes things, not the least of which is your schedule. Seriously, how can you believe that Jesus is the son of God and not change? How can you believe that Jesus is who he says he is and not be moved to action in response to the needs of people all around you?
I am afraid that the answer to this question is also simple. I still walk past hungry people, I continue to neglect hurting people, and I do what I want like it is a Saturday. Why? I don’t believe. Lord, help thou my unbelief.
No comments:
Post a Comment