Is Jesus home?
Church construction projects are (or at least used to be) a pretty common site, with one springing up on practicually every major road or in every large or small community. As you'd drive by from day to day, you'd watch as the foundation was laid, the walls went up, then the roof, and finally the spire. Not long after, you'd see the cars filling the parking lots and the people coming to inhabit the new edifice.
Several years ago, our church bought a nearby tract of land and began building a much larger sanctuary. In the center of the altar of the new church was a 30-foot-tall obelisk with a cross carved in it. Because of the obelisk's size, it was the first thing installed, and the church had to be built around it. We had to drive by the construction site on the way to the old church.
One day, after the walls were up but the building was not yet completed, my six-year-old daughter looked out the car window at the project. She then turned back and asked, "Has Jesus moved in yet?"
It is a probing question for those who seek forgiveness and grace. Has Jesus moved into your heart yet?
And the corillary akin to it: Does Jesus inhabit the ediface you've so carefully and systematically constructed?
John 6:35–40 (NRSV/ESV-friendly)
“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty… This is the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.’”
We must ask ourselves, concerning not just our church buildings, but of our own hearts, Does Jesus abide here?
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me" (Revelation 3:20, NIV).
Rhino Reciprocity
A cheeky bird hitching a ride atop a rhino is a fascinating, perhaps humorous, image.
"Known as an oxpecker," the Rhino Recovery Fund reports:
[This] little bird maintains a reciprocal relationship with Africa’s white and black rhinos. Even the bird’s Swahili name means 'the rhino’s guard.' Oxpeckers feast upon the insects, parasites, and ticks that agitate rhinos, liberating the horned giants of these tiny pests.
The birds also serve as an alarm system for the poorly-visioned rhino. When danger approaches, the oxpecker creates a commotion, promptly warning the rhino of an approaching threat, like lions or hyenas. A recent study found that rhinos who enjoy the company of oxpeckers are more likely to avoid getting shot by poachers. As with any other threat, oxpeckers sound the alarm to an approaching human, increasing the chance for a rhino to avoid poachers.
This relationship between the rhino and the bird speaks of a reciprocal relationship and action, not a transactional one. When the Holy Spirit prompts us to show mercy, to minister to or care for another, it is a blessing to both them and us. Specifically, the mercy and grace of God liberates and protects us from evil desires, actions, words, and the Lord’s judgment.
Disciples of Jesus who appreciate having experienced His mercy and grace, then extend His mercy and grace to others.
God's mercy and grace are gifts to be received and extended, not based on conditional, transactional exchanges.
"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace" (1 Peter 4:10, ESV).
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy" (Matthew 5:7, NIV).
Keeping Our Eyes on the Banner of Freedom
When the Americans first occupied Manila, many prisoners that had been imprisoned for "political offenses" were set free. One of these crimes, according to the Spanish government, which then ruled the Philippines, was reading the Bible. One day a man came to famed Christian missionary Dr. Homer Stuntz, and asked to see him in strict privacy. He then asked in a whisper if it were true that he could now read his Bible without danger of imprisonment. Dr. Stuntz took him to the door and asked him to look at the American flag floating near by. Then he said, "So long as you see that flag floating over your country, you can sit on the ridgepole of your house, if you want to, and read the Bible, and no one can molest you."
Surely the American flag -- the banner of our freedom -- can offer one measure of assurance. Yet there is an infinitely (and eternally) greater banner under which we can claim not just our freedom, but our boldness to excercise such freedom, and that is the Cross of Christ. It is the symbol of our freedom from the bondage of the world, the flesh, and the devil. And it is likewise the symbol of our calling to boldly persist against pressure, persecution, and even penalty.
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1, NIV).
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36, NIV).