DODGING THE DARTS OF DAILY DISAPPOINTMENT

I’m sitting here at the computer listening to the strains of “Sesame Street” wafting in from the lounge room when suddenly I hear Yoda from “Star Wars” on the programme. Being an avid fan of the Star Wars franchise I leap from my workstation and into the lounge-room captivated by the idea that Yoda, that delightfully wise and witty Jedi Master, is featuring on my four year old’s favourite T.V show.

But, alas, I was deceived, the voice was the same but the character was decidedly different. It was Grover, a silly, hairy, blue puppet (with no ears) who regularly features on the programme, not the spiritual, cute, hairy, green puppet with magnificent ears that I hoped was featuring. Engulfed in disappointment I lumbered back to my workstation to report on this shattering experience.

Disappointment is an interesting emotion. I realize as I write this that it is probably the most common emotion that I experience. Not only do I experience it daily, but I experience it many times a day. It is now 9.05 am and I have been up since 6am. Already I can recount five incidents so far this morning that have disappointed me:

On waking - the realization that after completing a twelve hour shift (on her day off) that it was now going to be five more days before I had an opportunity to spend any quality time with my wife.

After preparing omelettes for the children for breakfast my seven year old decided that she wanted warm rice and milk.

Our thirteen year old ate for breakfast the lunch I had prepared for my wife to take to work.

My wife worked out the actual amount of money she would take home after tax despite all the hours she had worked this week.

I walked into the garage to discover the mess the children had made yesterday after having friends over to play.

All of these examples are petty and very common place – I know, but that’s the point: disappointment is a common-place response to petty situations. It is a recurring emotion that, for many, might take place dozens of times a day.

I walk in a haze of disappointment every day. Pathetic isn’t it? I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I’m probably one of the few who recognize it. We all get stabbed by daily darts of disappointment. How do we cope? How do we survive?

I thank the Lord for my faith. Satisfaction is the antithesis of disappointment (dissatisfaction) and true Christian faith has the uncanny ability to provide deep, personal and spiritual satisfaction – putting worldly disappointment in it’s true, diminutive perspective. Consequently, I’m defined by my faith not by my disappointments.

But what of the rest of the world?

I was talking to an unsaved acquaintance the other day and the conversation struggled to rise above the dissatisfaction and disappointments of his daily experience. He has no faith, his life is defined by his disappointments. I know Christians who, despite their faith, are similarly defined. When our worldly dissatisfactions overwhelm our faith we have some serious spiritual readjusting to do.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Father God, I thank you from the deepest parts of my being for the gift of Christ’s sacrifice. A sacrifice that saves me from being defined by the disappointments of life and delivers me into the hope of a future in your presence and the satisfaction of knowing that I am on the path intended for me…. The road to Glory. Continue to strengthen my conviction Lord, and to find the determination to continue to guide others on to the same path. In the name of your precious son Jesus. Amen.

THE REVOLUTION OF GRACE

I was reading through the book of Acts the other day and came across chapter 10:9; where Peter goes up on to a roof top to pray. His prayer time, however, gets interrupted by his hunger. After organizing something to eat he then goes into a trance and gets a vision of many of the foodstuffs that are forbidden to him under the Mosaic law, accompanied by commands to “get up and kill and eat” and not to “call anything impure that God has made clean”.

In the ensuing verses Peter is challenged to adjust his attitude towards the Gentiles;
He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean".

The interesting thing here is the nature of the creatures that were deemed unclean under the law. It is a curious list including pigs, serpents, shellfish, camels, and donkeys. Philip Yancey points out in his book “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” that although many of the forbidden foods can be explained away by reasons of hygiene or cultural practice, others cannot, while anthropologist Mary Douglas notes that all of the forbidden creatures sport an anomaly, an abnormality in comparison to other animals; i.e fish have scales and fins but shellfish do not therefore they are an “abnormal” fish, most land animals walk on all fours but snakes crawl on their belly therefore they are forbidden, most domesticated grazing animals tend to have cloven hooves, yet because camels do not they are forbidden, and the donkey (of course) is an “inferior” horse.

From this perspective “unclean” actually means “abnormal”, and under Jewish law the abnormal is to be avoided at all cost. This prejudice is reflected in the Old Testament attitude to women, the infirm and non-jews. That is why Peter states “it is against the law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him”.

The Jews interpreted the Laws of Moses through a lens that magnified their “superiority” over other races. It wasn’t enough that they had God’s favour and promises, they determined to strive towards a physical perfection rejecting anything that could be perceived as abnormal.

Enter Jesus into the picture. He associates with the poor, the infirm, he visits the sick and the demonized, he encourages and empowers women. By embracing the imperfect, the abnormal he makes the revolutionary statement that the abnormal is no longer necessarily unclean. He is bringing the revolutionary concept of grace into the equation of our salvation by focusing on the “heart” instead of the “appearance”.

Furthermore, “acceptance” isn’t determined by the achievement of perfection in the heart, but by the determination to strive for it. What a difference! What a blessing! What a God!

After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

LIFE THROUGH THE SPIRITUAL LENS.

I find Christ’s capacity for discerning the spiritual need behind critical worldly situations fascinating. The fact that he didn’t heal every ailing individual he came across is testimony to this. He managed to discern both the spiritual motivation behind a physical manifestation and the spiritual impact on the Kingdom of his intervention. His recognition of these factors determined the extent of his involvement.

"I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true." (John 4:1). In this instance with the Samaritan woman Jesus’ recognition of her history both convicts her of her sin and inspires her to evangelize her village.

In John 9 we have an incident where Jesus gives sight to a man born blind. Outraged that this healing occurred on the Sabbath the Pharisees question the man, accusing Jesus of sinning by breaking the Mosaic Law. The man’s remarkable response is testimony to Jesus’ wisdom and discernment in choosing to heal this particular man;

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God, " they said. "We know this man is a sinner.
"He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."
The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.

From blind beggar to articulate, theological advocate in one easy lesson: “I was blind but now I see”.

The Gospels are replete with such examples of Jesus' wisdom and discernment. Jesus views every situation through the spiritual lens; constantly responding to the question: will this action echo in the Kingdom? I want to view life the same way.

Precious Lord Jesus, I want some of what you’ve got. The wisdom to see situations as they truly are – not just as they appear. Imbue me with the discernment to see the spiritual ramifications of my interventions and not just the immediate psycho/physical result. In your precious name. Amen.