Who Sinned?

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
 ¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

   ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus,“but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

John 9:1-3

I read this to Anna and thought she wasn't paying attention.  I then asked Anna, "Who sinned, this man or his parents?"  Anna told me, "Neither.  This happened so we could pour God's love into his life."

Right now some friends have been experiencing pain that is no one's fault.  This is an opportunity to pour God's love into their lives.

2 Corinthians 4:9-18

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2 Corinthians 4:17-18

We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

First of all, it is strange that we look at things that are unseen.

This reminds me of the Thundercats and the "Sword of Omens" that gives Lionel "sight beyond sight".  I look only with my eyes and therefore see only things that are seen.  I "see" things that are unseen by faith.  The part of me that does this is my heart.  It's like this:

Organ: eyes
Function: vision
Sees: things that are seen

Organ: heart
Function: faith
Sees: things that are unseen

By faith we see things that are unseen.

The other thing that strikes me from this verse is "the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal".  This reminds me of a linear second order differential equation:

m x'' + c x' + kx = F(t), where ' = d/dt

The homogeneous solution for mx'' + cx' + kx = 0 is "transient" especially if c is less than critical damping.  This solution is an oscillation that slowly dies out.

The particular solution for m x'' + c x' + kx = F(t) depends entirely on what F(t) is and lasts for as long as F(t) exists.  If F(t) is eternal, x(t) is eternal.  If F(t) represents God, then we need to "see" this solution, not the transient solution.  Moreover, if we tune our natural frequency to be resonant with F(t), x(t) blows up.

Those of you who have taken structural dynamics will understand what I mean.


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2 Corinthians 4:1-8

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 4:1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,...

 I sometimes think that I participate in ministry because I "stepped up" or "because I was available" or because God has "gifted me". These are all shades of truth. I need to keep in front of me that I can participate in ministry because God is merciful.
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 4:1 continued: ...we do not lose heart

 If I realize that it is God's mercy that allows my to participate in ministry, I will not lose heart.
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 4:2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.

 I need to not succumb to pressure to make God's Word more palatable. I need to say the truth openly. God is watching.
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 4:5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

 I am learning so much about ministry this morning. We need to proclaim Jesus. We need to others servants - for Jesus' sake. This succinctly clarifies ministry.
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 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

 Again, it is not about me, but about God. God's goal in history is not to make me awesome. I need to worry less about "being all I can be" (the best dad, the best husband, the best witness, the best teacher, the best blogger,...) and concern myself with God and His glory. A recent theme for me has been, "God tastes so good, I hate my life" (cf. Luke).
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 4:8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed

 Just this week I imagined what this verse would be like if I didn't know Jesus. Basically, I would only the "but not" parts of the verse. Think how horrible this is: We are crushed, driven to despair, forsaken, destroyed So sad this would be. Uh oh, Yoda voice. People need Jesus.
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2 Corinthains 1-3

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1:9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

What a place to be. This verse is at the end of Paul talking about his afflictions. They were so severe he felt that God had put a death penalty on him. But Paul thought this was a good thing because it made him rely on God. Dare I ask God to bring me to this point?

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1:12 For our boast is this: "the testimony of our conscience that we behaved in the world with simplicity and Godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.

"simplicity and Godly sincerity"... I'll try to keep that in mind today

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1:19b-20 in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Just awesomeness: Yes. Amen. Glory to God.

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2:12-13 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

Amazingly, Paul turned away from an open door of ministry because he missed his brother.

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2:15-16 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

We are the aroma of Christ! How people perceive the odor is on them, not on us. We do not need to put on deodorant. We smell like Jesus; some people think that smells like death and others life.

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3:2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all.

We don't need to defend ourselves. People can tell if our lives have been well spent by the parts of us invested in others. To me this starts with my family then extends to the folks I've invested in. I know that Eric and Gentry Anderson follow this blog and I want to say I have met so many people that have been influenced by them (most recently the Haechtons) that love Jesus so much they spend their lives on Jesus.

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3:4-6 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has mad us competent to be minsters of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Do I really believe this? That my sufficiency is from God? If I did, then I would not claim anything as coming from me. The evidence is in and the verdict is that I apparently do not believe my sufficiency is from God (whenever I take credit for something).

I just now saw that I am missing the "e" in "made". I have total respect for the word and want to fix it, but I have left it because "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Note: if this were a Bible manuscript, I would fix it. I totally admire the scribes who have preserved our Bible manuscripts with so great fidelity that the Bible is the most trustworthy document in history.

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3:7 Now if the ministry of death...

Whoooa. (This is referring to the old covenant in general and the 10 commandments in specifice.)

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3:17-18 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, thee is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Just one day into my reading and reflecting on this blog and I am completely undone. I'm looking forward to this freedom and transformation.

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partially restored

I think the sabbatical has done its work. I will now use this blog as a diary as I continue walking with Jesus. This is for myself but you are welcome to read along if you like.

Jesus Coming Soon

In Honolulu, there is a church with a large "Jesus Coming Soon" sign. As we near our departure from Christchurch Anna's reaction to the impending departure has shed some light on waiting for Jesus to return.

Anna understands the concepts of past and future, but in no further detail than that. Tomorrow, two days from now, a week from now, a month from now, even a year from now are all “tomorrow” in her vocabulary. So, over the last several months she keeps asking, “Are we leaving tomorrow?” Now that we are within a week of leaving and we can show her the days on the calendar, she is beginning to grasp the idea of future more clearly. We have told her, “It will be ten more sleeps before we leave”. Still, some days she gets up and asks, “Are we leaving today?”

If only I could look forward to Jesus’ return like this – knowing that it is “tomorrow” but not knowing how far ahead and waking up each morning asking, “Are we leaving today?”

Chilean Miners

We followed the rescue of the Chilean miners via the internet. I was surprised that even when the fourth miner came out of the ground, I still teared up even though three had been rescued before him. This made me think of how awesome it must have been when Lazurus was called out of the house by Jesus after he had been dead.

I am overwhelmed as I think of Jesus taking me from the miry pit and putting me on firm ground. He rescued me.