Where Do We Go From Here?

Ecclesiastes 1:3-5 NIV

What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

What Should You Do Next?

At the age of thirty-two, I came to a major crossroads in my life.  I was about to graduate with my degree and because Mary Jo and I lived in school housing, we had to move.  But where?  I loved New Orleans, enjoyed being close to Mary Jo’s family.  Mary Jo had a very good job where she was successful.  I enjoyed my work as a behavioral therapist and took great pleasure in helping rebuild broken families.  There was no reason to leave.  Housing was fairly inexpensive and we could have soon bought a nice home.  We both had a wealth of great friendships and loved our church.  Yet, we both knew we were about to embark on a new journey; the question was “What do we do next?”

Perhaps you too have felt the itch for a change.  You watch the same TV shows over and over again.  Each day you wash dishes, take the kids places, wear the same clothes, drive the same car, arrive at the same home and nothing much is really different.  It could be that you have grown bored with your life.  You take the same route to work, eat the same foods and wake up with the same problems.  As the Bible puts it, “the sun rises and the sun sets” and this just keeps happening day after day, year after year.  You can buy new skirts, go to a different restaurant, see a new movie, try out a new hiking trail but that does not mean you will quit feeling like you are a hamster running on her wheel.  Much of your life is repetitive and common and you may feel tired of the boredom you are experiencing.

Solomon, the famous king of Israel struggled with boredom too.  He read lots of books, studied plants and animals and wrote thousands of proverbs to challenge his mind.  He built gardens and homes, acquired thousands of horses and cattle and sheep.  Solomon switched religions and got married over and over again just to fight the monotony.  The wealthy king had the finest chefs at his disposal and could buy anything he wanted.  Here is a summary of Solomon’s quest for deliverance from the hamster wheel. 

I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.  I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.  I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.  I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.  I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well — the delights of the heart of man.  I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.  I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.  My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.  Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 2:4-11 NIV)

So there you have one of the wealthiest people of all time unable to overcome the boredom of life.  The Bible is filled with examples of those who thought a change was needed.  David, perhaps tired of conquering nations decided that at the age of forty or so that he would try conquering another man’s wife.  Moses at around one hundred years old acquired a new wife.  Jacob at sixty quit working for his father-in-law and packed up his family to start his own business a hundred or so miles away.  David certainly made a wreck of matters by committing adultery and having his lover’s husband killed.  Moses certainly did not help his marriage any taking on a second wife and perhaps it worked out for Jacob breaking away from his father-in-law but what we have noticed over the years is that regardless of what changes you make, if you are the same person after the changes, then whatever irked you about life will return, perhaps even worse than ever.  It seems that whatever Solomon did to upgrade his life wound up increasing his levels of misery.

The problem that is rarely addressed is that there is an underlying level of angst among God’s people.  Within the mass of humanity is an unexpressed fear or doubt among many that the Lord is not good enough.  What if it does not go as He promises?  What if Christ cannot fix our problems, is unable to satisfy us, won’t really make us better or our lives better if we follow Him?  The doubt that God doesn’t live up to the hype is prevalent and is not easily overcome.  Many are like the officer in Israel’s army who when he heard that God would provide plenty of food for the people of the city he was helping defend, exclaimed incredulously to the prophet Elisha who gave him the news, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" (2 Kings 7: 2 NIV)  Now we must admit that the soldier had what many would say was good reason to discount the prophet’s words.  The city of Samaria was under siege by a great army and it was so bad and food so scarce that the people had started practicing cannibalism.  The king of Israel was equally skeptical of God helping them.  And [the king] said, "This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?"  (2 Kings 6:33 NIV)

Few of us have been in such a terrifying spot as the king and his officer but most Christians and non-Christians have at one time felt the same way about the Lord’s willingness or capacity to help.  “Does the Lord really love me?”  “Will He do anything to help me?”  In a world that is wrecked by Sin at every level, it takes courage to trust God when so much is bad and really bad.  People are cruel to each other, calamities occur that are not rational and the natural order is filled with evil and death.  No one can say that everything is sweet and comfortable because it isn’t or if it is it won’t always be.  The natural response to the troubles and hardships in this world is to look for a change that we manufacture.  We move.  We buy something.  We find entertainment that distracts us.  We medicate.  Recently I saw in the news that a fifteen year old girl left her home to join a violent street gang that is known for its corruption and cruelty.  The girl was beaten, tortured and stabbed to death by members of the gang she hoped would make her life better. How can you explain such misery?  It is a broken world and what will a funny movie do to alleviate that?  Can a new pair of sneakers make you feel really good when you are fighting with your husband?

It is true that you may need a change but why not let Christ be at the center of your change. The Gospel of Luke has a beautiful little side note that provides us with insight into our need for change.  After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.  (Luke 8:1-3 NIV)

What a lovely example for us all.  These women had been broken.  Some, like Mary Magdalene, had suffered from demon possession; others from diseases.  They could have been bitter over all they had suffered in life.  They could have built their lives without God because it might have seemed to them that He had let them down and put them through so much.  Instead, the women gave themselves over fully to Christ because of how He remade them and filled them with goodness and peace.  In addition, they found ways to help finance the ministry of Jesus and the disciples. These women certainly needed a change but the change they made was to devote themselves more fully to Christ and the Kingdom of God.  It was in Christ that they discovered life that was meaningful and filled with purpose.  They no longer were hamsters trapped on a wheel.

Perhaps you too need a change.  Why not make a change that can have a lasting impact on you and others.  Perhaps the change you need is to go on a fast.  Seek God with a clearer mind.  Maybe the change you need is to begin a ministry or join a ministry that brings help to others.  The change you really need might be to begin spending concentrated periods of time in prayer or Bible study.   Maybe you need to make a sacrifice to God that requires faith in Him to take care of you.  Perhaps there is someone or a group of people who need you to concentrate on helping them find Christ through the Gospel.  Why not make a change that might really do you some good?  Perhaps there is a child or a senior adult that God wants you to help.  Maybe it is time for a change; one that might bring you great joy as you experience more fully than ever God and His love flowing into you and out of you in real and specific ways.

The Worthiness of Jesus Sight

Isaiah 6: 9 NIV

He said, "Go and tell this people: 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'”

Have You Missed Something?

When I first went to New Orleans to attend graduate school, I was invited to the First Baptist Church by a friend.  The church had a large singles group and I joined it immediately.  After a couple months, the singles had their annual meeting to elect officers.  I sat far in the back of the room as a casual observer, curious about who would be chosen for the various offices but not having any real opinion about who should be elected.  The president was elected, vice president elected and several other positions filled when all of a sudden my name was presented for one of the offices.  You must realize that there were more than a hundred in the singles group and I had only been attending for a few months so I was not prepared for being nominated for any of the positions on the board.  In stunned disbelief, I did not say anything.  My mouth may have been agape for all I know.  But in the silence of the moment when my name still hung in the air, a young college student turned around and looked straight at me, mouthing the words, “accept the nomination.”  I could not remember meeting her; did not know why she thought I should run for the office and was not sure what to make of her encouragement to accept the nomination.  She had bright blue eyes, an effervescent smile and was beautiful.  She clearly had noticed me before and seemed to know me; I on the other had felt like this was the first time I ever laid eyes on her.

Seeing is an interesting matter to consider.  Everyone knows how three witnesses to the same accident can come away with three completely different accounts of what they saw.  Perhaps you have had a disagreement with someone over what the two of you each saw.  It is often said that “seeing is believing” but that is not always the case, especially if it is someone else doing the seeing.  You have not seen what others claim they saw and wondered if their report is true.  Perhaps someone has asked what you saw in a certain person as if you were missing critical details.  It is almost an accusation as if there is something wrong with you.  “What do you see in her?”  You probably must admit that there have been times when you saw but didn’t really see.  Seeing is one of the most important parts of our existence; critical to how we live our lives.  Today we are going to take a look at seeing and how you can make the most of your opportunity to see.

The Bible has much to say about seeing; it is in fact an important theme in Scripture.  In the very beginning of the Bible, we are told that after each day of creation, “…God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1: 10 NIV)  The most common understanding of this comment is that as God looked at what He created, He noticed that it was all well done.  There is another way we often use the expression “saw that” which may be pertinent.  If I say that she “saw that the job was done right”, it can mean that this person “made sure” that the job was done right.  She saw to it that everything was well done.  Now is that the sense of what Genesis is indicating about God as each day of creation came to a close?  He made sure it was done well!  That could be there too.  It was after all the Lord who did all the creating and after He finished it, the work was perfectly accomplished.  God saw that it was good.

We find that in the Old Testament God sees but also in the New Testament God sees.  Of Jesus we find that, When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick…When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. (Matthew 8:16, 18 NIV)  In this case, God saw and what He saw resulted in Him acting.  Later, Jesus returned to His hometown and came across another man needing help.  Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." (Matthew 9:2 NIV)  What Jesus saw here was more than just a simple act of a collection of men carrying a paralytic to Him for healing!  He saw the faith in the men doing this.  More than just noticing the externals of the action, Jesus saw what was going on within these men when they brought their friend to Him.  Faith in God was working within them.  A third example of Jesus seeing is found in John 1.

Early in Jesus’ ministry as Savior, He began to gather disciples about Him and one of them was Nathanael.  When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false."  "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked.  Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you."  Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." (John 1:47-49 NIV)  We have no idea what Nathanael meant by, “How do you know me?”  Any attempts to get at it are speculative.  What did Jesus “know”?  We can’t say.  Clearly however, when Jesus saw Nathanael, He knew something about the soon-to-be disciple that Nathanael was stunned Jesus knew.  There was in God’s seeing that extended to knowing, a knowing that was stunning to those who came across it.

The Scriptures indicate that there are times when God deliberately makes it impossible for us to see and we want to explore this.  No matter how hard someone might stare at something, he or she cannot see what is there.  Color blind people would readily accept this premise but we are talking about something much more profound than that.  In Isaiah 6: 9 we find this statement by God.  "Go and tell this people: 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'” (NIV)  God shut down the ability of the people to see and comprehend the critical work God was doing in their midst.  Our Lord is quoted repeating it and the Apostle Paul also echoed it.  He (Jesus) said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'” (Luke 8:10 NIV)   Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.  They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: "'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving." (Acts 28:24-26 NIV)  What is troubling about this work of God is that those who don’t see what is there, don’t realize they don’t see it but in their pride they assume we know all there is about the matter.

There are two very ordinary examples in the Old Testament that illustrate this perfectly.  Both are found in 1 Samuel 17.  A Philistine giant named Goliath famously challenged anyone among the soldiers of Israel to fight him.  Whoever’s champion won the battle would then without a fight enslave the loser’s people.  There is an almost comical description of what happened when Goliath issued his dare to the fighting men of Israel.  When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear. (1 Samuel 17:24 NIV)  What all these soldiers saw was the death of them.  They saw defeat, suffering and horror.  With their eyes they saw something that was quite different than what David saw when he looked at Goliath.  He saw a defeated foe, a broken warrior, and opportunity for God to be glorified.  Later when David came out to fight Goliath with just his normal clothes and a sling and some stones, Goliath looked at David and saw only a boy.  His reaction was recorded in the Bible.  He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him.  He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. (1 Samuel 17:42-43 NIV)  What Goliath saw was a victim, but who David actually was he did not see.  David was a victor.  It is human to think we see someone and not see that person at all.  Consider the interesting case of Samuel and his mission to anoint the next king of Israel.

Before this, the prophet Samuel was sent to a particular family living in the small village of Bethlehem to anoint the new king of Israel.  The problem was that Samuel didn’t know who God had chosen of a family of eight boys.  He saw one that looked perfect for the job but he wasn’t God’s choice.  Samuel went through seven of the sons and none of them were who God chose but the eighth, David was who the Lord wanted as the next king of Israel.   The problem Samuel the prophet had in this selection process was that Samuel did not possess a crucial skill set that was needed.  God explained it to him.  …the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV) 

How many of us can do that?  We think we can see things clearly; that we get it and yet who is able to look at the heart?  Who can go beyond what is visible on the outside and see within a person?  It is of course impossible for us; just like it is impossible for someone colorblind to see blue.  It is not just that we aren’t trained to look into the heart; we are unable to do it.  It has been said that there is always, when we begin to judge someone’s character or motives, one more part of that person we don’t know.  There is one piece to the puzzle we don’t have that would if we had it explain a great deal.  We are incapable of judging a single soul, whether good or bad.  Our Savior does not ask us to figure out people, to get “a handle on them.”  We cannot really see them; see in the heart which is why that is not what He wants us to do.  The Lord has given us this one responsibility when it comes to others.  We are to love them.   We say we can’t do that either.  Yes we can if Christ has become a part of us.  His love, flowing out of the power of the Cross becomes the love we have at our disposal at any time.  You may not be able to figure out what is in the heart of that person next to you but you can love the person next to you.  What God wants you to see whenever you look at someone is that person must have my love and I will give it to her…just like Christ loves me.