Ah, the gotcha questions we ask! It seems one of our deepest desires is to self-justify. Listen in as a young lawyer believes he has led Jesus, the master Rabbi, into openly agreeing with him. And then watch as his smug smile turns to humiliated disbelief with just one now-familiar parable. So really, who isn't your neighbor?
"Very" is a very big word. Not in letter. But in meaning yet expressed. The Great Shema which is foundational to all that Jesus was, is, lives, and dies, has a "very" interesting twist...have you yet learned to love the LORD your God with all your...very?
Jesus, the object of our faith, had faith. But what was Jesus' faith made of? Take a listen and HEAR! The faith of Jesus was handed down by his father and his father's father...and so one and so forth...all the way back to that generation of Moses which first sat to hear the words of God. And so, their sound carries to you today.
We are told to have faith IN Jesus. A good instructive, to be sure. But where was Jesus' faith placed? What if we, all these years later, are to acquire first the faith OF Jesus, which results in a growing faith in Jesus? Upon generations of teaching, prophesies, histories, and heritage did Jesus build his own internal frame. Lean in and listen. Look and see. The faith of Jesus is on ready display!
Smoke and Fire! A voice from atop a mountain that makes the people beg for a mediary. The pinnacle of Exodus is the giving (and receiving) of the LAW - The Big Ten commands which sets the world stage for a savior one day to follow.
How can you be expected to have faith when your back's against the wall? It is here, shown in great detail in the pivotal image in the grand story of God's salvation, that a ready supply of faith may be found. Go ahead. Walk forward. Don't be surprised if your steps provide the beat for the Song of Moses (and the Lamb!)
Who would think that bones could be a symbol of hope? Dry. Dusty. Lifeless bones. Our Biblical story contains many plot lines. Join me as we follow the bones of promise into the land of hope realized.
God has the answer. The great dilemma of the cosmic/Divine drama is now solved. The final chapter of Genesis presents the totally unexpected. Evil does not get the final word. Nor death. Have we yet seen what God can do with death? He creates life!
Can you pass the test? Have we yet learned to discern the power of our expressed "amen"? Abraham is said to have stumbled into it, only to find his footing and walk out a life before God. Watch and see. Listen and hear. You might just hear your own name called by the God of gods. Do you know how to answer?
But what of one man's life? Can God split the chaotic waters within just as the Scriptures claim He accomplished at the beginning? Stride alongside Abram and see. Dare to believe God. You too just might be made whole.
