Things are not always as they seem, look deeper!
When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor." (Mat 11:2-5)
A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Prov 11:25)
To open their eyes...that they may receive (Acts 26:18)
"By the goodness of God we mean nowadays almost exclusively His lovingness; and in this we may be right. And by Love, in this context, most of us mean kindness—the desire to see others than the self happy; not happy in this way or in that, but just happy. What would really satisfy us would be a God who said of anything we happened to like doing, 'What does it matter so long as they are contented?' We want, in fact, not so much a Father in Heaven as a grandfather in heaven—a senile benevolence who, as they say, 'liked to see young people enjoying themselves' and whose plan for the universe was simply that it might be truly said at the end of each day, 'a good time was had by all'. Not many people, I admit, would formulate a theology in precisely those terms: but a conception not very different lurks at the back of many minds. I do not claim to be an exception: I should very much like to live in a universe which was governed on such lines. But since it is abundantly clear that I don't, and since I have reason to believe, nevertheless, that, God is Love, I conclude that my conception of love needs correction." C.S. Lewis Problem of Pain
The above are all from my various devotional books this morning and I have been thinking about a theme that connects them. What came to mind as that they are all a bit mysterious or paradoxical. Jesus doesn't give John a straight answer, how can you be filled if you pour yourself out, the statement in Acts 26 does seem obvious on face value, and what exactly is meant by God's goodness?
Starting with the passage in Matthew. John is languishing in prison. Previously he had been preaching repentance, baptising people in the Jordan, testifying to a coming Messiah and pointing out Jesus as the one. Like his contemporaries he may have expected Jesus to establish his kingdom on earth, freeing the people of Roman rule but the weeks go by and he hears nothing. In the darkness of his cell, John begins to doubt. Has he got it wrong? So he sends his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the promised Messiah. However, instead of giving a straight answer, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 35(5) and 61(1) to show that by his ministry, his preaching and miracles, he is fulfilling scripture. He is indeed the Christ. Jesus could have said 'Go back and tell John yes I am the Christ.' But by highlight his ministry he is dealing tenderly with John, helping him to look beyond his circumstances to what the Sovereign Lord is doing - people are being healed, the poor not forgotten, the dead are being raised to life, the good news of God's kingdom is being preached, although not necessarily in the way they expect.
The second passage (Proverbs 11:25) is a paradox. How can one prosper if you generously give. How can you be refreshed when you lose energy refreshing others? C.H.Spurgeon writes that if you are being generous of yourself in the Lord's service, you will in turn be blessed spiritually. "Let me water [the Lord's] garden, and he will make a watered garden of my soul."
The third passage was from Oswald Chambers devotion of the day. He was illustrating that it is not enough just for the eyes to be opened, to be aware of spiritual darkness. To declare 'of course, I see now that I am a sinner' is only half the journey. To be truly saved man needs to receive from God forgiveness for his sins, to be transferred from darkness to light. Then having received the gift of faith, the verse goes on to say they also are given an 'inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.'
The last devotional passage was an extract from C.S. Lewis's book 'the Problem of Pain' which challenges our understanding of the goodness of God. God's lovingkindness is not letting me do what I want so that I will be happy. He works things for our good but what I think will be good for me and will make me happy is not the same as what God knows is good for me and will make me profitable in his service.
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