December 13, 2016
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Snagging God's Attention!
province of Cilicia devoted himself to God by perching on a small platform raised atop a twenty foot pillar for the remaining 47 years of his life. Though young children from the nearby village brought him, among other things, small parcels of flatbread and goats milk to sustain his life, he eventually died there on the top of that pillar.
From ancient times on through the present day, people have consistently sought out various methods of cloistering themselves away from other people for long periods of time in their attempts to reach out to God. They have placed themselves in spartan, solitary and deserted places like one room huts, caves or monasteries for intense contemplation and complete focus on God so that they might attain a higher level of spiritual renewal and development.
In their pursuit of God or the ultimate reality, people have adopted a variety of ascetic lifestyles which often included long periods of fasting or simple, even meager diets. Banning certain substances or particular foods from the body is not unusual. Harsh or abusive treatment of the body through mutilation or self flagellation--even allowing oneself to be nailed to a cross, have been practiced to bolster a certain level of spiritual awareness or arrest God’s notice and approbation.
Some individuals and peoples in religious societies have adopted unique clothing, or cut their hair in a particular manner (or not at all!) along with other specific or peculiar rituals which set them apart from conventional norms or behaviors. They have decided that such traditions are important in maintaining their level of spirituality or connection with God.
Still others have committed to memory huge portions of Holy Scripture or bound themselves to prolonged sessions of intense prayer (certainly nothing wrong with any of that). Many have chosen to ban T.V. viewing in their homes or refuse to watch any movies or at least drastically restrict the programming or films they do watch. Some restrict their leisure of listening to only ‘Christian’ or religious music.
For a number of years as a youngster, I religiously kept a small three or four ring notebook in which I inscribed noteworthy passages of Scripture taken from my daily readings, committing small individual sections or verses to memory (again, this was not a bad thing). I don’t now recall my precise motives for doing this. Certainly it was good to familiarize myself with the Scriptures and to call my attention to some of the very important principles that I was learning, but I would not be at all surprised if one of my primary motives for doing this were my feeble attempts at reminding/ convincing God that I was trying hard to be one of His “good” guys! And I doubt that this was particularly unique with just me! I suspect at one time or another, this is a common tendency among many people.
In fact, it appears that Micah, the Old Testament prophet addressed this very issue in the sixth chapter of his small book:
"You say, ‘What can I bring with me when I come before the Lord? What can I bring when I bow before the God on high? Should I come before the Lord with burnt offerings, with year old calves? Will the Lord be pleased with 1,000 male sheep? Will he be pleased with 10,000 rivers of oil? Should I give my first child for my sin?” Micah 6:6-7 [NCV]What does God want from us? What will really snag His attention; make Him sit upright or bowl Him over with the single word interjection; “WOW”? What is it that will command or solicit His favor or approval?
The apostle Paul hints at what God does not want in his letter to the Colossians. He said;
Do not let anyone make rules for you about eating and drinking or about a religious feast, a New Moon Festival, or a Sabbath day. In the past, these things were like a shadow of what was to come. But the new things that were coming are found in Christ. Some enjoy acting as if they were humble and love to worship angels [messengers] . . . . They are full of foolish pride because of their human way of thinking . . . . You died with Christ and were made free from the worthless rules of the world. So why do you act as if you still belong to this world? I mean, why do you follow rules like these: ‘Don’t eat this,’ ‘Don’t taste that,’ ‘Don’t touch that thing’? These rules are talking about earthly things that are gone as soon as they are used. They are only man-made commands and teachings. These rules seem to be wise. But they are only part of a man-made religion. They make people pretend not to be proud and make them punish their bodies. But they do not really control the evil desires of the sinful self. (Colossians 2:16-18, 20-23 [NCV])
I have recently run across an excellent insight (from the people at KeyLife) into what often motivates our extreme efforts to snag God’s attention (Thomas Aquinis observed the same human tendency in the 12th century). We genuinely (even desperately) want what only God can provide (forgiveness, acceptance, security, power, sustenance, confidence and courage, etc.), but we do not really want Him! We want only what He can give us. And so in all of our pious ways and strenuous efforts to serve and impress Him, we are not actually seeking Him (God Himself), but only the goods we can receive from Him (really this was initially what the prodical son was seeking from his father when he returned home and requested that he be given a place as a hired hand in his father’s household- Luke 15:)
There is one thing in particular that absolutely rivets God’s attention. Luke tells this story in his Gospel during Jesus’ three year ministry. And he pretty much “nails” just what grabs God’s attention.* Jesus had shortly arrived in the coastal city of Caperneum , traveling from the South in Judea, to the Northern province of Galilee. Upon His arrival, a group of religious leaders from the local synagogue approached Him with a significant request. They spoke to Jesus of a particular Roman Centurion dwelling in their city, saying; “He loves our nation!” This man had come to learn about their God and His special people, the Jews, and being a man of means, had gone so far as to build a synagogue for them so they could gather together and worship God.
But this man had an urgent need. A servant of his; one that he deeply cared for, was deathly ill. He thus requested that these leaders approach Jesus and plead on his behalf for the life of his servant. Without hesitation, Jesus went with them.
Not far from the house, “. . . the centurion sent word to Him through some friends saying; ‘Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed . . . . ‘“
Jesus was astounded: “. . . and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel!’ What was it that really grabbed Jesus’ attention? What caused Jesus to sit up and take notice? – Some noble deed? Some lavish expenditure (like the building of a Synagogue)? Some long recitation of Scripture or prayer with high sounding words or sentiments? Some extreme deprivation or extraordinarily strenuous long-term effort?
Or was it the simple confidence he expressed in Jesus’ ability to do anything that needed to be done despite the odds that it actually would be done? This was unlike a similar occasion of healing where Jesus, approached by a distraught father, simply told the man; “Go home. Your son lives” (John 4:50 [MSG]). No, the boy’s father had not independently stated his confidence in Jesus’ power or ability, but simply “took Jesus at his word” and returned home to a son now restored to full health. On the other hand, the Roman centurion in Luke’s narrative, did a pre-emptive strike! He boldly declared what he already knew: “Say the word, and my servant will be healed!” With no prompting from Jesus, or anyone else, this Gentile soldier simply stated what he had come to believe! And what was it he believed? -- He was convinced that Jesus had the power to wrench his servant from even the jaws of death, and restore him to his health! And Jesus was floored! – To paraphrase Jesus; “I’ve never seen this before, among God’s people – and certainly not from any of the Gentiles!”
The evening before His death, Jesus had announced to His Apostles, His impending departure from them. The resulting confusion, sadness, deep discouragement -- even despair thrust them into a tail-spin as their hopes and dreams of a bright future were dashed! Then, Jesus offered His disciples these words of comfort: “Don’t let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? TRUST ME . . . ! (John 14:1 [MSG]. And that’s exactly what the Roman centurion did! He was a Gentile who should have been the last person on earth to know, but he expressed EXACTLY what gets God’s attention in a ‘heart beat’ -- Even TODAY!!
And this is exactly what the prophet, Micah was saying to the people of Israel [and to us!]:
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? TO ACT JUSTLY, and to LOVE MERCY and to WALK HUMBLY with God!” Micah 6:8 [emphasis mine] .
*Luke 7:1-10
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