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       So far as I know, this is the first and only recorded ‘two stage’ miracle that Jesus ever performed, but it seems to be an apt description of the human condition in general. Whether we realize it or not, God is very much involved in our lives every day, and for the most part, He graciously grants the sense of sight to each of us. But how often, even as believers, do we fail to really see people as they really are? To my dismay (and embarrassment), this has happened to me more often than I care to admit. On more than one occasion, my wife has returned home with her hair cut shorter or with a different hairstyle which I immediately fail to notice. Not until many days later or until someone else off handedly mentions it, do I catch on and ‘see’ the change.

       A day does not go by but that we fail to ‘see’ people--fail to see their hurts and their staggering needs. We barely take the time to acknowledge their presence, let alone, look them full in the face--peer deeply into their eyes so that we might truly ‘see’ them. To us they are become ‘as trees walking’ in the whirling blur of our lives.

       How does this happen? How is it that we fail to see people--fail to truly see them? Yes, it is an easy thing to rationalize--After all, we have our own burdens and problems that come crashing in on us, demanding our time and attention. Certainly we live in a culture of ‘hustle and bustle’ involving extremely tight schedules. We are pressured into packing more and more ‘life’ into the limited time that we have. And in the whole process of ‘running here’ and ‘running there’, we lose touch with flesh and blood--breathing people. And . . . we become incapable of reaching out and ‘touching’ people in the midst of their deep needs. Charles Swindoll has said that our capacity to express mercy toward others through deeds of kindness and considera-tion can only occur when we take the time to slow the pace of our lives. Mercy rarely happens in the ‘fast lane’ of life.

       Two of Jesus’ disciples experienced this same kind of what we might call ‘blindness’. Just two days before, Jesus had been executed on a Roman cross and then laid in a rich friend’s tomb. As the two traveled to Emmaus, the resurrected Jesus approached and walked with them on the road to that village. Perhaps the extreme trauma at losing their beloved Master contributed to the fact that in their deep grief and sadness, they failed to recognize Jesus, their Lord. They continued on their way discussing the momentous events of the previous days and Jesus joined in, speaking extensively from the Scriptures, all that was ordained to occur in connection with His death and resurrection. Arriving at their destination, these two men invited Jesus to stop and eat a meal with them.

       "He sat down with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.

       Back and forth they talked. "Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?’"

                                                                                                                                                              Luke 24:31-33 [MSG]

       I suspect that like the blind man who saw people as "trees, walking" and the disciples who failed to recognize Jesus , we just do not see the people around us until Jesus’ pronounces the blessing or until His healing touch empowers us. That touch enables us to "look hard and realize" the real flesh and blood people who are there, directly in front of us--people who need to be seen, who need to be heard and people who need to experience deep healing of the soul, if only we could take the time to reach out and touch them in the power of the Master.

My oldest daughter, quoting one of her college professors said;  "We are here not  to see through each other, but to see each other through!"   And she's so very right, you know!

 
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moment the vast mountains of water surged back into their place. Gone--Swept away-- forever! Before long, the people of Israel stood at the foot of the mountain of God in Sinai where they received His law in a spectacularly unforgettable display of His divine majesty.

     Into the wilderness the people traveled and it should not have surprised anyone of Yahweh’s continuing care for His people as He provided food "raining down" from Heaven. This manna (literally; "What is it?") looking like a white coriander seed and tasting "like wafers made with honey" (Exodus 16:31), settled with the dew each morning. The people found it a versatile food they could ground or crush and make into cakes to be baked or cooked in a pot (Numbers 11:7). This bread of Heaven was a daily miracle--every day, except the Sabbath, and so it was necessary to gather a double portion the day before. Yahweh sent His life sustaining bread from Heaven for the entire forty years that the Israelites trekked through the wilderness South and East of Palestine.

      Through the course of time--it couldn’t have been very long (see the account in Numbers 11:1-6), God’s consistent giving of the manna became ‘old hat’ to the people of Israel and they began to complain;
                 

     Hard to believe--eh? But really, is it? For the Israelites, the daily miracle of manna was no longer enough--it had become so ho-hum for them. They longed for what was a complete impossibility--an altogether safe and peaceful return to Egypt (consider their totally subservient existence in that land and the circumstances of their departure with the death of the firstborn in every Egyptian family). They wanted the fish, melons, leeks and onions of that land without the violence and certain death that awaited them if they returned.

     We are not at all unlike the people of Israel. If nothing else, grace (favor not deserved) from God, our Father, is a daily miracle. And as I reflect back over a period of time in my life to recall the specific moments when I was completely aware of His hand at work, I am astounded! Then, add to that (No!–multiply) the events in which I am only vaguely aware of or those in which I haven’t a clue, and I should be even more in awe than I am!! It is so profoundly difficult for us to be convinced that our great God is intimately involved every single day in the mundane (the commonplace) events of our lives, but He is!

     It is insidious but certain, you know, that the mundaneness of life invisibly and quietly seeps into our spiritual sensitivities. It happens, so that we begin to view God’s gracious dealings with us not as the wondrous precious experiences that they are, but just ordinary, typical and routine incidents along with everything else that transpires in our everyday lives.

     And we are tempted to do one of two things:

     There is the very great tendency to ‘see’ God’s hand in every single instance of our existence--We make every experience a miracle of God. Everything becomes ‘so awesome’ that even those authentic moments (in which God’s hand is at work) are emptied of their majesty and wonder.

Or--

     Like Israel, we permit the daily miracles of God to become so ordinary and commonplace, that we no longer have an appetite for them. We long for the truly impossible--for the stupendous to sate our hunger for excitement and stimulation. And in this, we fail to understand that it’s what God does quietly behind-the-scenes in our everyday lives that truly keeps us alive. Like, Israel, our failure to see that a return to ‘Egypt’ where everything is so exciting, means certain death!

     It is so vital that we not despise the mundaneness of daily miracles--that we cultivate an appetite/ an appreciation that is able to ‘see’ God’s hand in our lives even when we cannot see His hand at work in our lives! As Paul said; "We live by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthinans 5:7).
                                                                                                                                                                                     

  
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8-5-07--Our God-Humble & Gentle! (Larry Nuckles)-- http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/608222566/item/

9-8-07-- "God Wins!" -----   http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/614762559/item/

9-18-07-- 1^st Rule of Holes -----   http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/616768743/the-1st-rule-of-holes/

9-20-07--To Hell and Back! ------  http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/616974458/to-hell-and-back/

9-20-07--Did the Father Abandon Jesus?------                                      
http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/617142318/did-the-father-abandon-jesus/

9-23-07-- So WHAT Do You Do When You Find Yourself in the Pit? ----------                                                                    http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/617690454/so-what-do-you-do-when-you-find-youself-in-the-pit/

9-25-07--Abandoning Ourselves to God -- http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/618043976/abandoning-ourselves-to-god/

9-27-07-- Rescued! -------  http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/618274593/rescued/

10-9-07--Entering the Mystery . . . . --   http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/620484178/entering-the-mystery/

10-11-07--"Is He Safe?" –[Mystery] -- http://mr-turniphead.xanga.com/621007614/is-he-safe/

       
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"My Sin Looks Worse on You!" 
         [The idea for this post was inspired by a status posting on Facebook--I no longer have a name; she's gone!] 

      I read that statement on a Facebook status line and it resonated with me. The person who made the remark, was bewailing the fact that she was wasting a lot of her time (too much) on FB--that in fact, the time she spent there was cutting into getting other routine chores done. As she explained, it seemed to me that she might have been discussing this very thing with one of her friends, when somewhere along the way it was said to her; "My sin looks worse on you". That was apparently the ‘tipping point’, because over the last couple weeks, this lady has apparently abandoned any activity on FB.

      For a few moments, think about this remark. In the first place, it’s true! No matter what the sin, rationalization is always a part of the equation. We always have a good reason (excuse) for why we did this or didn’t do that. From our perspective the actions, thoughts or attitudes that we must claim for ourselves are never as suspect or sinister as those same actions, thoughts or attitudes displayed by someone else. A sin we see in another, that might otherwise warrant a scathing rebuke, is completely justified or ignored when it appears in our own lives. Our sins always look worse on others. Why? How can we possibly justify this?

      I suppose our most important consideration is; How do our sins look on us from God’s perspective? Would He agree that my sin looks worse on others than it does on me? Probably not!

      God through Isaiah did not say; "Some of your sins (not all of them) have separated you from your God." No, His charge is:
 

                   

      Unfortunately we persist in our delusion. And because we deceive ourselves so easily and willingly, Jesus was compelled to lay down one of His most basic instructions about sin--our sins and the sins of our neighbors:

      I suspect that from God’s perspective, all sin looks pretty much the same regardless of who is ‘wearing’ it. His entire approach to sin has been (is) decisive, drastic and dramatic:

              

      That’s how serious He is in regard to sin. As a result, each of us needs to change our mind about sin--my sin and your sin. Jesus was put to death because of it and by our refusal to accept His free gift of life, we will die because of it (Romans 3:23). It’s that serious. And so it is imperative that I come to the understanding that my sin looks no better or no worse on others than it does on me. It all looks bad to God and I must flee to Him for the remedy! 
                                                                                                                                                       

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     I have heard variations of the following sentiments voiced ever since I was a kid watching the Phil Donahue Show on daytime TV (does this ‘date’ me?): "You Christians, you believers in God are SO pathetic with your ‘weak knee-ed’ dependent-on-God approach to life! You talk about pleasing God--serving Him, doing His will, living for Him, etc, etc, etc. Well, I got some advice for you-- What utter dependence on a being that is totally invisible, silent and untouch-                      Image by artolog     http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ 
able--a seeming figment of their imaginations!

     But that’s the very point needing to be made here. It is with great disdain and even deep embarrassment that we come to the humbling truth that above all else, we are completely dependent beings. We come into this world as such and if we live long enough, we will leave in the very same way. It is inevitable. And we don’t like it--at all! Most of us fight tooth-and-nail for the greater part of our lives trying to prove this reality wrong. Tremendous amounts of concentration, resources, effort and blood-sweat-and-tears are expended in the attempt to establish humanity’s autonomy and self-sufficiency.

     Over the years, we have been pulled in one direction or another. Early on I remember that science was touted as the cure-all answer to our human dilemmas. Scientific discovery will solve our problems. Or technology--that will save us. Or education--just more education will do the trick. Or what about social reform--that will move us forward so that we ‘become better and better every day in every way’. But guess what? People are still restless, people still hate, people still fight and steal and wound and maim and kill--often in the very name of peace (remember the war that was fought to end  all wars?).

     The bottom line is the very thing that David, the Psalmist mentioned about humanity when he spoke of " . . . those who cannot keep themselves alive" (Psalm 22:29). How many people have tried--and failed? The list could go on and on. Not all the vast power, influence, herculean effort or resources could accomplish this one very simple thing--to stay alive. We will always be dependent beings and this will be the one continuing reality to be grappled with whether we are able to bring ourselves to admit it or not.

     The god-deniers can rant and rave about how utterly weak and sniveling Christians or God-believers are. I find it fascinating, however, that the very ones who are so critical toward people of faith, themselves, go off looking for something they can believe in or depend on (even if it is themselves).

     In recent times we have been encouraged to look to government for answers to some of the deepest dilemmas in human society. The mantra has become that government can save the environment, that government is the answer for our economic woes, that it will provide for all our health care needs ("free healthcare for everybody"), that it will solve our energy problems ("Go Green!") and that government will quickly generate jobs through a so-called ‘Stimulus Plan’. For many, government has displaced God, and the bigger it becomes, the better. For you see, the bigger our ‘god’ grows, the better off we will be. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way--and it won’t. Government, like everything else we look to to provide security, health and happiness, is a human creation--a creation of dependent beings which is doomed to die and fail just as they will.

     To the stinging criticism that faith in God is nothing more than a huge crutch upon which believers must rely to hobble around on in order to muddle through their miserable little lives, James McDonald retorted: "People say Christianity is a crutch-[Well], ‘Darn right’, and when are you going to [finally] figure out you need one?!"*

     We need God in our lives. If we don’t recognize that need, and refuse to embrace Him, then we’ll wander off somewhere else in our vain search for something to fill that gaping God-sized chasm in our hearts. And we’ll act strong and cocky and arrogant and brazen and self-sufficient and derisive of the weak, yellow-livered God-believers. But all the while there will be that quiet nagging cry that can never be stilled. No matter where we go--no matter what we do, it can never be silenced; that lonely painful cry of a heart without its tender loving God Who longs to draw it into His own.
                                                                                                                                                                                                  
*[Quote from Walk in the Word  radio program with James McDonald].