Faith in the Impossible

For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1:37

Read verses 34 to 38 for the story behind this statement. I must admit Mary’s incredulity vanished far quicker than mine would. That Mary would become pregnant without male assistance was impossible enough, but that God the Holy Spirit would make her pregnant seems sacrilegious to say the least.

Of course, as a man, it is highly unlikely that the angel would come to me with that message. But much as I can, I put myself in Mary’s place, and try to imagine my reaction. Perhaps the devil played some cruel hoax, I dreamt in very bad taste, or entered some twilight zone? I probably would have reacted this way.

Note Mary’s reaction. She did not question the reliability of the message; clearly, Gabriel had some guarantee of his credentials that allayed suspicion. Even as a dream, the force of the event would have probably made it authentic. But the intangible twilight zone makes authenticity hard to validate, even counterfeiting Gabriel’s credentials.

Mary simply trusted God, not only for the message, but also for its legitimacy. After all, a year would establish the truth of the message. In addition, Gabriel provided some circumstantial evidence. Her elderly cousin Elizabeth was already six months pregnant; a repetition of the earlier promise of a son to Abraham, conceived beyond Sarah’s childbearing years.

However, my sceptical bent needs evidence; I don’t want to be considered naive. But matters of faith do not produce ultimate evidence or they would not be faith. Both theists and atheists base their positions on faith, so their conflict can never be resolved. Mary just preferred to believe God, perhaps in spite of misgivings.

What if she hadn’t believed Gabriel. Would her lack of faith have prevented the birth of the Saviour? We don’t really know. Rather, I believe God chose Mary because of her willingness to believe. An innocent faith in God is not naive; innocence does not assume ignorance, but trusts in spite of arguments or events ranged against it.

A Virgin Birth?

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. Luke 1:31.

Ah! The virgin birth; butt of jokes and derision, and even a sacrilegious excuse for an embarrassing pregnancy. I’m sure Mary suffered the barbs of contempt and scorn for her state; it was hardly a common occurrence. In fact, she would most likely have been an outcast in her community for this seeming infraction of religious mores.

But it’s not as if miraculous births were not a part of Jewish history. Sarah was past childbearing age when she gave Abraham his son Isaac. And for the observant, Mary’s cousin Elizabeth was sufficiently “well along in years,” that her husband couldn’t believe she would have a son. She was already six months pregnant at the angel’s announcement to Mary.

Then as now, understanding God’s signs in time and space requires humility and faith. Jesus complained that those who could read signs to forecast weather were blind to the evidence of God’s activity. As I get older it becomes clear to me that belief in God’s involvement in life is a matter of what we want to believe, not necessarily evidence.

It is possible to explain away anything miraculous. In fact, for many, believing the miraculous does not exist is a prerequisite for assessing truth! Mind you, a healthy scepticism is a useful tool to avoid impostors and frauds, but to discard God or His intervention completely seems shortsighted at best and at worst plain ignorant.

Christ, as God, becoming a man is a stroke of genius I would expect of God. His virgin birth conceived by God the Holy Spirit set Him apart as God, and his birth from a woman completed His credentials as fully God and fully human. Only this way was He able, not only to take the punishment for human debt, but also have the authority to acquit the guilty.

The first wonder of this world for me is the virgin birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It assures me a place of release from my sin and guilt. It doesn’t absolve me from the consequences of my sin, for which I must make amends where I can, but reassures me of final acceptance by God, now and for eternity.

Avoiding Christ

As you may have guessed from the change in picture, this site will feature a broader range of rambling than heretofore. As the deer are trekking through the wilderness outside our house, so you may find this broader blogging approach wandering through some subverted places in my thoughts. Today is one of those slightly cynical times.

Whatever our beliefs, there are practical issues to life that we all encounter. One of them, of course, is Christmas, although depending on our beliefs we encounter it in different ways. Tom Watterson in this Calvin and Hobbes cartoon has found a way of drawing commercialism and Christmas together. Is this a middle ground?

Not sure if I have crossed the copyright line in reproducing this cartoon, but I am giving Watterson the credit—oops, am I beginning to sound like Calvin? In fact, the Christmas buying frenzy is a back handed compliment to Christ; It wouldn’t happen if not for Him! If He can inspire this credit card based happiness every year, then He can do anything He claims!

Of course, we may deny that our Christmas has any thing to do with religion, just as many of us think the beauty of our earth has nothing to do with God! In fact, to be sure we deChristolize Christmas, we should stop giving gifts, for they represent the gift of Himself to us. Let’s mark it with a frenzy of getting instead!

We have already placed the delete symbol over Christ in Xmas, so why not delete the contents of all those pretty boxes under the tree? It would signify the emptiness of life without an enduring faith in God. And I think “Winter Festival” is a much better name, the dark and cold of the season a reminder of the formless earth and meaningless existence without Him.

Happy Chri Adve Red and Green Season.

Today's Guarantee Our Future Hope

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a sceptre will rise out of Israel. Numbers 24:17.

Most of us remember Balaam as the prophet whose donkey made more sense than he did! So we don’t expect today’s insight to come from him. Not only was he mercenarily inclined, he wasn’t a true prophet, not even an Israelite. And as a foreign seer, he was the least likely to receive this revelation from God.

Which leads me to two thoughts.

First, God may speak to us from the most unlikely places, which means that we may miss His voice if we are only listening in all the “right” places. I’ve noticed that sometimes non-believers have a more practical insight into the truth of things that those whose head is in the spiritual clouds. It was the environmental movement that reminded Christians we are stewards of the earth.

Second, the fervour for the return of Christ that gripped the church of my youth has all but evaporated. Oh, we still believe it all right, but the practical crises of life and the earth take precedence over theory of future things. How does knowing Christ will return help Haitians who are destitute and dying of cholera?

The pain of the moment can obscure the anticipation of God concluding His plans for our planet. Yet, if there is no hope for God to put this world right in the end, what hope is there now? The guarantee of His ability to aid us in the present is in the certainty that His supremacy assures earth’s future hope.

How does this stack up for you?

Why Live in the Dark?

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2

Few of us, particularly city dwellers, have experienced complete darkness. Streetlights constantly light our home at night, and the iridescent light reflecting off fresh snow gives the darkness a warm glow. In younger years, I dabbled in photography and needed a dark room—completely dark—for some procedures. But to be in complete darkness not of our own making can be frightening.

However, the lack of sight, from darkness or blindness, is less frightening than the spiritual darkness of guilt, and the closer we approach God, the more His penetrating light reveals our sinfulness. Martin Luther lived much of his life aware of his sin and in terror of God. He knew what it meant to live in the land of the shadow of death.

That same terror binds people in religions or beliefs that seek to balance or erase guilt by appeasing an angry God. They live in the perpetual darkness of fear of death because they have no assurance that God will accept them. Age has the effect of increasing fear of death, as sins of the past gain notoriety and haunt us.

That great light has dawned on all who fear God’s wrath. Instead of a dark, fearful existence, I can live daily in the light of God’s grace. It is the assurance of God’s forgiveness, guaranteed by Christ’s sacrifice for my sin that gives life hope and meaning.  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” Psalm 23:4.

Why would anyone want to live without that light?

How to Avoid the Gospel

Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 2 Timothy 2:14.

I’ve always thought words are important. Without words and the meanings we associate with them, communication would be non-existent. In fact, many arguments can be resolved by agreeing on the definitions of words both sides are using, without which both could be arguing on the same side!

Now, legitimate research into the meaning of words is necessary to ensure correct understanding and use, particularly in the Bible’s original languages. In the next verse, Paul encourages Timothy to “correctly handle the word of truth,” for which clarity of meaning of the text becomes critical.

So why is Paul concerned over quarreling about words? In simple terms, the search becomes more important than the answers. Maintaining the search assures the absence of any definitive answer; a diversionary tactic to avoid direct application of truth to our lives. Whether it’s arguing over words, or circling the gospel, the intent is the same: avoid the underlying truth.

Although the Bible addresses a variety of issues, its enduring value is the revelation of God’s glorious character and the opposite reality about ourselves. We lose the awareness of our sin if the proclamation becomes a discussion about everything but its personal message to us. Until we see ourselves clearly, the death of Christ can have no impact on our lives.