Worldview Lens: Faith or Fear?

There's a rather funny moment in the classic 1991 film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  This is the movie where Kevin Costner plays Robin Hood and makes no attempt to speak with a British accent whatsoever.  Everyone else around him speaks the Queen's English, but nobody seems to notice or mind that Robin talks like a Yankee.  (To be fair, Christian Slater's "accent" isn't much better.)

In the film, the apparently American Robin is introduced to a crude magnifying lens, a sort of handmade telescope, by his Muslim friend  played by Morgan Freeman.  His first look through the lens at the attacking forces in the distance causes him to dramatically reach for his sword and prepare for attack as he interprets their larger image through the lens to indicate that they are right in front of him.

It's a funny moment, but also a telling illustration.  The lens we choose to see the world with will dictate the identity we embrace, the actions that we take, and the truth that we understand.

MIRROR, MIRROR

Much like our physical sight, we all look at life spiritually through a sort of lens.  The Bible likens it to a mirror in 1 Corinthians 13:12:

For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

This comes during a discourse of our finite ability to understand things.  During the course of this chapter, we're described as "knowing or understanding in part" while comparing our current state to that of "thinking like a child" until the "completeness" comes and we can understand in full.

There is no limit to who this applies to.  This applies to everyone this side of heaven.  We don't see clearly.  We can't fully understand.  And if we're not careful, we will apply the wrong lens and warp the vision that GOD has for us.

Like Robin Hood, if we don't allow someone to slap the mis-applied lens of FEAR from our eyes, we will not see things clearly.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, ELIJAH?

This was certainly true of a whining Elijah, who was focused more on his persecution and loneliness than on the provision and power of the God he served.  In 1 Kings 19:2 we see how Elijah loses hope:

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

Now, Elijah's despair occurs one chapter AFTER his triumphant smackdown with the prophets of Baal.  You'd think dude would be strutting around and dabbing in the end zone.

This is not some weakling of the faith.  This isn't some helpless creature to pity.  This is Elijah.  God's man with the plan.  The one man standing against the plethora of false prophets.

Sharing this moment of Elijah's life reveals some very important truths regarding the role of fear and faith:

1.  FEAR isn't limited to weaklings.  Elijah was one of the most powerful prophets of the Old Testament.  A real man of God.  For Elijah to lose heart like this reveals that FEAR can warp the vision of any believer--and in an instant.

2.  FEAR can cause us to amplify the problems in the foreground to something larger than God.  For Elijah this was Jezebel.  The man who humiliated the prophets of Baal and demonstrated the power of God just one chapter before with such magnificent FAITH swagger and confidence, was reduced to a quivering mess because Jezebel threatened him.  In this bleak landscape, Elijah saw Jezebel as larger than his LORD.

3.  FEAR does the opposite of what FAITH would do every time.  In the previous chapter, Elijah was viewing the scene and acting out of a vision of FAITH.  His confidence was not necessarily in himself or the natural world.  His confidence was in the GOD who promises to be with us.  In this chapter, however, Elijah is hiding and praying for death.

FEAR never leads you to a productive action or decision.  It always weakens you.

It also leads to the dark side according to Yoda.

FEAR can lead to a lot of things--from depression and suicidal despair, to sickness, to immobility and spiritual, physical, and relational paralysis.  Like Peter teetering on top of the surf, our vision of CHRIST must be our guide.  Once we allow FEAR to distort the waves and wind into something more menacing than Christ is comforting, we lose the battle.

NEED VISION?  STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

There's no simple answer to combating FEAR.  It will creep up on you over and over again.  It's not something that you can just vanquish forever like Robin Hood did to the Sheriff.  There is HOPE though. In the midst of Elijah's despair, GOD stepped in in verse 11:

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

FAITH casts out FEAR.

LIGHT casts out DARKNESS

LOVE casts out HATE

By spending time in the presence of GOD, we can renew our strength, right our vision, and restore our path in life.  Read your Bible.  Pray.  Meet with fellow believers to discuss your situation.  Let the LIGHT of the FATHER pierce the darkness around you so that you can see clearly.  JESUS wants to set us free from the prison of FEAR.  He wants more for you.  FEAR always wants you to do the opposite of what you should do.  Be BOLD.  Walk in FAITH.

Peter: Dissing Jesus One Minute & Loving Him The Next

"Feed Me!"  

You have to love Peter.  Or maybe you don't.  I don't know you so I won't presume to tell you what to do.

Anyway, Peter is a man of high highs and low lows.  Dude jumped out of the boat when he saw Jesus walking on the water toward them when everyone else was messing themselves and shaking like a leaf.

Then he sank into the water because his fear and lack of faith got the best of him.

He was also eager to build tents for Elijah and Moses when they networked socially with Jesus during the Mount of Transfiguration experience.  They weren't planning on hanging out long enough to need the digs, so he never got to build them.

Then during the Last Supper when Judas was all-Satan-ed up, Peter dramatically declared that he would never betray or leave Jesus only to have Jesus rebuke him by predicting his betrayal as a prologue to the exciting event of a rooster crowing.  Me thinks the burly fisherman doth protest too much.

You get the sense when you read John's Gospel that there was a friendly rivalry between these two.  John-boy was the "beloved disciple" and often subtly refers to himself as such when writing his Gospel narrative.  I guess it's a way to try to remain humble about the honor.

To read his account, you see that when Jesus was arrested and Peter was warming up for his betrayal performance of a lifetime, John was also there:

"And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.  But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in."  JOHN 18:15-16

Now, it's true that the account doesn't specifically say it was John, but among the 10 possibilities (let's go ahead and rule out Judas) for this mysterious other disciple, only John is recorded at being at the cross during Jesus' crucifixion.  John and Peter are almost ALWAYS referred to as being together.  Pretty much any major narrative involving one of them involves the other.  Symbolically their partnership serves as a glimpse of the collaborative relationship between FAITH & DEVOTION (John) and ACTION (Peter).   Additionally, John ALWAYS refers to himself in third person, but typically names the other disciples. 

If it is indeed John (and since I'm the author of this blog, I'm declaring that it is) it is interesting that the only disciple to see Jesus through to the cross and the one who bore such a deep and abiding love for Jesus was probably a first-hand witness to at least one of Peter's denials.  According to the text, Disciple X (see also John) was allowed into the courtyard but the salty rough and tumble Peter was not.  Physically, John-boy was probably not nearly as menacing as Petey and yet he doesn't deny Jesus for fear of peer pressure the way Mr. "Rock" does.  Anyway, John used his street cred with the door-lady and "brought Peter in."  Then the very next verse says, "Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, 'You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?' He said, 'I am not.'"  

So, John went to get Peter, vouched for Peter and then "brought Peter in" and in that very same instant, Peter was questioned by this door-lady and denied Jesus.  Ouch.  

That my friends is a literary contrast.  And this English teacher likes it.

So, after Peter denied Jesus and runs from the courtyard weeping, John stays and watches his Savior die for the sins of the world.

The two then also face off in racing to the empty tomb.

And then there is Peter's restoration.  Peter was previously described as a "rock" by Jesus and then he had that epic rooster-crow-inducing FAIL of denial.

So when Jesus appears to the disciples after His resurrection, it should be no surprise that He makes a special point to restore Peter's rock-ness. And just as John gave Peter access to the courtyard that night, it's again John that confirms to Peter that it is Jesus speaking to them from the shore in John 21:6-7:

"And He said to them, 'Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.' So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. 7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea."

After Peter gets to the shore, Jesus engages him in a little game of "Do You Love Me" where He asks Peter THREE times whether he loves Him or not.  Peter basically answers that he likes him a lot.  And each time Jesus commands him to feed and tend His sheep.  This is to restore Peter to his rightful position as a rock of the faith that will help lay the foundation of the early church.  Jesus knew that Peter had the tenacity and the ACTION to get it done, but here He's restoring Peter's love and devotion (see also relationship) with Him after the nasty denial episode.

Again, interestingly enough, Peter will now get his wish to follow Christ even to death as Jesus predicts that Peter will also die via crucifixion.  Jesus is allowing Peter to truly go where He has gone even after Peter dropped the ball and cajoled a rooster into breaking the serene morning hours with his obnoxious wake-inducing melody.

And even still Peter is comparing himself to John.  He wants to know about John's type of death.  Perhaps because he now feels like he's in the inner circle of relationship again and wants to confirm that all folks in the "in crowd" will suffer and die like that.  Jesus' answer is to again turn the wayward eye of Peter back to Him and not on others.

(Side note:  It's always troubled me that Jesus seems to suggest that John would live to see the end times and the typical "Jesus was just redirecting Peter's attention" explanation never quite cut it.  Thankfully this time reading through the Holy Spirit reminded me that John did in fact see the end times when he wrote the book of Revelation.  Mystery solved.)

John and Peter represent the need for faith and action to work together.  Peter may have had shortcomings and failures but Jesus demonstrated through his story that He is all about restoring broken people by giving them opportunities to learn from their failures and grow closer to Him as a result.

As parents and world-changers in the lives of children, we need to understand that our kids are the same way.  We need to build up both a deep and abiding love of Jesus AND the boldness to act and rock this world to the foundation.  There's a lot to learn from the lives of Peter and John.  

And there are a lot of the Master's sheep to tend and feed.  And if we truly LOVE HIM we will do just that!

Elijah, Ravens & Finding Hope In God's Provision

Raven:  "Can I Take Your Order Please?"  

It's funny how God chooses to test our faith and encourage us in unlikely ways.

Our family has been enduring Financial Setback-Fest 2012 lately with various unexpected expenses zapping up our financial means in rapid succession (I'm looking at you lawnmower and dryer.)  It's been the age-old adage "one thing after another" brought vividly to life in HD and it has been a bit jarring to endure.

It's so easy to begin the pity party and begin wallowing in how hard your life is when something like this occurs in your life.

It's also easy to enjoy God's provision and encouragement.

A few years back, a friend of ours was having a similar financial setback and the folks in our children's ministry rallied together to collect money for her family to show her that God provides.  When she was asking for names and wanting to know who was involved in blessing her family, I played coy and told her that these people didn't donate for the fame. They donated because God had led them to do so.

I explained to her from the divinely appointed story of the week in our K to 5 program that just like God sent ravens to provide support to Elijah in his time of need, she needed to only thank God for her blessings.  We were merely God's ravens.  She just needed to be blessed, grow her faith in the Lord and look for opportunities to raven-ize someone else when the time came!

This raven-laden portion of Elijah's story is from 1 Kings 17:

"1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word." 2 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook."

Like us, Elijah sometimes had a woe-is-me attitude.  He moped and whined with the best of them.  He also saw God's miraculous provision multiple times in his earthly ministry and had a pretty awesome smack-down of those other false gods with the whole Survivor-style sacrifice-burning competition where God won immunity every time and outlasted, outwitted and outplayed the false idols to win the title of Sole God of the Universe.

In this instance God didn't break open the sky to let Elijah know He was with him.  He didn't part a sea.  He simply directed simple-minded scavenger birds to bring food to a person in need.

Now, as an aside, I'm not a big fan of the scavenger bird types.  I previously blogged about the random predatory birds that fill the skies near our house and about the hideously disfigured turkey vulture that launched out of a random field and almost slammed into my driver's side window as I innocently drove down the street.  So, I'm not entirely sure that I'd be thrilled to accept scraps of food from nasty creepy ravens.    But there is something very profound in this story.

God uses often very small things to bless us, provide for us and alter the path of our lives.  The folks that donated to the woman in need were not rich.  They were not wizards of Wall Street with deep pockets.  Many of them were struggling financially themselves.  And yet God led them to share with a sister in need to bless her.

So sometimes we see ravens and we miss the great and dramatic work that God is about to do.  And yet He does this kind of thing over and over again.

Not only are we in danger of missing the blessing because the vehicle isn't the chariot we always envisioned, but our attitude and receptiveness toward such blessings can pay it forward.  I mentioned earlier that Elijah had thankfulness issues.  We read, however, that right after Elijah was taken care of by filthy predatory birds that he spread the love around.  While asking the widow to step out in faith and make him some food, Elijah brought God's blessing to her and made her little bit of flour and oil (when combined and mixed thoroughly with her own faith and obedience) into an endless smorgasbord of provision.

And so as we wait for our financial ravens to arrive in the skies above, it is fitting that God reminded me of this crucial story that I used to encourage a friend.  Not surprisingly, you will be interested to know that my daily Bible reading just happened to be in 1 Kings 17 on the very day that I found myself wallowing in my own pity.

Like the wizard Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, God is never late nor is He early. He arrives precisely when He means to and His way is always perfect.  While we are still struggling with our financial setbacks and our own unbelief, God has slowly met each need bit by bit.

And we are blessed indeed.

Blessed people bless people.  Be a raven for others and let God grow your faith and theirs.  Also, don't look your gift raven in the beak.  It might peck your eye out and that would be nasty.