We normally equate jealousy with that which is undesirable and unbecoming. Perhaps we tend to think of it this way: You have something that I wish I had or think I deserve and I am jealous of you. In that sense the word jealous does have a negative connotation.
How you and I handle major changes or a crisis in our lives is a reflection of our faith in God. We need to look no further than the Old Testament account of Elisha and the way he immediately responded after his mentor and friend Elijah was quickly taken from his life.
What belongs to me? When I was a 12, I went to camp for the one and only time. Before I left, my mother put name labels inside all my clothes so that after week in a cabin, I’d know for sure which clothes were mine. My clothes were marked with my name.
Easter has passed for the year. The baskets are put away, the cellophane grass is, well, still everywhere, and we’ve turned our heads from the empty tomb. Right?
One of the best confirmations of the divine authenticity and incredible reliability of the Bible is prophecy.
Jesus Christ is raised from the dead.
We are quickly approaching all the events of Holy Week: triumphant procession with waving palms and cloaks spread on the ground, the cleansing of the temple whereby Jesus made clear that the current oppressive system was not of God, the betrayal by Judas, the gathering of the 12 in an upstairs room, where Jesus washed their feet and shared a final meal, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane while his friends couldn’t stay awake, and then Good Friday, the day of burdensome cross carrying, the nails, exhaustion, and then death.
We don’t like to think in terms of having to experience the “worst case scenario.” The blow to our psyche at such “worst case scenario” times can be devastating. Our world comes crashing down around us and our purpose and meaning in life seems to have suddenly vaporized.
A joke people often tell is this: When were cars mentioned in the Bible? Answer: In the book of Acts, when they were all in “one accord.”
We all need food and water. Without it we can’t function. I experienced this reality this summer when I traveled out west. Often during my trip I found myself in places where food wasn’t readily available. Therefore I took food and water with me in the car and in my backpack. Once I was in the Grand Canyon. I was so busy trying to see as much as possible that I didn’t want to waste time looking for food. But I still needed to eat. So the food that I had with me – dried fruit, nuts, crackers, as well as my bottled water, provided me with the nourishment that I needed to keep going.
We have begun the journey of Lent.
Love – what a word!
“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities but the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6.
Several years ago, at a different church in another city, we were talking about how to better include children in worship. This was a small congregation who knew and loved all the children present, and who had welcomed my own two young children and three older part-time daughters into their midst.
“Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” – Romans 13:8