Personal Application
PERSONAL APPLICATION
1. What steps have you taken or could you take to shut the gate to unforgiveness and hate?
2. "We need a God who not only changes what we do, but what we want to do."
Take time to seek God's guidance, help, and restoration in your desires.
CHASING SHADOWS
"Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven/ or to say, 'Get up and walk'?
But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.
LUKE 5:23-25
n an interesting encounter between Jesús and the paralytic, we see a deñning reminder of the relationship between soul and body, the temporal and the eternal
(Luke 5:17-26). The friends of this paralyzed man did everything they could to bring him within the sight and touch of Jesús. They even disfigured the property of the person in whose house Jesús was visiting in the hope that He would perform a miracle for their friend. They must have reasoned that if Jesús could make a paralyzed man walk again, replacing a roof would be a minor problem.
But as they lowered this man within reach of Jesús, they were not expecting an apologetics discussion.
"Which of the two is harder," asked Jesús, "to bring physical healing or to forgive a person's sins?" The irresistible answer was self-evident, was it not? To bring physical healing is harder because that would be such a miraculous thing, visible to the naked eye. The invisible act of forgiveness had far less evidentiary valué.
Yet, as they pondered and as we ponder, we discover repeatedly in life that the way God works is so different from the way we expect. We move from the material to the spiritual in terms of the spectacular, but God moves from the spiritual to the material in terms of the essential. The physical is the concrete external—a shadow comparatively. The spiritual is the intangible internal—the objective actuality.
Rather than chasing truth, we often chase shadows. We chase them because they
are a haunting enticement of the substance without being the substance themselves. It takes a jolt, sometimes even a painful jolt, to remind us where reality lies and where shadows seduce. Jesús was so aware of this weakness within us that He often walked the second mile to meet us, in order that something more dramatic might be used to put into perspective for us what is of greater importance to God.
Yes, He did heal that man, but not without the reminder of what the ultímate miracle was. Once we understand this, we understand the relationship between touching the soul and touching the body. Here Jesús followed the act of forgiveness with the easier act of physical healing. If the paralytic was a wise man, he would walk with the awareness that the apparently less-visible miracle was actually more miraculous than the more visible one—even as his feeling of gratitude for his restored body would remain a constant reminder to him of the restoration of his soul.
As I have pondered this and the many other examples of Jesús' acts of mercy, I look at our hurting world that is desensitized to the gospel message —the message that cleanses the soul, heals the inner being, and brings light to the body. Our world is weighed down with pain, fear, snffering, and poverty. Our world is so broken that if we were to stare reality in the face, we would wish it really were only a shadow and not an actual embodiment. Such is the blind eye people turn to the familiar and dismiss as mere shadows what is tragically real.
Sadly, both body and soul are forgotten in the process. The cosí in human suffering is beyond computation.
In such a world, the question becomes: Does Jesús still lift body and soul out of the shadow and bring it into the light? I believe He does, and what an answer is the cross upon which "he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah
53:4 esv). Such is the power of love. It is Christ who shows that unless a person's pain is understood, one will never understand a person's soul. He
Himself is the best reminder of the reward of chasing truth versus chasing shadows.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
í. Read the story of paralyzed man in Luke 5:17-26. What do his friends' actions suggest about their estímate of this man and Jesús?
2. Why is forgiveness rather than healing the ultímate miracle? Why is the physical a shadow compared to the soul?
PERSONAL APPLICATION
1. Can you recall an instance when you made a great effort to introduce a person to Jesús? How could you model the compassion and persistence of the friends in today's Scripture for someone you know?
2. Rather than chasing truth, we often chase shadows. Where has chasing shadows led you? What about chasing truth?
CROSSING BRIDGES
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "People of Athens!
I see that in every way you are very religious. ... As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill."
ACTS 17:22, 28-29
he weighty differences of worldviews can sepárate us from others, but in my work of offering a defense of the Christian faith, I know firsthand they can be discussed without compromise and without animosity, with gentleness and respect.
Being raised in the East and living in the West, I have learned that reason and rationalizing are not the same thing. People often think they have reasons for their belief. But that very word means different ideas to different people. To a professor of philosophy, reason may mean a sound argument. To a teacher in a high school in India, reason may mean cultural respect for one's own ancestral beliefs. It is critically important to know that behind every belief is a believer, and behind every question is a questioner. The belief is part of the worldview, and the worldview is not always well scrutinized by reason.
So here again is what I present as a coherent worldview. Whether religious or irreligious, everyone has a worldview. A worldview basically offers answers to four necessary questions: origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. In our very human longing for answers to these questions we share common ground. That worldview must answer individual questions in correspondence to reality, and the sum of all the answers must be coherent.
As I observe the apostle Paul, who was cradled within three cultures (Jewish, Greek, and Román), I see how he approached his mixed audience. A look at his assumptions and his method is very instructive. His address to the Athenians in
Acts 17 gives me the blueprint. We are told, for starters, how he was "greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols" (v. 16). This holy anxiety is an indispensable prerequisite to significant communication and Crossing bridges.
So, first, you will never lighten any load until you feel the pressure in your own soul. That distress led Paul to observe and listen, to dialogue, reason, discuss, and persuade many through the power of the Holy Spirit. Listening is a vital part of responding. The more and the better we hear others, the more and the better they will hear us. This is especially true today when sensitivities run so deep.
There is a second assumption Paul makes: a rigorous religión can be conceived and nurtured in ignorance by the masses. Paul communicated that the Athenians' yearning for the divine was a positive trait, but their systems of worship were not good enough if their truths were not tested. He applauded their search for God. That positive lead-in is commendable. It is selfdefeating to trample underfoot everything others hold dear before giving them the message of Christ. My mother used to say, "There is no point cutting off a person's nose and then giving them a rose to smell." Cultures carry huge connections to the past. Respect must be given, but the driving point must always be toward the truth. Gently present the gap between what is believed and what is true.
Maintaining sensitivity, Paul also capitalized on his listeners' lack of understanding of their own beliefs. One of the most shocking lessons one learns in countries where culture is interwoven with religión is that living within a certain framework all the time is, in a sense, the surest way to be detached from it. A Chinese proverb says, "If you want to know what water is, don't ask the fish."
Most Hindus know little about Hinduism's scriptures or its development in dogma. Most Buddhists know little about Buddhism. Religión is much more a culture to most people than it is a carefully thought-through system of truth.
Even Islam finds the same ignorance. Daré I say most Christians know very little about the teaching and history of their own beliefs.
Paul had before him "seekers after God," but they were scanty in their understanding of truth. How did he meet the challenge? It was his allusion to one of their poets that stuck and helped him find that soft reach and a legitimate
bridge.
We must direct people in such a way as to open them up within their own assumptions, moving them from what they know and believe to what they don't know and what they disbelieve. Then the conclusión is inescapable: What I now believe may be good, but it's not good enough. There always has to be a persuasive element, and that comes from their familiarity with some authority and the ability to identify with that.
Third, Christianity is not a religión or perspective; it is God's selfdisclosure in Christ. It is built on and built through a relationship. Paul strove ardently to drive this point home. The crowd had gathered to hear what this "babbler" was saying
(v. 18), but his message pointed—as ours must—to the person and work of Jesús Christ. The ultimate question is not "What is the answer?" It is "Who will answer?" The cry of everyone's heart is for a Savior, a Champion, a personal
Redeemer. It was this Redeemer whom Paul presented.
At great personal cost, Paul took the gospel to Athens. His sensitivities, his knowledge, his ñnding common ground, and his presentation of the unique answers of Jesús built the framework of his message. It is little wonder that he changed history by Crossing bridges with such effectiveness to the known world.
It is literally and figuratively trae that he used the Greek language and the Román road. We can't do any less.
Ultimately, the change of a person's heart is God's work. And in doing our part, we must ever rest in that conviction.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What three things did the apostle Paul do in Athens to cross bridges and engage in conversation for the gospel?
2. Read Acts 17:22-34. Why do you think Paul's appeal to being God's offspring is so effective?
PERSONAL APPLICATION
í. How might the idea that "you will never lighten any load until you feel the pressure in your own soul" affect the way you pray and internet with others this
week?
2. Many Christians know very little about the teaching and history of their own beliefs. Consider reading through one of Paul's letters or even the book of Acts to dig deeper into God's Word.
A ROYAL WEDDING JUST
LIKE MINE
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! . .. This is how we know what love is:
Jesús Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
1 JOHN 3:1, 16
ell, the world has another princess. Millions watched as Harry wed Meghan and tied the royal knot. Unfortunately, I was in the thick of travel so couldn't watch it live. But as I sit at the Bangkok airport en route to Singapore, I am watching the highlights. There's no escape—every televisión is showing the wedding.
As I watched, I marveled at how similar this was to my wedding in May, fortysix years ago.
Harry married Meghan. Her shorter ñame is Meg. My wife's full ñame is Margaret—shorter versión, Meg or Margie. They were married in Windsor
Castle. I was married 240 miles away from Windsor, Ontario—same ñame, same city referenced. She has now become a princess. My wife, Margie, went to school in Toronto on Princess Avenue. Meghan is a beautiful blend of two races.
My Margie is a beautiful blend of the Irish and Scottish. What's more, we have added to that splendid coalescence with three beautiful offspring.
Harry is a prince and the second son of Charles. I was the second son of my father and my middle ñame, Kumar, means Prince. Harry was congratulated by his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh. When the duke visited India about six decades ago, he shook hands with my younger brother and congratulated him for being the youngest member of the choir. Later my younger brother shook hands with me. On second thought, the duke may not have shaken hands with my brother, but he certainly greeted him. And then my brother greeted me—same thing.
They were treated to a fiery message by a minister whose last ñame was Curry.
After our wedding rehearsal we enjoyed curry for our dinner treat that night, which was just as fiery. Our reception was at Howard Johnson's. Knowing the English, I am sure at least one of the cooks would have been a Howard or a Johnson.
They rodé away in a horse-drawn carriage loaned by Harry's father. We drove away in our 1972 Plymouth Duster, given by my parents. Interestingly, Duster is the ñame of Banner-General Tylee Khirgan's warhorse. Of course, just as in this story, we could have driven away in a limousine.
Yes, sadly, there were some differences. There was a garbage strike in Toronto for the weeks preceding our wedding, and the only place where there was no garbage piled up was near the airport. So all of our photographs were with the airport in the background. How prophetic was that about our future? Apart from this minor difference, you can see the incredible similarities, can't you?
All jesting aside, don't be deceived by the flutter of the heart. Love is a commitment that will be tested in the most vulnerable areas of spirituality, a commitment that will forcé you to make some very difficult choices. It is a commitment that demands that you deal with your lust, your greed, your pride, your power, your desire to control, your temper, your patience, and every area of temptation that the Bible so clearly talks about. It demands the quality of commitment that Jesús demonstrates in His relationship to us: "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
In reality, every wedding properly viewed and respected is a fairytale wedding.
Two little ones born worlds apart meet, and the hearts join to make those two lives one. Under God and in Christ we are all children of royalty and ought to celébrate that treasured position. Living with that blessing and serving the King of kings is our joy. Marriage and the home are God's treasured gifts, and we ought to see them the way God does.
It is not accidental that the first miracle our Lord performed was at a wedding.
Behind the celebratory intake of food is the miracle of two lives becoming one and surrendering themselves to each other. A heart surrendering to Christ is a
miracle. Two hearts becoming one under Christ is a double miracle. Our homes may not be palaces, but every home is a palace when the King of kings indwells the hearts of those who cherish each other as God designed them to do.
The father of the new princess spoke touching words from a distance: "My baby looks beautiful." To him she will always be "my baby." How much more our
Abba Father beams with His love when two of His children honor each other because they honor Him. He probably says, "My kids." They are forever His children.
Our wedding and the royal wedding had no similarities in grandeur or status, and rightly so, but they did have the most important one: love triumphed and found its destiny. They looked lovely and happy. May that beauty and joy last their lifetimes.
Moreover, may you know the depth of love that God alone, the King of kings, offers to you this very moment. Under His banner of love and through Christ's costly sacrifice we can live as children of royalty, greatly loved.
Now that is a love worth celebrating!
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. What is trae love according to 1 John 3?
2. What does Romans 5:8 say about the human condition and Christ's response to us?
PERSONAL APPLICATION
1. "Love is a commitment that will be tested in the most vulnerable areas." Pray through the promises of Scripture and ask God to meet you in your areas of need.
2. How does the assurance that in Christ you are a daughter or son of the King of kings inspire you?
EVERY THREAD MATTERS
The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
ROMANS 8:26-28
struggled as a teenager growing up in Delhi. For those of you who have read my story in Walking from East to West (Zondervan, 2006), you know failure was writ large on my life. My dad basically looked at me and said, "You're going to be a huge embarrassment to the family—one failure after another." And he was right, given the way I was headed. I wanted to get out of everything I was setting my hand to, and I lacked discipline.
During this time, India was at war and the Defence Academy was looking for general dudes pilots to be trained. So I applied and I went to be interviewed, which involved an overnight train journey from the city of Delhi. It was wintertime and we were outside freezing for about five days as we went through physical endurance and other tests. There were three hundred applicants; they were going to select ten. On the last day they put their selection of ñames out on the board, and I was positioned number three.
I phoned my family and said, "You aren't going to believe this. I'm going to make it. I'm number three. The only thing that's left is the interview. The psychological testing is tomorrow, and Til be home."
The next morning, I began my interview with the chief commanding officer, who looked to me like Churchill sitting across the table. He asked me question after question. Then he said, "Son, I'm going to break your heart today." He continued, "I'm going to reject you. I'm not going to pass you in this test."
"May I ask you why, sir?" I replied.
"Yes. Psychologically, you're not wired to kill. And this job is about killing."
I felt that I was on the verge of wanting to prove him wrong—but I knew better, both for moral reasons and for his size! I went back to my room and didn't talk to anybody. I packed my bags, got into the train, and arrived in Delhi. My parents and friends were waiting at the platform with garlands and sweets in their hands to congratúlate me. No one knew. I thought to myself, How do I even handle this? Where do I even begin? They were celebrating, and yet for me, it was all over.
Or so I thought.
I was to discover later that God is the Grand Weaver of our lives. Every thread matters and is there for a purpose. Had I been selected, I would have had to commit twenty years to the Indian Armed Forces. It was the very next year that my father had the opportunity to move to Cañada. My brother and I moved there as the first installment, and the rest of them followed. It was there
I went to business school and God redirected my path to theological training. It was there that I met my wife, Margie; there my whole life changed. The rest is history. Had I been in the Indian Air Forcé, who knows what thread Pd have pulled to try to wreck the fabric?
Thankfully, our disappointments matter to God, and He has a way of taking even some of the bitterest moments we go through and making them into something of great significance in our lives. It's hard to understand at the time. Not one of us says, "I can hardly wait to see where this thread is going to fit." Rather, we say, "This is not the pattern I want."
Yet one day the Shepherd of our souls will put it all together—and give us an eternity to revel in the marvel of what God has done. Our Father holds the threads of the design, and I'm so immensely grateful that He is the Grand
Weaver.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
í. According to Romans 8, what is the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the
Christian?
2. What does it mean that God is the Grand Weaver of our lives? Do you believe this?