I lost my luggage for the first time on an overseas trip this week to Argentina. In travels to Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe that had never happened to me until this week. In the past I tried to sympathize with those who lost their luggage but I never knew what that was like until now. I had to wear the same clothes for 3 days. I had to borrow/buy toiletries. I had to wonder what those who saw me each day thought when I again had on the same blue shirt. There is just something comfortable about having your stuff regardless of it´s quality. I was in a foreign place and I did not feel at my best.
Sometimes I think life is like that. We are in a place in life where we want to be at out best but no one is catching us at our best. You know that first impressions are lasting and yet you are not able to make a good one. Your luggage contains your identity in your clothes and in some ways your security. In reality you are left to depend soley on your own personal security. How secure are you when you lose everything in life on which you are depending? Losing your luggage can be a good thing because it is one way you can check your own personal security.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Oneness and The Fall
So far we have seen that oneness is part of the nature of God, was sown into the fabric of creation, and was in reality the very purpose for creation. But the fall of man turned the idyllic oneness of the garden upside down. In fact the loss of oneness is the most visible and immediate casualty of the sin of Adam and Eve.
Clearly God’s vision for creation was for man to be one with God and with others. Man is made “in our image” which, as we have already shared, is an image of God’s oneness. And when you look into the future when Jesus prays on the eve of his death oneness is still God’s vision for mankind.
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” (John 17:20-21)
Oneness was the plan from the beginning…and from Satan’s viewpoint oneness was and is, therefore, the target. All of the serpent’s attacks are relational in nature. He does not talk of how beautiful and appealing the fruit is but implies that God is unfair and selfish.
But the snake said to the woman, "You will not die. God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!" (Genesis 3:4-5)
In effect Eve is told that God is depriving you of the very thing that makes him so special. The serpent calls into question God’s love and his character and therefore the foundation of their relationship with God. Eve, now thoroughly tempted eats of the fruit and gives some to her husband. Temptation is spreading and the conduit is relational—Eve wants to be like God so she disobeys, Adam wants to please Eve and he disobeys.
The result is instantaneously catastrophic on the oneness of the Garden.
Then, it was as if their eyes were opened. They realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves. (Genesis 3:7)
The innocence and intimacy they knew were shattered. Suddenly, walls went up between them and things like trust, confidence, and freedom went out the door. They would never be the same again
And then the sound of foot falls in the Garden replaces the peace they had always known with terror…God is walking in the garden! Like teenagers in trouble they scramble for cover while clumsily attempting to hide their nudity from the other.
Then they heard the Lord God walking in the garden during the cool part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said, "Where are you?" The man answered, "I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid." (Genesis 3:8-10)
The first really sad words ever uttered in the world were said by God, “God called to the man… ‘Where are you?’” I am sure God could have given us Adam’s GPS coordinates. God’s question came not from a confused mind but a broken heart: Adam, where are you...we were so close…we were one…where are you? And thus a painful Christian bumper sticker was born…If God seems far away, guess who moved?
It would be impossible to overstate the loss Adam and Eve must have felt. That beautiful triangle of oneness that existed between God, Adam, and Eve is gone forever. Blissful memories of life in the Garden almost certainly amplified the biting pain now gripping their hearts. And to further illustrate their brokenness, Adam blames Eve and God and Eve blames the snake. Long gone are sentiments like, “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” Adam and Eve…tattered and pathetic, like the makeshift clothing they wear.
Sin is anti-oneness. Whatever brings us together sin tears apart. Whatever creates a bond between us, God and others, sin counters and compromises. God’s plan is oneness. Satan’s plan is the destruction of oneness. And so the eternal conflict of the universe is being waged on the battlefield of oneness. Thankfully, God’s plan cannot lose. Next time we will see that even God’s punishment is bringing about a new, albeit lesser, oneness between God, Adam, and Eve.
Clearly God’s vision for creation was for man to be one with God and with others. Man is made “in our image” which, as we have already shared, is an image of God’s oneness. And when you look into the future when Jesus prays on the eve of his death oneness is still God’s vision for mankind.
"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” (John 17:20-21)
Oneness was the plan from the beginning…and from Satan’s viewpoint oneness was and is, therefore, the target. All of the serpent’s attacks are relational in nature. He does not talk of how beautiful and appealing the fruit is but implies that God is unfair and selfish.
But the snake said to the woman, "You will not die. God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!" (Genesis 3:4-5)
In effect Eve is told that God is depriving you of the very thing that makes him so special. The serpent calls into question God’s love and his character and therefore the foundation of their relationship with God. Eve, now thoroughly tempted eats of the fruit and gives some to her husband. Temptation is spreading and the conduit is relational—Eve wants to be like God so she disobeys, Adam wants to please Eve and he disobeys.
The result is instantaneously catastrophic on the oneness of the Garden.
Then, it was as if their eyes were opened. They realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves. (Genesis 3:7)
The innocence and intimacy they knew were shattered. Suddenly, walls went up between them and things like trust, confidence, and freedom went out the door. They would never be the same again
And then the sound of foot falls in the Garden replaces the peace they had always known with terror…God is walking in the garden! Like teenagers in trouble they scramble for cover while clumsily attempting to hide their nudity from the other.
Then they heard the Lord God walking in the garden during the cool part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said, "Where are you?" The man answered, "I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid." (Genesis 3:8-10)
The first really sad words ever uttered in the world were said by God, “God called to the man… ‘Where are you?’” I am sure God could have given us Adam’s GPS coordinates. God’s question came not from a confused mind but a broken heart: Adam, where are you...we were so close…we were one…where are you? And thus a painful Christian bumper sticker was born…If God seems far away, guess who moved?
It would be impossible to overstate the loss Adam and Eve must have felt. That beautiful triangle of oneness that existed between God, Adam, and Eve is gone forever. Blissful memories of life in the Garden almost certainly amplified the biting pain now gripping their hearts. And to further illustrate their brokenness, Adam blames Eve and God and Eve blames the snake. Long gone are sentiments like, “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” Adam and Eve…tattered and pathetic, like the makeshift clothing they wear.
Sin is anti-oneness. Whatever brings us together sin tears apart. Whatever creates a bond between us, God and others, sin counters and compromises. God’s plan is oneness. Satan’s plan is the destruction of oneness. And so the eternal conflict of the universe is being waged on the battlefield of oneness. Thankfully, God’s plan cannot lose. Next time we will see that even God’s punishment is bringing about a new, albeit lesser, oneness between God, Adam, and Eve.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Oneness and the Creation, Part Two
Last time we discovered that God created all the animals to find a suitable companion for Adam. But because no companion could be found among the animal kingdom, God's passion for oneness inspired the creation of Eve.
“So God took a rib from Adam while he slept and made Eve.”
God makes Eve from Adam’s rib. She is born from his own flesh. She is born of God’s oneness with Adam...alive and vibrant because of their partnership. This is a point to consider…does a wife have more spiritual life as her husband has more oneness with God?
Now coming from him she is destined to be one with him; from his side, and by his side. Adam seems to understand this when he offers the first recorded piece of romantic poetry, “You are bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”
And in Genesis 2, Moses, the author of Genesis gives interesting insight into what we might call the progression of oneness. We are born out of the oneness of our parents and as we grow we enjoy a meaningful level of oneness with them. But God has planned for the human race to experience an even greater level of oneness with another, a “suitable companion” just as Adam did. In Genesis 2:24-25 we see the ultimate expression of intimacy and oneness.
“Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked but they felt no shame.”
One should leave their parents because the level of oneness you achieve with them could never equal the oneness available with the suitable companion God has for you. Being ‘bone of your bones and flesh of your flesh’ the suitable companion is the perfect person with whom you can become one. Clearly, the purpose of marriage is not children, sex, or lower taxes, but oneness. And every aspect of marriage is made more wonderful by the level of intimacy and oneness of the couple.
This is the oneness of the creation walking hand in hand with God and with each other…a beautiful triangle of intimacy. Unfortunately that oneness is shattered in Genesis 3 by the introduction of anti-oneness: sin. Next time we will look at Oneness and The Fall.
“So God took a rib from Adam while he slept and made Eve.”
God makes Eve from Adam’s rib. She is born from his own flesh. She is born of God’s oneness with Adam...alive and vibrant because of their partnership. This is a point to consider…does a wife have more spiritual life as her husband has more oneness with God?
Now coming from him she is destined to be one with him; from his side, and by his side. Adam seems to understand this when he offers the first recorded piece of romantic poetry, “You are bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”
And in Genesis 2, Moses, the author of Genesis gives interesting insight into what we might call the progression of oneness. We are born out of the oneness of our parents and as we grow we enjoy a meaningful level of oneness with them. But God has planned for the human race to experience an even greater level of oneness with another, a “suitable companion” just as Adam did. In Genesis 2:24-25 we see the ultimate expression of intimacy and oneness.
“Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked but they felt no shame.”
One should leave their parents because the level of oneness you achieve with them could never equal the oneness available with the suitable companion God has for you. Being ‘bone of your bones and flesh of your flesh’ the suitable companion is the perfect person with whom you can become one. Clearly, the purpose of marriage is not children, sex, or lower taxes, but oneness. And every aspect of marriage is made more wonderful by the level of intimacy and oneness of the couple.
This is the oneness of the creation walking hand in hand with God and with each other…a beautiful triangle of intimacy. Unfortunately that oneness is shattered in Genesis 3 by the introduction of anti-oneness: sin. Next time we will look at Oneness and The Fall.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Oneness and the Creation, Part One
As oneness is in the nature of the Creator oneness should also be evident in the Creation. The harmony of ecosystems and all created things is well established. Our focus however is the oneness of the crown jewel of God’s creation, mankind.
Genesis 2:6-7 shows the creation of man as a caring, personal act where ‘God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living soul.’ God is no creation machine; his hands lovingly form and shape the man…His breath brings him to life. It is intimate, face to face, hands on. Literally God’s oneness with man gives him life.
And as Adam comes to life he becomes one with God. All his needs are personally met by God. (Gen. 2:8-14) Adam and God have a mutual work project in maintaining the Garden of Eden. (Gen. 2:15) And then God gave man boundaries with which to frame his life by forbidding him to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
But in spite of all that—God is his friend, his needs are met, a beautiful place to live, meaningful work, and, loving boundaries—God said something was not good (and that was after two chapters of, “It is good,”.
“It is not good for man to be alone.” –God, in Genesis 2:18
The very first negative statement uttered in the history of the world was about mankind’s need of oneness. And God is so concerned about it he takes the initiative to provide Adam with a “suitable” helper. By the way, suitable would seem to mean one with whom Adam can enjoy oneness; oneness is the measuring stick.
Now notice an amazing passage in Genesis 2:18-20:
“So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.”
Did you ever see that because I didn’t until recently? Because of man’s aloneness God made the animals. All the animal kingdom exists today because God wanted man to have a companion! I find that to be an astonishing truth. We have dogs and cats (and every other animal) because God wanted Adam to have oneness with someone other than him. And because God is passionate for oneness and no companion could be found among the animal kingdom, God makes Eve. We will talk about her next time.
Genesis 2:6-7 shows the creation of man as a caring, personal act where ‘God breathed into man the breath of life and man became a living soul.’ God is no creation machine; his hands lovingly form and shape the man…His breath brings him to life. It is intimate, face to face, hands on. Literally God’s oneness with man gives him life.
And as Adam comes to life he becomes one with God. All his needs are personally met by God. (Gen. 2:8-14) Adam and God have a mutual work project in maintaining the Garden of Eden. (Gen. 2:15) And then God gave man boundaries with which to frame his life by forbidding him to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
But in spite of all that—God is his friend, his needs are met, a beautiful place to live, meaningful work, and, loving boundaries—God said something was not good (and that was after two chapters of, “It is good,”.
“It is not good for man to be alone.” –God, in Genesis 2:18
The very first negative statement uttered in the history of the world was about mankind’s need of oneness. And God is so concerned about it he takes the initiative to provide Adam with a “suitable” helper. By the way, suitable would seem to mean one with whom Adam can enjoy oneness; oneness is the measuring stick.
Now notice an amazing passage in Genesis 2:18-20:
“So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.”
Did you ever see that because I didn’t until recently? Because of man’s aloneness God made the animals. All the animal kingdom exists today because God wanted man to have a companion! I find that to be an astonishing truth. We have dogs and cats (and every other animal) because God wanted Adam to have oneness with someone other than him. And because God is passionate for oneness and no companion could be found among the animal kingdom, God makes Eve. We will talk about her next time.
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