Archive for March, 2010
But I Serve…
Saturday, March 13th, 2010
These verses have really been a challenge to me. Jesus is at the last supper and talks about the new covenant; His body and blood poured forth. He tells them that one of them will betray Him, and they begin questioning one another who is going to do it. It’s the natural human blame shift tendency over a HUGE deal. In the midst of this, pride arises and everyone begins to declare their credentials as to why they could never be the one to betray Him. How quickly it moves from identification to self-exaltation. I know for myself, and maybe you may feel the same way, that so many times I can relate my experiences better to the disciples than to Jesus in the gospels. We all want to think we are the strongest among the group. “God’s man, the chosen one.”
Look at what the undisputed Chosen One says:
And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing. 24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. 25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26 “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27 “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:23-27)
The One with all power and authority in the universe reveals the meekness of His heart. He puts it into perspective for them (and us), while they are sitting right there. Just before, He had stooped to the lowest position of servanthood that culture accepted (foot washing). In the midst of their “locker room talk” over who is the greatest, He says, “I am among you as the one who serves.” Jesus is taking the value system that is so innately rooted in the human race and flipping it upside-down. God, help us fully embrace and manifest the values of Your kingdom!
Covenant God
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
This past week, I have been learning a lot about covenants and what God thinks of them. I realized that God doesn’t just admire covenants; He is the one who invented them and has bound Himself them out of love.
The definition of a covenant is the following. “…the strongest most solemn agreement that can be made between two parties. It cannot be changed by time, space, government, circumstances, or men. It is unbreakable, and enduring to following generations.”
In the west, we don’t hear the word “covenant” at all. We are familiar with agreements, testaments, legal documents or certificates but never a covenant. We are used to “changing our minds”, “waiting till we’ve fulfilled the requirements” or “seeing if it will work out”. It seems too pre-historic or binding to use a covenant and we have totally lost the meaning. A covenant originated with God when He made the very first covenant with Noah after the flood. No one had ever made a covenant before. Gen. 9:13 “I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between be and the earth.” After that first covenant, a knowledge of covenant then spread to all the generations following.
It is interesting to note that God does not take a covenant lightly. When someone makes a covenant, He sees it as real. In Joshua chapter nine, we see Joshua had fought against Jericho and Ai and had crushed them. The Gibeonites heard it and decided to deceive the men of Israel and dress up as foreign envoys to pursuade them to make a peace covenant. So Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant to let them live. Three days later, Joshua found out that he had been tricked.
Nevertheless, Joshua and the men of Israel had sworn to them and made peace so they did not kill even one of them. Now, a King named Adoni-zedek found out that Israel had made a peace covenant with Gibeon and that Gibeon was a “great city” and “all its men were mighty”. He got afraid, so he called four other kings to go up and attack Gibeon. So they did, and the Gibeonites called Israel for help. (One of the characteristics of a covenant is “my enemies are your enemies and your enemies are mine”.) Israel came and fought against this enemy. The Lord told them that He had given the enemies over to Israel and not one of them would live. Israel had a great victory, and it says that the Lord helped them by throwing “large hailstones from heaven on them….and they died”. Wow, if God stands with someone who made a covenant out of deceit, He must really, really see a covenant as very important!
God wants us to see how serious he is when He says things. He doesn’t have to make a covenant because His very word should be enough for us. However, God wants us to be sure, for we are doubtful most of the time. He gave us many examples of what a covenant is and how He backs them up. He wants us to know Him as a “covenant God”. He is not a far away, apathetic, unfeeling God. He is real, intense, and full of passion and emotion.
Gracey Guetterman
connect