However,
as the grace of God has permeated my inner being with a growing experience of
the grace of God, I have come to believe that Jesus’ face would have been quite
different from the frowning Savior I had once entertained.
Jesus
was characterized by joy. When he considered coming into our world to suffer
the shame of the cross, he saw “the joy that was set before him”.[3]That
joy was that he would secure my adoption as a son of God,[4]
and rejoice to identify me as his brother.[5]
The joy set before Jesus included his conscious, willing, predestining choice to
have ME as his brother, along with all the suffering having me would cause him.[6]
So,
when I look at Jesus as revealed in the gospels, it is my sarky mind that
imagines a frown on his face when he speaks, “O you of little faith” to my soul. There is very good reason to
believe that his countenance would have been that of the gracious and loving
Savior who surely already sympathized with me in my weaknesses, and, as “God with us”[7]
was already representing the throne of grace that was offering me the grace and
mercy I required to help me in my time of need.[8]
Which
brings me back to my initial thought, that Jesus wants me to have the
satisfaction that comes through trusting him, rather than the distress,
anxiety, worry, and fear that comes from doubt, unbelief, and little faith. He
consistently reminds me that my issue is “little
faith”. If I address this issue, I will feel differently. If I meet Goliath
with faith, I would obviously feel differently than all the others who meet their
giants with fear.[9]
How
does God get someone like me to live by faith? He transforms me from
adult-minded sarkiness into childlike new-hearted reality. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”[10]
One of the characteristics of children is their faith. Children trust so easily
that we need to teach them not to take candy from strangers, not to get into a car
with a stranger, and not to walk away with any white-haired man that looks like
grampa.
When
we compare the phrase “turn and become
like children” to its synonymic[11] counterparts,
“repent
and believe in the gospel”,[12] or
“of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,”[13]we
can see that “turning” is in reference to repentance, and becoming “like children” is synonymous with
faith.
Jesus
once said to his disciples, daring to say such words just before they were
about to witness his suffering, crucifixion and death, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be
in you, and that your joy may be full.”[14]Jesus’ words are for our joy. The Scriptures are for our joy. The
kingdom of heaven is about “righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit.”[15]
The
way God wants me to think about him is, “in
your presence there is fullness
of joy; at your right hand are
pleasures forevermore.”[16]
When Peter was so filled with the waves of doubt and unbelief that he had far
less faith about walking on the water than he imagined, he was still in the presence
of the Savior’s fullness of joy. It was not a frowning Savior who reminded him
that his episode of unnecessary, sinking fear was the result of his little
faith. Rather, it was the joyful Savior who came to give us joy who wanted us
to know the satisfying joy of trusting him in the midst of stressful
circumstances. Joy feels better than fear, simple as that, and love must give
us what is best.
Or,
as Scripture states plainly, “There is no
fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has
to do with punishment, and whoever fears
has not been perfected in love.”[17]
Aha! Jesus did not come “into
the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved
through him.”[18] Jesus did not look at Peter through the law, with eyes planning his
punishment. Jesus had come into the world for the direct purpose of saving
sinners,[19] and Peter was a sinking-sinner if ever there was one. Jesus came to
save him, joyfully saved him, and longingly reminded Peter that his problem was
with faith. If Jesus could give Peter faith (which he did, of course), Peter
would actually experience the highest level of satisfaction this earthly life
could provide: the secure feeling of safety in the arms of Love.
Doubts
tell us to look at the terrible storms that come upon us, the severity of the
wind and the waves, and the inner, fear-based consciousness that we are not
able to do anything to stop what is happening to us. Faith looks to the
storm-calming Savior who is with us in our boat. Doubts demand that we stop
looking at the Savior who just enabled us to walk on the water, and pay more
attention to the wind and waves that are all around us. Faith calls into our
stupidity and reminds us that, whenever we have faith in Jesus, we can walk on
the water with him!
This
past week has been saturated with both the Higher experiences of faith (along
with the good feelings that are felt therein), and the Deeper experiences of
little faith that left me feeling as lost and dead as a man sinking into the
water. In both kinds of cases, Jesus had not changed. He was smiling at me with
joy when I asked him to call me to walk towards him on the water, and he was
smiling with love when he reached out his hand and said, “Monte, it’s your
little faith,” as he graciously led me back into the boat.
The
waves go up-and-down, the storms come-and-go, friendships rise-and-fall, tides
ebb-and-flow,[20]
and “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”[21] “Therefore,
Lord Jesus Christ, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’[22]
so I do not miss anything of your joy-filled plans for me today!”
From
my heart,
Monte
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~
Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise
noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible,
English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
[1] “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive
and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you
of little faith?” (Matthew
6:30)
“And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”
Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” (Matthew
8:26)
“Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying
to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew
14:31)
“But Jesus, aware of this, said, ‘O you of little faith, why are you
discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?’” (Matthew
16:8)
“He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to
you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this
mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be
impossible for you.’” (Matthew
17:20)
“But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today,
and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you
of little faith!” (Luke
12:28
[2] Or, so I thought!
[3] Hebrews 12:2
[4] “For you did not receive the
spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption
as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans
8:15)
“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons,
the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans
8:23)
“…to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption
as sons.” (Galatians
4:5)
“…he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will,” (Ephesians
1:5)
[5] “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to
the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers.” (Romans 8:29)
“For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one
source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, ‘I will
tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing
your praise.’” (Hebrews 2:11-12)
[6] Ephesians 1:1-14 about
covers all these things.
[7] “’Behold,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’
(which means, God with us).” (Matthew
1:23)
[8] “For we do not have a high
priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every
respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with
confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)
[9] I Samuel 17
[10] Matthew 18:3
[11] I was so delighted to discover
that was a real word!
[12] Mark 1:15
[13] Acts 20:21
[14] John 15:11
[15] Romans 14:17
[16] Psalm 16:11
[17] I John 4:18
[18] John 3:17
[19] “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10); “The
saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”
(I Timothy 1:15)
[20] I kinda hear a daycare song going on here.
[21] Hebrews 13:8
[22] Mark 9:24
No comments:
Post a Comment