Inventing Tests for Your Future Spouse

Suggested Reading: Matthew 27:32-50

In the Superman prequel series Smallville, Lex Luthor caught Lana Lang at a time when she was emotionally vulnerable and manipulated her into a romantic relationship and then into marriage. Before he married her, however, he wanted to know if he could trust her. So he arranged for her to overhear a compromising conversation to see how she would react. Lana responded by working to protect Lex from what she perceived as a threat to him. Lex tested her but in a way that showed no respect for her.

Reading through Matthew’s account of the crucifixion, I recently noticed what might have been another test. Jesus was hanging on the cross and had cried out to God saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachtani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” And one of them at once, ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him” (Matthew 27:46-49, ESV).  When Jesus was in emotional agony on the cross, feeling the separation that the sin of the world created between him and the Father, he cried out. One man wanted to take pity on him, giving him something to drink that might deaden the pain but the others wanted to wait to see if Elijah would come.

Some were likely mocking him as one might mock a guilty criminal still hanging onto the pretense of innocence. But others must have been watching this man, knowing that he claimed to be the Messiah and that Elijah was supposed to come before the Messiah made himself known. According to Jesus, John the Baptizer had fulfilled the function of Elijah, but no one had recognized him. So I wonder, how many of these people, uncertain whether or not they were crucifying the Messiah, wanted one last test to see if Elijah would respond before completely labeling him a false messiah.

Whether anyone was actually using these events as tests or not, we often engage in very similar behavior. We let something “slip” at just the right moment to see how a friend responds. We create a situation designed entirely to determine whether or not we can trust someone without thinking about the betrayal of manipulating them. Sometimes, we test God, putting God in a position of doing what we want or threatening to stop believing (or at least to stop trusting), whether that thing is really what we need or not. We test people and God in ways that are selfish and demonstrate a lack of respect and a lack of love.

Watching how people respond to natural situations is good and healthy. But manipulating people and forcing them into sometimes painful situations just for our own peace of mind is cruel, no matter how we justify it. Deciding whether we will trust God or anyone else based on artificial criteria or self-created tests is childish and immature.

Are you testing someone at the moment? Are you thinking about doing it? Creating a test for someone may not give you an accurate reading of their character, but it does create a very definite image of who you are. Before you do anything, make certain you are treating the person in question with love and respect. If your test pushes the boundary of that standard, think twice before seeing it through.

Interrupting Jesus' Crucifixion

Suggested Reading: 1 Samuel 13:7-14

When I was in college, I was part of a drama ministry team called Love Company. We travelled around to various churches, schools, prisons, and any other places that would have us, presenting the Gospel through drama and theater. One of the skits we did was a very powerful reenactment of Jesus ' crucifixion in which Jesus literally takes someone's place on the cross and then, once he has risen, offers forgiveness to his executioner. There was one particular performance where I, as one of the guards escorting Jesus to the cross, had just exited the stage, and it occurred to me that I did not remember anyone grabbing a necessary prop for the next segment of the skit. I was off-stage and would have had to make my way back onstage in full sight of everyone, disrupting the skit in order to, ostensibly, "save" the skit. I had my hand on the door, ready to move but finally decided to wait and see what happened. After all, I was a newbie. We had people in the group and onstage who had been doing this for several years. So I waited and listened. No one had forgotten that key prop. I just hadn't seen the person grab it. But if I had let my uncertainty reign and my impatience rule me and tried to take care of things myself, I would likely have ruined the moment and hindered what the Holy Spirit was doing.

In 1 Samuel 13, King Saul was waiting on the eve of a massive battle. He had been wanting for Samuel to arrive to seek the Lord's blessing with a sacrifice. But as the window for Samuel's arrival drew to a close, Saul noticed his men getting restless and slipping away, and he grew impatient. Time was almost up and Samuel hadn't arrived yet. So Saul took it upon himself to do what only the anointed priest should do, and Saul offered the sacrifice himself. But just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering Samuel arrived (1 Samuel 17:10, NLT). When Samuel realized that Saul had taken it upon himself to offer the burnt offering, rather than waiting for him,  Samuel told him, "But now your kingdom must end...because you have not kept the Lord's command" (1 Samuel 13:14, NLT). The sad thing is, if Saul had only waited a few more hours, everything would have been fine. After all, Samuel arrived just as he was finishing the sacrifice. But Saul allowed his uncertainty and impatience to rule him, and he was unable to trust either God to honor him for his obedience or Samuel to show up when he was supposed to. As a result, he lost the blessing of God and, ultimately, his kingdom.

How often do we suffer the same fate that Saul did? How often is time running short and we allow our impatience to prod us into acting before it is time? How often do was see people not acting when we think they should and assume they are not going to do what is right or to keep their word? How often do we allow our fear and uncertainty to prompt us to take action when, if we just trusted God a little longer, we would be able to see that God has taken care of everything, that all of the props are where they are supposed to be? How often do we assume that, because we haven't seen what God is doing in the people around us, that God is not doing anything in those people at all? How often do we allow our uncertainty and our fear to prompt us to take action instead of trusting God and waiting just a little bit longer?

Impatience, when it is born of fear and uncertainty, is a signal that we do not really trust God. But God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7, ESV). If we want the blessing of God on our lives rather than the judgment of God, we must resist the urge to act like Saul. We must exercise self-control, power, and love and not allow our fear and impatience to drive us to sin.

When Jesus Saved the Dread Pirate Roberts

Suggested Reading: Luke 9:23-36

There's a scene in the movie The Princess Bride that I've always found funny. Princess Buttercup is engaged to Prince Humperdink because she thinks that her true love Westley has been murdered by the Dread Pirate Roberts. After the engagement, she is kidnapped by a band of rogues and finds herself in need of rescuing. This rescue comes in the form of the Dread Pirate Roberts, whom she believes has murdered Westley. When she confronts him about the murder, she manages to push him down a ravine. As he tumbles, he yells, "As you wish!" to let her know that he is Westley (if you didn't know that already, where have you been for the last 35 years?) At this revelation, Buttercup exclaims, "Oh my sweet Westley! What have I done?" and throws herself down the ravine as well, so that she tumbles and rolls and falls right next to Westley. From the very first time I saw that scene as a kid, I always wondered why Buttercup didn't find a less painful way to get to him. But she had missed him so much for so long she wasn't willing to wait and find a less painful route. She wanted to be with him at that very moment, so she purposefully threw herself down the ravine.

In Luke 9, just after Jesus begins teaching his disciples that he must suffer and die, Peter, James, and John get the chance to see Jesus transfigured on a mountain top and witness him conversing with Moses and Elijah. Verse 31 tells us that Moses and Elijah "appeared in glory and were speaking of His death, which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem" (HCSB). I've probably read that passage four dozen times without catching the last part: his death which he was about to accomplish.

You see, Jesus' crucifixion was not an accident but something He set out to accomplish. Jesus looked down at us in the ravine of our sin and brokenness which separated us from Him, and He loved us so much that he threw himself down the ravine, enduring the pain and agony of the cross to close the distance between us. Just like Buttercup, who couldn't stand to be separated from her beloved anymore, Jesus launched himself into a world of heartache and despair so that we would never have to be apart again.

Maybe you've been wondering whether God really cares about you. Maybe you've forgotten. Or maybe God's love has simply become academic to you. Whatever your situation, stop for a moment and consider how much you would have to adore someone, how much you would have to long for them, to intentionally launch yourself into the kind of torture Jesus endured so that you could be with Him. Maybe, you'll finally begin to see how much you are worth to Him. And maybe, just maybe, you'll find yourself willing to launch yourself into danger for someone else.