Figuring out the Rules of the Game

Suggested Reading: Luke 2:41-52

Last night, we had our grown children over for a family dinner and, afterwards, we played a new card game. My wife and I had played it before, but no one else had. There were several moments throughout the game where mistakes were made because we were all still figuring out the rules. As the game went on, we got better at playing, but through the first several rounds, there were some moments of embarrassment because one of us discarded the wrong card or thought we had the round won, only to discover we had forgotten something important. Overall, though, it was a lot of fun, especially once we got the game figured out.

Having to figure things out is a part of growing up, and even Jesus had to do it, which is not something we typically think about. As a twelve-year-old boy, Jesus and his parents went up to Jerusalem for the Passover. When they were done, Jesus' parents headed home as part of a larger caravan. Jesus, somewhere along the way, had decided to head back to the temple without telling his parents. Mary and Joseph had reasonably assumed that Jesus would be where he was supposed to be, so it wasn't until much later that they discovered Jesus wasn't with them. They headed back to Jerusalem, where they searched frantically for Jesus, finally finding him on the third day in the temple where "all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers" (Luke 2:47, ESV). When his mother confronted him about not being where he was supposed to be, Jesus responded, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?"

As a twelve-year-old boy, Jesus understood his identity as the Father's Son. He understood the scriptures so well that the teachers and those listening were amazed by his understanding and his answers. But apparently, he didn't yet understand that he should tell his parents when he wanted to run off to the temple on the day they were returning home to Nazareth. Jesus worried his parents to death. He ran off without telling them and wasn't where he should have been. Not because he was being rebellious or sinful, but simply because he was a twelve-year-old boy and there were some things he was still figuring out.

There are a lot of things in life that we don't get right because we are limited, ignorant human beings who are still figuring things out. And, sometimes, we are really hard on ourselves because we haven't gotten everything right. But Jesus, the Son of God, who understood that he was the Son of God and understood the scriptures far better than we can ever hope to, worried his parents to death, not because he was sinning but because he still had things to figure out. If Jesus, even as a twelve-year-old, still had things to figure out, we still have things we need to figure out, and failing from time to time doesn't necessaarily mean we are sinning. It might just mean we haven't figured everything out yet. 

Where are some areas that you have failed recently? Are you coming down hard on yourself believing that you must have sinned somewhere along the way? Maybe you did. But, maybe, there are just some things you still haven't figured out yet. Pray through the situation. Ask God to reveal to you what's been happening. Maybe there was something sinful that needs to be corrected. Or maybe there are just a few lessons about life that you still need to learn and it's time to be intentional about learning them.

Public Shootings, Gun Control Debates and Salvation Sources

Suggested Reading: Luke 2:8-20

One of the things I hate about moving is having to learn where everything belongs all over again. For weeks, sometimes for months, finding what we need will take two to three times as long as normal. Where do the measuring cups go? Where did we store the bandaids? What did we do with the tub of craft supplies? Why can't I find my winter coat? For quite a while after a move we are looking in the wrong places for the things we need. We think we know where to find things but quite often have no clue.

I have found the same thing to be true in other areas of life. Responses to public shootings are one example of this. I have heard people cry out for the government to take away people's guns to prevent criminals from getting their hands on them. I have heard other people cry out for the need for more guns in public places to discourage criminals from attempting anything. But it seems to me that both solutions are only attempting to deal with symptoms rather than the solution. Why? We're looking in the wrong place for salvation. We argue over whether we should have less guns or more guns as if those are the only two options available to us and forget about the much more powerful solution waiting for us on our knees.

When Jesus took on flesh and was born into the world as our savior, God announced the news to a group of shepherds through angels. They were told, "The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign:You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:11-12, NLT). Why did God chose to send his son to be born into apparent poverty and need a feeding trough for a bed? In part, to remind us that salvation doesn't come through worldly power. Without the angels' directions, the obvious place for the Messiah, the Son of David, to be born would have been the palace. But God wants us to look to the places where we are weak, where we must depend entirely upon God for our salvation.

When we look to places of earthly power to save us, whether it is to the government, to the barrel of a gun, or to wealth, we have looked in the wrong place for salvation. Salvation comes from admitting our weakness and depending on God, whether it is personally or nationally. As a nation, we must stop pretending that we can pass laws or gather enough ammunition to bring peace. Peace comes when people encounter the Prince of Peace. So we must strive to draw people into his presence, through both word and deed. We must look in the right place for our salvation.

Living in the Light with Jack Nicholson

Suggested Reading: Luke 2:22-35

In the Tom Cruise movie, A Few Good Men, Jack Nicholson takes the stand to testify in a case of marine misconduct, as the commanding general at the base where a marine was abused and died. Cruise’s character believes the general ordered the “code red” on the now deceased marine and is trying to defend the accused abusers on the basis that they were following orders. So Nicholson ends up on the stand while his character is poked and prodded with questions and inconsistencies about the official story of the marine’s death. When Cruise’s character demands the truth, we hear the now infamous line, “You can’t handle the truth!” Nicholson, ultimately believing that ordering the code red was the right thing to do, outs himself in a fit of righteous indignation because Cruise had poked and prodded until Nicholson’s core was exposed.

Simeon, the elderly man who prophesied over Jesus as Mary and Joseph brought him into the temple complex declared, This child is destined…to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed (Luke 2:34-35, NIV). Jesus came to upset destiny and be rejected, but he did so in order to expose our hearts. Something about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection pokes and prods us until our cores are exposed, until the sinful nature in our hearts is brought to light.

All of us have hidden areas of our heart that we don’t want to admit are there: bitterness toward someone who hurt us years ago, jealousy towards that person has everything we want, cruelty we try to never let out but lurks there just the same, anger that we’ve allowed to fester because we want to be angry at what was done to us, selfishness we try to disguise with lofty-sounding justifications. Those things lurk in all of our hearts but we can never deal with them properly until they are exposed to the light.  1 John 1:7-8 reads, But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth (NLT). Living in the light means that we allow ourselves to be exposed. We allow the deepest darkest parts of us to be brought out into the light to be dealt with. Pretending those things don’t exist or hiding them means we are avoiding the light.

One of the purposes of Jesus’ mission to earth was to expose our hearts so that we could have all of the filth removed. Being exposed like that can be extremely frightening. At times, it can hurt to have all of the things we have worked so hard to bury ripped out into the open. But we must be willing to face the darkness in our hearts in order to root it out and be rid of it. Are you willing to let Jesus poke and prod you until you are exposed? Will you allow him to shine a light on those dark places in your heart that you have tried so hard to keep hidden? The process may not be pleasant, but the end result will be a life exposed to the light without shame.