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Chapter-a-Day

The Adopted One

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Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
Numbers 13:30 (NIV)

Just a month or two ago Wendy and I watched the Paramount Plus series Mobland starring Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren. It is a classic epic story of a mob family, this time set in the UK. It is gritty and raw like most mob family epics. One of the main characters in the film is played by Tom Hardy, who is not a biological son, but a fiercely loyal “fixer” who in many ways is more stable and trusted by the father than any of his biological children.

The theme of the adopted son is familiar. In The Godfather it was an Irish orphan named Tom Hagen who becomes the Godfather’s consigliere and fixer. In Yellowstone, it’s an orphan named Rip who becomes the right-hand man that John Dutton can depend on to fix things. Coincidentally, The Godfather, Yellowstone, and Mobland are all produced by Paramount. They know a successful storytelling formula when they see it.

The theme of the adopted one is much older, however. It’s ancient, and it has a deep spiritual context throughout the Great Story. In fact, in today’s chapter it is hiding in plain sight.

Ancient people groups were tribal by nature, and the Hebrews tribes were no different. It carried on through the centuries. The greatest struggle of the Jesus Movement after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension was the inclusion of non-Jewish believers, or Gentiles, into the flock of believers. It was so conflictive that it sparked terrible persecution. Jesus stood against His own people’s prejudice and persecution of those who didn’t belong to the tribe, and told His disciples, “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”

In today’s chapter, the Hebrews are already at the boundary of the land of Canaan, the land God promised to His people. They send 12 spies into the land to check things out. The tribe of Judah sends a man name Caleb. Caleb was a son of “Jephunneh the Kenizzite.” The Kennizite tribe were Edomites who were descendants of Esau, the impetuous and deceived brother of Jacob. Caleb was not a descendant of Jacob. Caleb didn’t belong to the tribe of Judah by blood. Caleb was adopted into the tribe.

When the spies return to report that the Promised Land was a land of plenty but that the people groups living there were large and intimidating, most of the spies said that they shouldn’t go in and take the land. Only Joshua, Moses’ chosen right-hand man, and Caleb the adopted one, who have the faith to suggest they move into the land immediately and trust God’s promise.

That’s the theme of the adopted one like Tom Hagen, Rip, and Tom Hardy’s character, Harry. Technically, they don’t belong to the family. They are hopeless orphans and outcasts who have been graciously adopted into the family. They see things from a different perspective than the rest of the family. They become gratefully loyal to the father. Caleb fits right in there, especially given that he is adopted by the tribe of Judah from which both King David and Jesus will spring.

But the theme of the adopted one flows spiritually to every believer. Paul, who was born into the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin and was at one time fiercely prejudiced against all non-Hebrews and the “blood traitors” of the Jesus Movement who welcomed Gentiles as equals. Paul, having met Jesus on the road to Damascus, learned what Jesus was doing. He saw the sheep of the other pen that Jesus had talked about. He became the most outspoken evangelist to those outside the tribe. And he was always writing about adoption.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Romans 8:14-15 (NIV)

Paul’s extensive education also gave him the understanding that the adoption was not just non-Jewish Gentiles. The reality is that even the Jewish people were descendants of Abraham, with whom God graciously chose to make a covenant. Jew or Gentile, all believers are sinful outcasts and orphans in this fallen world, graciously adopted as children of the Heavenly Father through the grace and mercy of Jesus’ sacrifice.

As I meditate on the theme of the adopted one, it strikes me that this ancient theme resonates so deeply in us that Hollywood continues to tap it in their story-telling. I have observed along my spiritual journey that those believers who fully understand and acknowledge their own depravity, sinfulness, and shame become the most loyal and trusting of God. Those who approach faith with the smug self-righteousness and sense of privilege of the biological children tend to miss the point entirely. In fact, it was those smug, self-righteous, privileged children who murdered God’s own Son.

So, in the quiet this morning I find myself grateful to have been among the adopted ones. I am grateful for God’s grace. I didn’t earn a thing. I didn’t deserve a thing. I was graciously adopted into the family. Not only that, but I was made a co-heir with Jesus. As Paul continues in Romans 8:

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 8:16-18 (NIV)

The more deeply I absorb this, the more grateful I become, and the more it motivates me to be faith-fully obedient to anything and everything Father God asks of me.

I am the adopted one.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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An illustration representing the biblical passage of Caleb encouraging the Israelites to take possession of the Promised Land.
Chapter-a-Day

The Reward

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The Reward (CaD Jos 19) – Wayfarer

When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, as the Lord had commanded. 
Joshua 19:49-50 (NIV)

In preparation for the Holy Saturday message I gave among my local gathering of Jesus’ followers, I’ve been doing a lot of studying about death. In particular, I’ve been reading about people who’ve had a Near Death Experience (NDE). These are individuals whose bodies literally died. No heartbeat, no brain activity, and no breath for a period of time until they were revived or miraculously returned to life.

There are a lot of commonalities in these experiences. If you’re interested, I recommend the book Imagine Heaven by John Burke (a shout out to Jen P for recommending it to me!). Among the commonalities in NDEs is a “life review” in which the person is shown a replay of their entire lives. Time is different in eternity. Even the Great Story speaks of eternity in which “a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like just a day.” Many describe their “life review” in those same terms. They saw every moment of their entire earthly life, but it only took what seemed like an instant.

Many who’ve experienced this life review also speak of the fact that the most important thing in this review was how well they loved others. Some mention that they saw the events of their life and could actually feel what others were feeling around them. For example, a childhood bully felt the agony of the person they victimized. A son forever estranged from his father, who had always blamed his father for their poor relationship, felt his parent’s emotions as he watched how he treated them as a youth, and he realized that he was just as much a part of the breakdown in the relationship.

Those who have experienced this NDE life review often speak of returning to their earthly lives with completely different priorities. They immediately begin to invest in relationships. They become more loving, generous, and faithful towards others because they died, they tasted eternity, and they learned that it’s the only thing that really matters just as Jesus taught.

Today’s chapter tells of the final allotments of the Promised Lands to the Hebrew tribes. In one final allotment, Joshua is given the town he requested in reward for his faithfulness. A few chapters back, it was Caleb who was first to receive an allotment. Now, Joshua is the last to receive an allotment. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who originally spied out the land for Moses and had faith that the tribes could conquer the land and the people living there. The other 10 spies doubted. Over forty years later, Caleb and Joshua bookend the allotments of Promised Land and receive the rewards of their faith.

Joshua and Caleb received an earthly reward for their faith, and that got me thinking about eternity. The Great Story speaks of two distinct judgments to take place in the climactic final chapters of the Story. One is simply whether or not my name is written in the Book of Life. The second is described as an inspection of how well I built my life on earth as evidenced by how well I loved God and loved others. Based on what so many who’ve experienced an NDE describe, there is an eternal reward and the only thing that counts eternally is our love for others. Or as Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth:

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (MSG)

And so, I enter another day and another work week with a huge task list, yet reminded that the real priority, the only thing that truly matters, is how well I love those with whom I interact.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Dense Fog Advisory

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Dense Fog Advisory (CaD Jos 14) – Wayfarer

Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.
Joshua 14:12a (NIV)

There are stretches of my life journey that are like walking through dense fog. What lies ahead is uncertain. All I can see is the next step on the path before me. This is disconcerting. Am I headed in the right direction? Does the path ascend or descend? What obstacles lie on the path? How do I know there’s not a cliff or a dead end just a few steps ahead?

“Faith,” says the writer of Hebrews, “is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Faith is pressing on through a dense fog not knowing what lies ahead.

In today’s chapter, Caleb calls in a 45-year-old promise made by Moses. The first time that Moses sent spies into the Promised land, ten of the spies returned and reported that the people living in the land were too great. Only Joshua and Caleb returned to report, “With the Lord’s help, we can do this.” The result of Joshua and Caleb’s faith was a promise that they would live to enter the Promised Land and that Caleb’s family would inherit the land he had spied out.

The moment finally arrives. Caleb has been waiting for this moment for 45 years, and the day finally arrives. Joshua and the leaders of the twelve tribes fulfill Moses’ promise to Caleb and his family. I wonder how many times Caleb struggled to believe that this day would actually come. How many stretches of dense fog did Caleb traverse between Moses’ promise and its fulfillment over a generation later?

Along my life journey, I’ve discovered that the further I get on life’s road, the more road there is behind me, and this actually affords me a greater perspective for the foggy steps ahead. A backward glance reminds me of God’s faithfulness. I recall specific moments along my journey when God’s provision was evident. I’ve also experienced “Caleb moments” when I experienced promises fulfilled after long periods of time.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself in another foggy stretch of the journey. I have to confess that I was naive to think that the further I got in my Life journey the fewer of these I would encounter. No such luck. This life journey is a faith journey from beginning to end and, like a muscle, faith must be stretched and exercised in order to be strengthened.

And so I step into another foggy day. I glance back over my shoulder to be reminded of the many foggy days I’ve trekked through before, and God’s faithfulness through each of them. I remind myself of Caleb, who eventually had his moment when the promise was fulfilled. It doesn’t lift the fog, but it strengthens my faith to press on.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The Bewitchment of “Group Think”

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 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”
Numbers 13:31 (NIV)

In today’s chapter Moses sends out twelve men, one from each tribe, to spy out the land of Canaan. Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, come back with a report that the Hebrew tribes should press forward and conquer the land. The other ten spies reported exaggerated claims of giants living in the land whom the Hebrews could not defeat. Their report stoked fear in the hearts of the people.

It’s fascinating how susceptible the majority can be to “group think.” It happens to be the morning of All Hallow’s Eve, or Halloween, as I write this. Perhaps that’s why the ten spies swaying the nation of Hebrews with their exaggerated claims reminds me of a handful of schoolgirls convincing the people of their village that they saw upstanding members of the community in cahoots with the devil. Nineteen people were eventually hanged as a result of the Salem witch trials. It’s amazing how bewitching “group think” can be (pun absolutely intended).

The social psychologist Gustave Le Bon theorized that there were three stages of crowd think. A group of people submerge themselves in the collective whole, losing a sense of individual thought and responsibility. Individuals are then susceptible accept, without question, the contagion of popular thought within the group, opening themselves up to suggestion of different kinds. Even in a nation and culture that celebrates freedom of thought and speech we are prone to follow the crowd in all sorts of ways.

As an enneagram Type 4 I tend to be a fierce individualist. Nevertheless, this morning I’m reflecting back along my journey. It’s funny to think about fads, social trends, and popular thoughts I’ve observed and even found myself a part. The further I get in my journey the more desirous I am to think and act independently, rather than allow myself to be submerged in the bewitching trends of the group think of the moment. It’s hard to do. The unconscious draw of group think is often subtle and subconscious as it was for the ancient Hebrews, the puritans of Salem and still is today.

I’m preparing to deliver a message on Sunday morning and one of the key verses on which I’ve been meditating is this: “Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

God, grant me open eyes, open ears, perceptive spirit, and a mind increasingly renewed by Divine Truth and Lady Wisdom.

Chapter-a-Day

The Dance of Sliding Doors

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But the people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so the Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.
Joshua 15:63 (NRSV)

SlidingdoorsThere was a film many years ago called Sliding Doors which has stuck with me since I first saw it. The movie, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, tells the story of a young woman. Actually, the movie tells two stories. In the beginning of the story we see her heading to catch a train. The movie then splits. In one part of the movie we see what her life would be like if the “sliding doors” of the train stop her from catching her train. In the other part of the movie we see what her life would be like if she squeezed through the “sliding doors” and made it on the train. The film leaves you thinking about all of the small moments in life that may have had profound impact on the way our lives turned out.

As I look back over my life journey I can pinpoint certain waypoints where a decision made a significant impact on my trajectory. This is life. What may seem like a relatively small decision in the moment may change our lives forever. Even typing that sentence prompts my heart to whisper: “Lord, please direct my steps.”

Today’s chapter ends with what seems like a relatively trivial fact. Caleb and his tribe did not drive the Jebusites from Jerusalem. Okay. Great. Whoop-te-do. What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

For Caleb and his generation it mattered very little. Jerusalem was, at that time, a rather insignificant village on the borderlands of the tribe of Judah’s inheritance. No one had any inkling that the small village of Jerusalem would someday be the political and religious hotspot on Earth. The fact that the Jebusites remained there and Caleb didn’t drive them out wasn’t a major deal for them. But, it would be a bigger deal in a few generations when David was ascending the throne.

It was David who chose the Jebusite city of Jerusalem to be the capitol city of the nation of Israel. David was desperately trying to unite a fractured family of tribes into one nation. Jerusalem was a strategic choice for a host of reasons. The fact that it was a Jebusite city made Jerusalem a more neutral choice in the eyes of the other tribes. Being a border town, Jerusalem was less likely to raise the ire of the other tribes than if David chose a town in the heart of Judah’s land. David would have to take the town that Caleb left alone in order to make it his capitol. In the end, Caleb’s choice not to take Jerusalem allowed Jerusalem to remain an inter-national city where people of different peoples lived in contention with one another. It remains so to this day.

Today I’m thinking about choices. I’m thinking about decisions that effect the course of our lives. I’ve come to believe along the journey that there is a dance that happens between me and God in the choices I make. I seek where He is leading me, but He doesn’t force my hand. I sometimes am required to make my own move. As with a good dance partner, He anticipates my step and counters to be right where I need Him to be. Sometimes I stumble awkwardly, but He counters again and somehow redeems my misstep into what seems a choreographed moment.

It’s easy to be paralyzed in fear of choices we must make. I observe many wallflowers who stand endlessly on the periphery of life, afraid of doing the wrong thing, afraid of looking foolish, or falsely believing that their every step must be perfect. I’ve learned that I have to get in there and dance. Maybe the doors shut before I get on the train. Maybe I sneak on and catch my connection. Either way, I can trust God to direct my step. He’s a flawless dance partner.

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Chapter-a-Day

You Gotta Have Heart

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“And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’”
Joshua 14:9 (NRSV)

“You gotta have heart,
Miles and miles and miles of heart!”

So go the lyrics of the musical Damn Yankees, a Broadway retelling of the Faust legend set around the hapless Washington Senators baseball team. The song came to mind this morning as I read Caleb’s plea to Joshua, reminding him that he’d “wholeheartedly” followed God.

Caleb had been one of the men chosen by Moses to spy out the land some 45 years earlier. Caleb was all for crossing the Jordan River and taking the land, but his partners gave a fear-producing account of what they saw and the campaign was delayed 40 years. But, for his wholehearted faith, Moses promised Caleb the land they’d spied out as his tribe’s inheritance. In today’s chapter, it’s time for the promise to be fulfilled these many years later.

Two things I’m reminded of this morning as I ponder Caleb’s story:

First: Caleb was rewarded for his heart – not his military prowess, his  perfect execution of God’s commands, his moral standing, his financial generosity, his intellect, his social savvy, or his popularity. As I journey through God’s Message I find, time and time again, God’s desire is for our hearts. If He has my whole heart, everything else will flow from there.

Second: Sometimes the fulfillment of God’s promises and purposes are a long time in coming. Caleb waited 45 years for his promised inheritance. David was anointed king when he was a kid, but didn’t see the promised fulfilled until he was 40.  Abraham and Sarah were in their 90’s before God miraculously produced their promised offspring. In a culture of instant gratification, I so easily get impatient and lose faith. It’s good to be reminded that God’s promises can take a long time to be fulfilled. Those with heart never stop trusting in that fulfillment.

By the way, and speaking of being wholehearted in having faith: The Cubs are 5-1!

Everybody sing!

“You’ve gotta have hope
Mustn’t sit around and mope
Nothin’s half as bad as it may appear
Wait’ll next year and hope”

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