Tag Archives: Great Story

Chapter-a-Day

“Right in Front of You”

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While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
Luke 19:11 (NIV)

There is an art to storytelling.

In novels and in movies, and in the spoken word there is a structure to a well-told story that sucks listeners in, keeps them on the edge of their seats, and leaves them wanting more.

With the advent of streaming and binging entire seasons of television shows it easier than ever to see that writers structure an entire season of episodes like one giant story.

I have always said that all good stories are a reflection of the Great Story.

God is the Master Storyteller.

Luke is a careful apprentice—watching, learning, and telling the story with intention.

He sees the story of Jesus, and he is writing it capably.

One of the hallmarks of a good story is that as the narrative moves towards the climax, the pace of the story speeds up.

Things happen quickly.
Conflicts rise.
Tension builds.

Back in chapter 9 Luke informed us that Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. He did so knowing that He would be arrested, tried, and executed. He predicted plainly… twice.

Over the next 9 chapters Luke slowly introduces the conflict with the prominent religious leaders. Jesus’ teachings and parables only stoke the flames of that conflict.

The religious establishment wants a king who conquers.
Jesus insists on a kingdom that transforms.

Jesus repeatedly frustrates them with His description of God’s Kingdom, and criticizes them for their inability to see it or accept it.

Today’s chapter. There’s movement here. Urgency. A heartbeat that quickens as Jesus draws closer to Jerusalem… and everything starts to come to a head.

The chapter unfolds like a series of charged moments:

  • In Jericho, a wealthy, compromised man named Zacchaeus climbs a tree just to see Jesus—and ends up being seen instead.
    Scandalous. Not that Zacchaeus sought Jesus—but that Jesus wanted Zacchaeus. Salvation doesn’t wait for you to clean up. It invites itself into your messy house and sits down at your table like it owns the place.
  • Jesus tells a parable about servants entrusted with money (the minas), exposing what we do with what we’ve been given while the King is away. The minas aren’t just about stewardship—they’re about loyalty in the waiting. What I do with what God has placed in my hands—my influence, my voice, my time—isn’t neutral. It reveals my heart.
  • Then comes the triumphal entry—Jesus rides into Jerusalem as a king… but not the kind anyone expected.
    Not on a war horse like the religious establishment wants, but a colt. This isn’t power, or intimidation, or conquest…peace. But don’t mistake gentleness for weakness. This King knows exactly who He is… and exactly where He’s going.
  • And finally, He weeps over the city and clears the temple, confronting a people who missed what was right in front of them.
    A haunting moment as Jesus looks at Jerusalem… and cries. Not because He’s rejected. Because they didn’t recognize “the time of God’s coming.” They were looking for God… and missed Him when He stood right in front of them. And the temple cleansing isn’t random anger—it’s surgical. The establishment has turned God’s house into a cash cow of commerce. Religion without presence, activity without intimacy, noise without God — and Jesus won’t have it.

Today’s chapter is about recognition… and the tragedy of missing it.

Here’s where the chapter leans in close… and Holy Spirit whispers something uncomfortably personal.

“Tom? You’re in this story.”

  • Sometimes I’m Zacchaeus—curious, hungry, hiding in the branches, hoping to see without being seen.
  • Sometimes I’m the cautious servant—playing it safe, burying what I’ve been given because risk feels… well… risky.
  • Sometimes I’m a face in the crowd—cheering Jesus when it’s exciting, missing Him when it’s inconvenient.
  • And sometimes… I’m Jerusalem.

Busy.
Religious.
Close.

And still missing Him.

In the quiet this morning, I’m reminded that God’s Kingdom starts with me. Jesus always begins at the one-on-one relationship.

Not in theory.

Not in theology.

But in the quiet nudge…
The inconvenient interruption…
The invitation that feels a little too personal, a little too close for comfort…

Because Jesus still walks through every town like Jericho.

He still looks up into trees.

He still calls names.

And He still says, “I’m coming to your house today.”

When He does?

Things get rearranged.

Tables flip.
Priorities shift.
Wallets open.
Hearts soften.

And salvation doesn’t just pass by—

It moves in…
kicks off its shoes…
and stays awhile.

I am taking a couple of days off. See you on Thursday.

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

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These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
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Chapter-a-Day

Evil Implodes

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Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, “A pole reaching to a height of fifty cubits stands by Haman’s house. He had it set up for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king.”
The king said, “Impale him on it!”
Esther 7:9 (NIV)

Evil eventually implodes. It is inherently unstable.

This is a lesson that I’ve learned on my journey. The first place I remember learning it was in The Lord of the Rings. It’s a recurring theme throughout the trilogy, but I first noticed it in the character of Gollum. He’s a despicable creature, driven from the start by selfish hunger for the Ring. Despite the opportunity to kill the creature as an act of justice, Gandalf wisely refuses. Mercy, he suggests, may prove wiser than vengeance—because the story isn’t done yet.

Evil eventually implodes—and when it does, it often finds its own unforeseen justice. Were it not for Gollum’s selfish intent and lust for the Ring, it would never have been destroyed.

I thought about this as I meditated on today’s short, but thrilling climactic chapter in Esther’s story. The entire story of Esther is a study in “reversals,” and today’s chapter is full of them as the evil Haman’s plot quickly implodes on him.

Haman’s PlanActual Outcome
Mordecai will be impaledHaman is impaled
Esther will dieEsther triumphs
Haman gains honorMordecai gains honor
Haman controls the kingThe king destroys Haman

In a wonderful ironic cosmic twist, Haman is impaled on his own spike that had been set up to kill Mordecai.

Evil eventually implodes. It is inherently unstable.

In the quiet this morning, I take solace in this simple truth as each morning Wendy and I eat our breakfast, peruse the news, and discuss the evils of the world.

Evil often looks unstoppable—until the moment it collapses.

For six chapters Haman appears untouchable:

  • He has royal authority.
  • He controls the narrative.
  • He manipulates the king.
  • He has the gallows ready.

But beneath the surface, the story is quietly turning.

God’s providence works like underground water.

Silent.
Invisible.
Patient.

Until suddenly the earth gives way.

Haman’s downfall happens in minutes.

Years of arrogance.
Then one moment of collapse

The hard part is in the waiting and the discerning. It’s one of the places where I find that God’s ways are not my ways. Blessing those who curse me and praying for my enemies doesn’t feel like justice, and God asks that I leave the justice to Him and the larger Great Story.

Like Gandalf understanding that Gollum may yet have a role to play in the tale of the Ring.

But I don’t want to wait. I want justice now.

There are seasons in life when it feels like Haman is winning.

The arrogant rise.
The cruel prosper.
The faithful seem powerless.

Esther reminds me that history has trap doors built into it. The proud eventually step on them. Evil implodes.

I am asked to do what Esther did:

Wait.
Discern the moment.
Speak when the time is right.

And when the moment arrives, a single courageous and well-crafted sentence can change everything.

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

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These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
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Chapter-a-Day

Bowing

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All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.
Esther 3:2 (NIV)

It’s hard to believe that in April I’ll mark twenty years of chapter-a-day blogging. Two decades of mornings like this — coffee cooling, Scripture open, asking what the Great Story is doing in my small one. Along the way, some lessons have etched themselves in my mind and soul. One of those things is the repeated refrain “everything is connected.”

With today’s chapter, the story of Esther takes a dark turn. Vashti made her exit. Esther made her entrance. Now, it’s time for the villain of the story to take the stage. His name is Haman the Agagite. He is a rising star in the Xerxes administration. He climbs the imperial ladder and finds himself in the position of Xerxes right-hand man. He’s the second most powerful man of the world’s largest empire. With the position comes wealth, status, and the ability to sway the emperor.

When Haman and his entourage enter and leave the palace each day, the people in the streets were told to bow to Haman. History is filled with examples of what tyrants, monarchs, and dictators can easily make the masses do without question. Haman the Agagite is no different than men who came before him, and many men who would come after him. He commuted to work, and an empire bent at the waist as he passed.

One man refused.

Mordecai.

For days, Mordecai stands while everyone bows. No protest. No screaming about injustice. No raised placards. Just quiet refusal. Bowing is never just political. It is always, at some level, spiritual.

Tyrants, monarchs, and dictators don’t react well to those who refuse to bow. Haman is no different. Dishonored, angry, and enraged by Mordy’s daily refusal to bow, Haman institutes an internal investigation to discover the identity of his ego’s nemesis. That’s when he discovers that Mordecai is a Jew.

Stop right there.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post/podcast that a theme of Esther are things that are hidden. With the revelation of Mordecai’s nationality, there is a hidden plot twist lost to most readers.

When introduced in the story, we learn that Uncle Mordy was a descendant of Kish of the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin.

Reach back into the Great Story hundreds of years and there was another son of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin named Saul. He was the first king of Israel. One of the climactic moments of Saul’s tragic reign happens in 1 Samuel 15. He is fighting against Agag, king of the Amalekites. His instructions were to destroy Agag’s army completely. Saul failed to do so.

Fast forward hundreds of years in the empire of Persia.

Mordecai — descendant of Kish, from the same line as Saul — meets Haman, descendant of Agag.

Saul’s disobedience left a thread unfinished — and history has a way of tugging loose threads.

What goes around, comes around.

In the Great Story, everything is connected.

Mordecai is also not alone in his refusal to bow. He has other compatriots in the same exile who endured another tyrants demand to bow. Their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In fact, they served the previous empire under Nebuchadnezzar with their friend Daniel. Daniel survived to serve the Persian emperor, as well. Mordecai may have even crossed paths with him as an administrator in employ of the same empire. There is a precedent for Mordecai’s quiet courage.

In the Great Story, everything is connected.

Ancient hatreds are rekindled. One man refuses to bow and sparks Haman’s prejudices against an entire people. The second most powerful man in the world’s largest empire decides to kill all the Jews in the Empire. He plots a genocide. Long before there was Hitler and Himmler there was a man named Haman.

The Great Story and our history are also connected. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the story God is authoring in me is part of the Great Story He is authoring between Genesis and Revelation.

In the quiet this morning, this leaves me to asking myself an important rhetorical question.

Where do I bow?

The masses in Susa simply bowed. It was practical, safe, and expected.

Only Uncle Mordy stood.

Faith often begins there, not with heroics — just a quiet spine.

One man standing exposes evil, provokes hatred, and begins deliverance. God often writes history through the smallest acts of loyalty. Mordecai’s refusal looks insignificant. But heaven notices loyalty that makes empires rage. And sometimes the whole story turns on one person who stays standing when everyone else kneels.

What would it take to make me bow?

That’s where today’s chapter ends, and where my story connects and continues.

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

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Uncategorized

Taken

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When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem.
Esther 2:8 (NIV)

I am a certified “Girl Dad.” No sons, two daughters. I played dress up. I had make-up applied and my hair done. One of the greatest compliments of my entire life was when my young daughter told their mother they wanted daddy to do their hair before school.

Badge of honor.

And, of course, there were story times and Disney Princesses. The girls grew up during the era when Disney released classics like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin for the very first time. I’m pretty sure I had the entire script and all the lyrics of both Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin completely memorized at one point because I heard them so many times.

As a Girl Dad I used my authority to ensure Taylor and Madison were exposed to Tolkien and Lewis at bedtime. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that a little girl’s heart is enamored with beautiful, common women who become a princess.

The story of Esther is commonly referenced as a Disneyesque princess story. The bones are all there. A young foreign girl. She’s beautiful. Of all the beautiful girls in the empire she finds the King’s favor. In Sunday School classes and children’s bedtime Bible stories, it reads this way.

But, the real story is not that.

One of the themes of Esther is that of things being hidden. So far in the first two chapters we find Uncle Mordy instructing Esther to hide her true nationality. There is a hidden plot to kill the King. We’re going to find a lot of things hidden in the story. This is ironic, because also what is hidden is just how brutal the real story is.

Esther is a Jew living in exile in a foreign land.
Mordecai tells her to hide her nationality because if it was revealed it would likely mean banishment at best, at worst execution.
Esther was taken. The verb is used twice. No choice. Not chosen. Taken.

This is not a beauty pageant. It’s a brutal imperial machine designed and built to provide the King with a different top-shelf, flesh-and-blood toy for his every sexual whim every.single.night.

It’s ancient, legalized sex-traffic.

Esther had no choices. She was forced into her circumstances.
Forced from her home into the servitude of an imperial harem.
Forced to live among hundreds of women. Every one of them a rival.
Forced into regimented treatments to turn her into an object.
Forced to learn how to sexually please the king, whatever he wanted.
Forced to be a royal whore for one night which doubled as an audition.

It doesn’t take a Girl Dad to tell you, that’s sick.

This isn’t a fairy-tale.
Esther isn’t Jasmine on a magic carpet singing A Whole New World.
Esther is more Destiny’s Child roaring out a gritty I’m a Survivor.

And here’s the truth that’s uncomfortable for any who want the Christian life to be it’s own form of fairy-tale: God’s providence does not sanitize the system before He begins working within it.

Life is messy. Life is hard. Ordinary human beings find themselves in horrific and tragic circumstances every day, all over the world.

God is not absent.

He is moving silently through an uncle’s devotion, a whispered plot, the granting of a young girl enough wisdom to know she should heed the advice of an advisor who knows things others don’t.

Amidst horrific and tragic circumstances, God is crafting a Story that the characters will not realize until several more chapters are written.

God’s hand in the plot is often hidden until later chapters of life reveal it.

I know that I always want Chapter 4 clarity while I am living in Chapter 2 confusion. I want purpose explained before obedience is required. I want the rescue before the risk.

But today’s chapter suggests something quieter and deeper:

I don’t need to know the reason to trust the Story in the moment.

Faith often means accepting the oil and perfume seasons — the long preparations, the uncomfortable lessons no one wants to talk about. The agonizing realities that seem pointless — trusting that God is doing invisible work.

Somewhere right now there is a door I walked through that felt ordinary.

Somewhere there is a conversation I thought was small.

Somewhere there is a record being written I have already forgotten.

And years from now I may discover:

That was the hinge.

That was the turning point.

That was the moment God quietly positioned me — for something still waiting to be revealed.

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

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These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
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Chapter-a-Day

Divine Bulletin Boards

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But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.
Esther 1:12 (NIV)

It was the first day of my sophomore year of high school. I walked into the drama room for my Acting II class. A poster on the bulletin board caught my eye. It was an audition notice for a movie being filmed locally. The production company was just a mile from the school.

How cool was that?

I decided to audition. I got a starring role.

It changed my life.

The production company was run by a former Hollywood filmmaker who had become a follower of Jesus. He moved to Iowa and began making faith-centered films. While on set I met a man who would spend two years discipling me. Ten years later the same man would hire me to work for the company that he and his wife founded. That job became my career. Thirty years later I own the business.

A poster in the Drama Room caught my eye.

Drama is an apt segue. Today, our chapter-a-day trek begins the journey through the book of Esther which is one of the most dramatic stories in the entire Great Story. In fact, every year – all over the world – Jews gather to read the story aloud and dramatize as massive audience participation production.

The most astonishing thing about the story of Esther is that God is never mentioned…at all. Not once.

But God’s hands are present and evident through the entire story, providentially guiding the events.

Just like He does in mine.

Whoever authored Esther was as masterful a storyteller as Shakespeare. Today’s chapter is the opening act. It is the set-up that sets the story into motion. Persian emperor Xerxes enters, and what an entrance it is.

An empire from India to Ethiopia (half the known world)
A 180-day festival to show off his vast wealth and splendor.
Bright gold
Luscious silk
Glittering jewels
Opulent palaces
Verdant gardens
A seven-day feast in which wine flows ceaselessly into cups of gold for every guest.

At the end of the feast, Xerxes calls for his queen, Vashti, to come out from her private ladies feast. He doesn’t call her for her companionship. He isn’t interested in sharing the moment with her.

He wants to put her beauty on display like all his other treasure — just one more possession.

Vashti says, “No.”

The king’s desire for Vashti is not romantic — it is possessive.

He wants beauty displayed.

Admired.

Owned.

Her refusal is electric precisely because it breaks the spell of indulgence.

The party stops.

The music falters.

The room goes cold.

One woman saying no exposes the emptiness beneath all that glitter.

It is one of Scripture’s quietest — and most powerful — acts of dignity.

The ripple effect sends a threatening shockwave through the greatest empire on the face of the earth.

The King who commands armies can’t command respect.

Vashti is swiftly stripped of her title and she is escorted to the exit stage left. With Vashti’s exit, the stage is cleared for a young woman named Esther to make her entrance.

One act of self-respect threatens an empire built on display and domination. It is life-changing for Vashti. It is also life-changing for Esther.

She just doesn’t know it yet.

In the quiet this morning, my mind wanders back to a poster that caught my eye as a fifteen-year-old high school sophomore. A poster that would alter the course of my entire life.

God is the author of life. He gave us a Great Story from Genesis to Revelation. That Story isn’t yet complete. We’re still living in it. The author is still at work. I am part of the same Story. My life is woven into its tapestry.

Jesus told His followers to never stop asking, seeking, and knocking.

Along my life journey, I’ve come to believe that a part of what Jesus meant was for me to live each day with my eyes, my heart, and my life open. Open to God’s providential hand as He authors the story.

An unexpected introduction.
A sudden turn in the road.
A phone call out of the blue.
An opportunity I never saw coming.
A poster that catches my eye.

God is authoring the Great Story. He’s also authoring my story if, in my free will, I choose make room and live expectantly.

Ask.
Seek.
Knock.

“For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

And so I enter another day of the journey, eyes peeled, listening for the Author’s next cue.

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

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These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
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Chapter-a-Day

Not Without Struggle

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Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
Nehemiah 4:10 (NIV)

It’s October, which means post season baseball. Alas, our beloved Cubs made it to October this year but they didn’t have what they needed to get past the Division Series. C’est la vie.

Of course, the World Series will now and forever bring back memories of 2016, the year the Cubs broke their 108 year World Series drought and all of the legendary curses. For the most part, I remember that final out and the joy of that moment. A few weeks ago I watched the documentary of the World Series that year and spent some time remembering the Cubs’ journey through the entire post season.

It brought back a memory of lying in bed after the Cubs lost one of the play off games. I had descended into one of my brooding puddles of pessimism. Wendy, ever my life guard when I’m at risk for drowning in that puddle, quietly reminded me that great stories always have moments when things look darkest. It’s in overcoming the struggles that great stories are made. As I recounted all of the struggles of that post season and the World Series saga, I was reminded of just how many there were.

That came to mind this morning as I read today’s chapter. Nehemiah’s project of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls is in full swing. Today’s chapter is all about the struggle from without and within. They are surrounded by enemies who don’t want Jerusalem rebuilt. Those enemies join forces and plot to attack and stop the project. They are insulted, jeered, and mocked. There is a constant threat of attack both night and day. At the same time, the people are getting worn out from the constant labor required. The excitement has worn off and the long slog is taking its toll on everyone. As I read the chapter I could feel the fear, the weariness, the discouragement.

If I were standing in Nehemiah’s sandals, I would be descending into. a brooding puddle of pessimism. But Nehemiah was the right man for the job. The first thing he always did was pray. He then forged a plan for continuing the work while defending the project both night and day. He created a system of alarm and a plan of action should the city be attacked. He continued to prayed constantly and he repeatedly encouraged everyone to trust God to both defend them and provide what was needed to see the project through.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post/podcast that every human endeavor of which I’ve been a part has encountered some kind of challenge, obstacle, and/or opposition. I sometimes wonder why I’m ever surprised by this. We are part of the Great Story, and Wendy’s observation holds true. There is no great story without conflict and struggle. It’s what makes the climactic final chapter so powerful.

I find myself thinking through the challenges and struggles I’m currently facing at work and in life. Nehemiah’s example feels a simple and apt reminder. Pray, plan, work the plan, and keep reminding myself of God’s eternal promises.

Time to get back to it. Have a great day, friend.

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

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These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
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Chapter-a-Day

Uncomfortable History

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Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Colossians 4:1 (NIV)

Late last week Wendy and I read a fascinating article by Coleman Hughes in The Free Press entitled What American Students Aren’t Taught About Slavery. Hughes taught a class for Freshmen at the University of Austin on the legacy of slavery. What he discovered was that most of his students were completely unaware that slavery existed outside of the United States. Hughes writes:

“What I learned from teaching slavery to a group of college freshmen is that many (perhaps most) American kids graduate high school believing, falsely, that slavery happened only in America. Their minds are not blown by rehearsing the brutal facts of American slavery. Their minds are blown to learn that other brutal slaveries also existed all over the world.“

Being a life-long student of the Great Story has forced me to grapple with the uncomfortable realities of history. Slavery is one of them. One of the things I’ve observed along my journey is that many people are wholly dismissive of the Great Story because its contents contain bits that are uncomfortable and politically incorrect to modern sensibilities and ideologies. I consider this tragic and it makes me sad.

Slavery was a common part of every day life and society throughout the world in the first century. There was no emancipation because human civilization itself had yet to mature to a place that it could even envision a world without slavery. Expecting Paul and the early Jesus Movement to have taken up the emancipation of slavery as a cause is like me expecting my granddaughter, Sylvie (who turns 3 this week!) to be able to have an intellectual conversation with me about string theory.

In his letter to the believers in Colossae, Paul addresses six distinct people groups within the local gathering there: wives, husbands, children, fathers, slaves, and slave masters. For some reason, those who added chapter and verse numbers to the text put five of the six into chapter three, and started chapter four with the sixth and final group: slave masters. Yet another reminder that sometimes the chapters and verses get in the way of understanding the text. (BTW, a dear friend gifted me The Lectio Bible for my birthday this year. It provides the text without the chapter and verse numbers and it is a fascinating way to read it!)

What is fascinating as I meditated on the text is that Paul expects the faith of the believers in Colossae to inform their behavior within the context of their life realities. And, in fact, based on the teaching of Jesus and practicing the love of Jesus, the Jesus Movement was already moved the ball forward on societal understanding in ways that were revolutionary and radical for their times. When the believers gathered together to share a meal, worship, and learn together everyone was welcome at the table together: Male and female, Jew and Gentile, slave master and slave. This practice, radical for its time, was a seed that would germinate, take root, and eventually bear fruit in the emancipation movement.

In the quiet this morning, as I meditate on these things, I’m reminded that while the societal realities of history are forever changing, the principle of what Paul is addressing with the Colossian believers never changes. My faith in Jesus should make a difference in my behavior and relationships, especially with my immediate and most intimate of human relationships with family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and colleagues. Paul tells slaves to serve well and with integrity, considering that they are ultimately serving “Lord Christ.” He then tells slave masters to treat slaves with fairness and justice because they also have a “master” in heaven, Christ, to whom they are ultimately accountable and answerable.

I also find myself regularly in circumstances and in relationships that I don’t control. In the midst of it, as a disciple of Jesus, I am expected to be accountable to control the things that I can: to be loving in my words and actions, to be servant-hearted and forgiving towards others, and to conduct myself with integrity.

This chapter-a-day journey moves to the next of Paul’s “Prison Letters” tomorrow:
Ephesians 1

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

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!

Chapter-a-Day

The Way of Jesus Exemplified

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Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.
Philemon 1:15-16 (NIV)

Along this chapter-a-day journey I have gained a love and appreciation for the chapters in this Great Story that no one talks about. When was the last time you hear any one reference Philemon? And yet, the story of Philemon is one of the most beautifully powerful human dramas in the Great Story.

Philemon was a member of the local gathering of of Jesus’ followers in the city of Colossae in Greece. He became a follower of Jesus when Paul visited, shared Jesus’ love and message there, and established the local gathering. Philemon was a man of means, with a household large enough to host the church in his home. His means and his large household included slaves.

Among the slaves in Philemon’s household was a man named Onesimus. Reading between the lines Paul’s very short, intimate letter, Onesimus stole money from Philemon and ran away. Eventually, Onesimus made his way to Rome. In Rome, the runaway slave runs into none other than his former master’s friend Paul who is now under house arrest awaiting trial before Caesar.

We don’t know the details, but the bottom line is that Paul shared Jesus’ love and message with Onesimus, and the runaway slave became a sincere believer. Now, Paul tells Onesimus that he must make things right with Philemon, not as slave and slave-master but as brothers in Christ. He sends the runaway slave back to his master with this letter in hand in order to reconcile the relationship and make things right.

Over the last several years, I have shared with my own local gathering a graphic and a concept that depicts the way of Jesus and how different it is from the way the world operates. The world operates through the force of top-down power and authority. From the childhood game of “king of the mountain” to the power structures of politics, business, commerce, and crime. Whoever has the wealth, influence, and power dictates how things are going to work in this world whether it’s through law, rules, regulations, coercion, domination, leverage, or threat.

Jesus, however, did the opposite. He left the power of heaven itself, came to earth to live as a human being. Through faith, obedience, and sacrificial love He changed the hearts of individuals. He then tasked those of us who are His followers to utilize that same faith, obedience, and sacrificial love to carry His message so that it might change the lives of individuals in our circles of influence. As more and more lives are changed and more and more individuals are operating out of faith, obedience, and sacrificial love, the world itself is impacted.

It’s not top-down power and domination but bottom-up love and generosity.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)

Here’s how I’ve depicted it graphically:

The thing that I love about the story of Philemon is that it perfectly illustrates this entire paradigm.

Level 1: Jesus changes Paul’s life from the inside out.

Level 2: Paul shares Jesus’ love and message with people in Colossae.

Level 1: Jesus changes Philemon’s life from the inside out.

Level 2: Philemon’s community is changed as members of his household and community become believers and meet in his home.

Level 2: Onesimus the runaway slave from Philemon’s household stumbles into Paul, his former master’s friend and member of his former master’s circle of influence, in Rome of all places.

Level 1: Onesimus becomes a believer and Jesus changes him from the inside out.

Level 2: Changed by the love of Jesus, Onesimus returns to Philemon to be reconciled and make things right, their relationship now transformed by the love of Jesus that has transformed each of them.

Level 3: The world is still being impacted by their lives and story. This very blog post and podcast are living proof.

What is beautiful about the letter is the fact that it is all about transformation. The transformation of Philemon and his household into a center of God’s love in their community. The transformation of Onesimus from thief and runaway slave to brother in Christ. The transformation of the relationship between Philemon and Onesimus in which the love and power of Jesus tears down the socio-economic power structure of the world’s paradigm of slavery and replaces it with the love, joy, and peace of spiritual family.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself moved spiritually and emotionally as I imagine the moment when Onesimus arrives to face his master. I imagine the mixture of emotions that each of them were feeling in that moment. I imagine the runaway slave handing Philemon Paul’s letter. The shock and surprise as Philemon reads it. The conflicting emotions in Philemon’s heart as anger gives way to forgiveness, resentment yields to kindness, and the world’s paradigms crumble to the transformational, life-changing power of Jesus’ love.

Jesus, I pray that your love continues to change me today from the inside out, so that your love through me might change those around me, that your love through us might positively impact the world for your Kingdom.

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

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

“New Things Come”

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“New Things Come” (CaD Lev 9) – Wayfarer

On the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.
Leviticus 9:1 (NIV)

I have learned over almost 45 years as a disciple of Jesus that this spiritual journey as His follower is all about my transformation. It’s the gradual migration from my earthly and worldly mindset into having my mind fixed on the things of God. Treasures on earth lose their perceived value for me as spiritual treasures are considered increasingly more priceless in my mind. What I desire becomes less significant (in fact I desire things less) and what God desires of me becomes more of a priority. This is literally what Paul was writing about when he told the Corinthian believers: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

In today’s chapter, Aaron and his sons are facing an abrupt transformation. The chapter begins by describing the events as taking place on the eighth day. In yesterday’s chapter, God told Aaron and the boys to camp out at the entrance of His tent for seven days. Granted, this seems like a strange request to our logical sensibilities. Today’s events take place on the eighth day. God is using His base language of metaphor again. What does everyone know, from the very beginning of the Great Story in Genesis took place in seven days? Yep, creation. How long were the dudes camping with God? Yep, seven. It is now the eighth day. Something is new. A spiritual transformation has taken place. Something new has been created in Aaron and His sons. The dudes are now priests of the Most High God.

In today’s chapter, Aaron performs the priestly duties and sacrifices for the first time. This is new. Another thing that is abundantly clear is that Aaron performs the offerings exactly as prescribed by God through Moses. The text is painfully repetitive as it recounts Aaron’s exact actions detail for detail. In fact, it’s one of the strange things about Leviticus that drives modern readers bonkers. As I meditated on this in the quiet this morning, two things came to mind.

First, I returned to the reality that these are events are taking place in the toddler stage of humanity thousands of years ago. Writing is a relatively new technology that few know and reading isn’t even a thing for the masses. Things were passed down orally and as an actor currently working on my lines for a role in a play I am reminded that repetition is the key to memorization. When toddlers watch Sesame Street they are introduced to a letter and a number and those are repeated over and over and over again in that episode. The repetition was likely helpful and necessary to the ancient Hebrews learning these detailed instructions.

Second, there is a spiritual lesson taking place even in Aaron’s exacting conformity to God’s instructions. Five hundred years or so later, the Hebrews will decide they want a king and they will choose a guy named Saul. Saul will subsequently decide that he can perform these offerings even though he’s not a son of Aaron as prescribed. Samuel tells him:

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
    as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

One of the spiritual lessons God is attempting to teach His fledgling people through this sacrificial system is the importance of obedience. The obedience is more important than the sacrifices themselves. In fact, God makes this abundantly clear in Psalm 50:

“Listen, my people, and I will speak;
    I will testify against you, Israel:
    I am God, your God.
I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
    or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
I have no need of a bull from your stall
    or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine,
    and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird in the mountains,
    and the insects in the fields are mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you,
    for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?“

At the end of the chapter, as a result of Aaron’s obedience in presenting the offerings according to the instructions, the “glory of the LORD” shows up in the form of fire. So this spiritually transformed dude who is now a priest obeys God, does as instructed, and God responds. It’s the eighth day. It is a new beginning for Aaron and the boys. Old things have passed away. New things have come.

Which is exactly what God has spiritually done in me through being joined with Christ thousands of years later. In fact, spiritually speaking that transformation includes making me a priest of the Most High God, as well (see 1 Peter 2:9).

In the quiet this morning, I find myself marveling once again at how God’s message is consistent even as He communicates it differently at different points of the Great Story, even as I communicate about these same things differently to my toddler granddaughter than I do to her adult parents.

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

These chapter-a-day blog posts are also available via podcast on all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google, and Spotify! Simply go to your podcast platform and search for “Wayfarer Tom Vander Well.” If it’s not on your platform, please let me know!
Chapter-a-Day

Shalom

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Shalom! (CaD Ezk 47) – Wayfarer

Then he led me back to the bank of the river.  When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.
Ezekiel 47:6b-8 (NIV)

When most people hear the Hebrew word “Shalom” it is understood as a greeting like “Hello” or “Bonjour.” And that’s because “Shalom” is used as both a greeting and a departing salutation, more like “Aloha.” But what many people don’t know is that Shalom which is literally translated into English as “peace” has a meaning that cannot be simply contained by one comparable English word.

Shalom is a word that embodies a larger sense of wholeness, well-being, good health, rest and tranquility. It is both a greeting but also a blessing to the person to whom you say it. Shalom is derived from the root word “Shalam” which is used repeatedly in Exodus 21 and 22 regarding instructions for “making things right” between people when there has been material loss or injury. God was instructing his people to “make it right” (Shalam) which becomes the foundation for the wholeness, well-being, peace, rest, and tranquility of Shalom.

This is important in understanding what is being described in this vision Ezekiel is having of the restoration of his defeated and destroyed nation in these final chapters. On a macro level, everything Zeke is describing is the “making things right” on multiple levels. His vision is of ultimate Shalom.

In today’s chapter, there are three amazing concepts being communicated.

First, Zeke sees a river that flows out of the temple he’s just described. The temple is the source of a river of life that flows out of the temple into the Dead Sea and turns the Dead Sea into a living, flourishing source of life and provision for all. This foreshadows two things. First, it foreshadows Jesus, who says Himself that He is Living Water springing up to transform any who are dead in their sins to eternal life (or, you might say, ultimate Shalom!). It also foreshadows the vision John is given of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21-22. In fact, I encourage you to read and compare the first part of today’s chapter with those last two chapters of the Great Story.

Second, in Zeke’s vision he’s given the general boundaries for the restored Promised Land that God had always promised to His people where they would find Shalom. Throughout the history of humanity, land means life. From the land we find security, shelter, provision, and prosperity.

Finally, and this is huge, God tells Zeke that “foreigners living among you” are to be considered “native-born Israelites.” In other words, there is no longer any distinction between Jews and the Gentile outsiders. God’s shalom is for everyone. Everyone becomes a child of Abraham. Everyone is given an inheritance of God. Everyone is an heir of the Divine. Everyone is given an allotment of God’s ultimate shalom.

In the quiet this morning, I am overwhelmed with God’s goodness and the desire He has expressed from the beginning for humanity to experience shalom. I’m reminded what Jesus told His followers just moments before His arrest and just hours before His execution. He told them that they can expect trouble and suffering in this world, but He also told them “Peace (Shalom) I leave with you; my peace (shalom) I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Yesterday morning, Wendy shared a song with me that I had never heard before (I’m really awful at keeping up with current culture!) by Jelly Roll called “I’m Not Okay“. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. It gets to the heart of what Jesus was saying to His followers, to us, to me. Even when things are not okay, everything is going to be alright.

Shalom, my friend.

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