Tag Archives: Metaphor

Chapter-a-Day

The “Portion of Jacob”

Leave a comment

He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
    for he is the Maker of all things,
including Israel, the people of his inheritance—
    the Lord Almighty is his name.
Jeremiah 10:16 (NIV)

Wendy and I have really enjoyed the first three seasons of The Chosen. We have found this cinematic retelling of the Jesus story as amazing as the story of its crowd-funded making. We both honestly felt like it took about three episodes of Season 1 for the writing and story to catch its stride, but from that point on we’ve been enthralled.

One of the things that we both love about this production is the way that it is telling the story. Many of the well-known cinematic retellings of the past have confined themselves to only those episodes and words which are recorded in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Chosen, on the other hand, has remained true to these episodes while imagining the storylines of the characters around Jesus. In doing so, it places the episodes into the context of real, ordinary, daily lives of those involved – lives that are just like mine or yours. In the most recent third season, Peter and his wife are having marriage problems and a personal crisis that Jesus seems to completely ignore, James (who walks with a permanent limp) struggles with Jesus sending him out on a mission to heal others when Jesus has never once addressed James’ obvious handicap, and Matthew returns to Capernaum to face his estranged parents whose lives have been ruined because of his collaboration with the Romans as the local tax collector.

One of the other subtle things that I have loved about The Chosen is that the writers observe that Jesus loved nicknames. In the show, within The Twelve, He refers to “Big James” and “Little James.” Then there’s Simon the Zealot who is given the moniker “Zee” while the other Simon has yet to be given his nickname “Rocky” (the literal translation of “Peter”). I can’t wait to see how and when they work that one into the story.

I have observed many times along this chapter-a-day journey that God has always loved names and nicknames. As I’ve always said, God’s base language is metaphor. The nicknames that Jesus gave to His followers and that God gave to characters throughout the Great Story usually had a metaphorical meaning pointing to their character or transformation. The myriad of names of God used throughout the Great Story are a testimony to the power of metaphor to give us an increased understanding and appreciation for God, who cannot be truly understood within the limits of my finite mind.

In today’s chapter, I was intrigued by a moniker of God that I never remember noticing before. Jeremiah refers to God as “the Portion of Jacob.” There is only one other time in the entire Great Story in which this name of God is used when Jeremiah uses it again in chapter 51.

And so, in the quiet this morning I sat with and meditated on this nickname, “Portion of Jacob.” Of all the great ancestral heroes of Jeremiah and the Hebrews, Jacob is among the most intriguing. Jacob (which means “deceiver”) was a liar and a deceiver. His is a story of lowly person struggling against his place in life and one who wrestled with God. And yet, God shows Jacob unmerited favor and grace. God uses Jacob despite his flaws. God does not abandon Jacob, but continually humbles and hones Jacob throughout his story.

What a great metaphor for the very people, Jacob’s people, whom Jeremiah describes in today’s chapter. Jeremiah has six times (FYI: in numerology, six is the number of sinful man) described his people as deceitful to this point in the anthology of his messages. Jerry could have chosen to identify God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, Moses, or David. He chooses instead a moniker for God that he alone uses in all of the Great Story. God is the “Portion of Jacob,” the God of the deceitful, rebellious, hard-hearted people who descended from Jacob the deceiver who wrestled with God.

As I pondered this, I was reminded of many of the characters in the Great Story whose earthly lives and paths wound through rebellion, sin, and scandal. I thought of people in my own circles of influence who could be tagged as the spiritual descendants of Jacob the deceiver based on their own scandalous and tragic actions. I couldn’t help but think about my own stretches on this life journey, like those I’ve recently referenced, in which my own actions warranted being identified as a spiritual child of Jacob.

But, that’s the subtle beauty and the meaning of Jeremiah’s nickname for God, which is likely lost on most readers as it’s been lost on me until this morning. God graciously loved and used Jacob despite his very obvious human flaws. Jeremiah is pleading with his flawed and rebellious people to spiritually return to the God who will graciously welcome a repentant prodigal. God graciously loved me despite my own years of wrestling. God calls me to be gracious with those who are in their own stretch of life walking in the shoes as spiritual children of Jacob.

Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

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

Today’s featured image is The Vision after the Sermon (Jacob wrestling with the Angel) by Paul Gaugin. Public domain. Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, UK.

Chapter-a-Day

The Bride

Leave a comment

The Bride (CaD Jer 2) – Wayfarer

“This is what the Lord says:
“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,
    how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
    through a land not sown.”
Jeremiah 2:2 (NIV)

One of the keys to unlocking the power of the ancient prophets is to understand both the context of their time and circumstances in history and the metaphors they use in addressing them.

Jeremiah’s prophetic ministry began during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (648-609 BC). The authors of Kings and Chronicles have made it clear that the Hebrew people have spent most of their nearly 300 years as divided kingdoms breaking the first two of God’s Top Ten rules for life (1. No other gods 2. No idols). By the time Josiah ascends the throne, there had been 19 successive kings in Israel who all promoted the worship of local and regional pagan idols. Of Josiah’s 15 predecessors in Judah, seven had been outright idolatrous and most of the others maintained a policy of appeasement with those who wanted to worship gods other than Yahweh. The result was that even the worship of the God of Abraham, Moses, and David had been diluted to the point that it was an empty shell of what God had prescribed for worship as Moses led the Hebrew tribes out of slavery in Egypt.

King Josiah led a massive reformation after a copy of the Law of Moses was discovered in a storage closet in Solomon’s Temple. The fact that it had been lost in a Temple junk room lends evidence to how far worship had strayed from God’s design. Even the priests of God had not read or taught God’s law in who knows how long. Solomon’s Temple itself had become a polytheistic religious center in which shrines and altars to pagan gods were placed alongside the altar God had prescribed back in Exodus. After three hundred years of polytheistic political accommodation, it’s hard to believe that young Josiah’s dictatorial reforms were universally well-received by his people.

It’s in this period of religious reformation and the resulting political tension that a young Jeremiah begins his prophetic career. Jeremiah and Josiah got along well, and Jerry’s career took off under the power and protection of Josiah as his benefactor.

Today’s chapter is the first of Jerry’s recorded prophetic messages. He addresses God’s people with one overarching metaphor: marriage. The Hebrew people were God’s young bride. God initiated through Abraham and then again in Moses, God pursued her in Egypt, God secured her, and God led her out of slavery and into a covenant relationship. God provided for her and led her to a home He prepared for her. What He asked of her was faithfulness.

By the way, Jesus used this same marital metaphor. His followers are His bride. At the Omega Point of the Great Story is a wedding and the greatest wedding feast of all time (Rev 19:7-9).

As for Jeremiah, he sits amidst Josiah’s mandated reform and hears the grumbling of the idolaters who desire to go back to their shrine prostitutes and fertility orgies. He sees those who gave lip service to Josiah’s reforms but meet secretly with their idols on the down-low. In this, he envisions God’s bride following indulgent appetites into adulterous liaisons only to justify her actions and lie to herself that her husband doesn’t care.

In the quiet this morning, I can’t help but escape the power of Jeremiah’s metaphor as I face my past. I know the reality of a broken marriage and divorce. I have experienced “youthful devotion” that led to a broken marital covenant. I stand guilty like Jeremiah’s audience. The unspoken question, of course, is “What am I going to do about it?” The calling of a prophet is to call God’s spiritually wayward people to repentance, to find the Prodigal knee-deep in the pig slop, and suggest he consider returning home. And from his first message, Jeremiah is on-task.

As I meditated on the chapter this morning, a line from an old hymn popped into my head and heart:

“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the one I love.”

I head into today with introspection. Where, in my spiritual journey, am I prone to wander? In what ways do my own appetites beckon me to indulge and lead me away from the One I love? The following line in the hymn describes my heart’s cry:

“Here’s my heart. Oh, take and seal it.”

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

Chapter-a-Day

“Go Your Way to the End”

1 Comment

"Go Your Way to the End" (CaD Dan 12) – Wayfarer

“As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”
Daniel 12:13 (NIV)

The spiritual journey is a faith journey. The author of Hebrews famously defined faith as “assurance of what we hope for, evidence of that which we do not see.” Jesus reminded Nicodemus that the word for spirit in Hebrew is the same word as wind:

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 (NIV)

I’ve always loved that metaphor of wind as spirit. I can’t see the wind, I can only see the evidence of its presence and effect. Jesus provided a parallel metaphor regarding the effect of the Spirit in a person’s life being evidenced by the “fruit” of that person’s life. The evidence of the invisible Holy Spirit’s blowing in and through a person’s life is an increasing amount of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.

I got to thinking about this as I read the final chapter of Daniel. It ends rather abruptly with the end of his prophetic vision regarding the end of days. Daniel himself is confused and perplexed. “I don’t understand,” he pleads to the angel who showed him the vision.

His humble acknowledgment of his ignorance resonated deeply within me. Like most people, I like facts, evidence, and certainty. The spiritual journey, however, is rife with mystery. There are a lot of moments along the way that I, like Daniel, shrug my shoulders and plead, “I don’t get it.”

What fascinated me in the quiet this morning was the angel’s twice-repeated response: “Go your way, Daniel.” Keep pressing on in the journey. Have faith. Stick to the Spirit’s path. Trust the evidence you feel like a soft breeze in your spirit even though you don’t see it. Be assured that the mystery is not something you can’t understand but that which you will endlessly understand. Press on to the journey’s end when you will fully know that which you always merely believed

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

Chapter-a-Day

“About the King’s Business”

Leave a comment

"About the King's Business" (CaD Dan 8) – Wayfarer

“I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business…”
Daniel 8:27 (NIV)

The world of the prophetic can be a strange place and I’ve observed that those who choose to abide there do not remain unaffected by doing so. In this chapter-a-day journey, I have more than once noted that prophetic visions often sound to me like an LSD trip. I find it fascinating that after receiving the vision in today’s chapter, Daniel was exhausted and worn out. Even for scholars, the study of prophetic writings can have that effect. Because of this, I’ve observed individuals who choose to avoid and skip over prophetic passages, which I think is a shame. Sometimes the prophetic metaphors are actually fairly simple in their interpretation now that we can look back on them with historical hindsight.

A couple of things to note that aren’t abundantly clear to modern readers in English. The book of Daniel was originally written in two different languages. The first seven chapters are written in Aramaic, which was the international language of Daniel’s day. Starting with today’s chapter, the language switches to Hebrew. The language itself becomes a metaphor. As I’ve observed in previous posts, the first seven chapters are very much about what God is doing on an international scale as He works in the lives and reigns of the Babylonian ruler(s). From chapter eight forward, the focus shifts to what will happen to the Hebrew people.

Also, the dream in yesterday’s chapter is considered different than the vision in today’s chapter. The former was a natural dream and is categorized as a “Dream Report” while the vision in today’s chapter is “epiphanal” in which is given via angelic visitation.

A little world history helps in cracking this particular vision. The ram Daniel sees is the empire of the Medes and Persians which conquered the Babylonians and ruled from 550-330 BC. The larger horn is the more prominent Persians who ascended to dominance. The goat with one horn is the Greek empire under Alexander the Great (330-323) who will swiftly sweep in and destroy the Medo-Persians. Alexander will die and his empire divided by four generals. The one horn becomes four.

Out of this divided empire will arise a king named Antiochus IV, described in verses 23-25. He was a nasty, crazy ruler. He called himself Epiphanes (“God manifest”) while others mocked that he was Epimanes (“madman”). Antiochus would desecrate the rebuilt Hebrew temple and bring tragic persecution to the Hebrew people.

All of this would take place 200 years in Daniel’s future, and I can’t help but that this is like me prophetically predicting the geopolitical landscape of the year 2223. Scholars look back now and are amazed at how precisely Daniel’s vision described the actual future events, but for Daniel I’m sure it seemed all a bit non-sensical.

In the quiet this morning, as I thought about the mystical rabbit-hole that many fall down in their study of the prophetic, I couldn’t help but appreciate that Daniel “got up and went about the King’s business.” Daniel may have been the instrument through which God provided a prophetic vision, but it really wasn’t for him. He didn’t understand it. His role was merely to record what he saw and heard. He had everyday responsibilities to which he had to attend.

That’s a good reminder for me when it comes to the prophetic passages in the Great Story. I believe it would be a mistake for me to ignore them as if they were irrelevant. It would equally be a mistake to get sucked down the rabbit-hole of thinking too much about them. After all, I’ve got the King’s business to which I am called to attend.

And so, I leave Daniel’s vision here and enter another day on life’s journey.

Featured image on today’s post: “The Angel Gabriel visits Daniel” created with Wonder AI

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

Chapter-a-Day

One Thing Legacy

Leave a comment

One Thing Legacy (2 Ki 1) – Wayfarer

So he died, according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
2 Kings 1:17 (NIV)

This past year, our daughter Madison got a tattoo on her arm. It’s a gorgeous tat of a floral bouquet. She put a lot of thought into it. Each type of flower in the bouquet represents the previous generations of family who have influenced and impacted her life journey. Each flower has a metaphorical meaning related to the individual member of the family that it represents. The flower she chose for me was Simbelmynë, or “Evermind,” a fictional flower in Lord of the Rings. For Wendy, she chose red Ivy which represents affection and friendship. It goes on with flowers representing parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and step-grandparents. All of them are honored in the bouquet for the contribution they made to her life, and the positive qualities each person exemplified for her in her life journey.

I thought about that as I contemplated the brief reign of Ahaziah, son of evil Ahab, the ancient king of the northern kingdom of Israel. His brief reign of one year reign (he spent one year as coregent with his father) is encapsulated in a single episode. He has a “one thing” legacy in the Great Story. Ahaziah is injured in a falling accident. He sends messengers to the pagan Philistine god Baal-Zebub in the city of Ekron to divine if he would recover. In this, Ahaziah has revealed himself to be the true offspring of his father and mother’s hardhearted devotion to pagan gods and their antagonism towards the God of Abraham, Moses, and David. The prophet Elijah sends Ahaziah word that he will die on his bed, and so he does, and that’s his legacy.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking about legacy. I’ve observed that most people have little knowledge of their family legacy once they get past grandparents, or perhaps great-grandparents, who they may have known. Family is quickly forgotten, despite the fact that their lives and legacies contributed to the family system that impacted their descendants in numerous ways.

I consider Madison’s tattoo to be an index and roadmap for future generations to learn a bit about the individuals in the generations before her. I envision her in old age talking to grandchildren or great nephews and nieces and talking about each flower in the bouquet adorning her arm, which will prompt questions they will ask about those individuals, and stories she can share about each one, which will inform them of the legacy they have received from individuals they never knew. People who instilled faith, perseverance, and love into the family system.

And, of course, this brings to mind my own legacy and what will be remembered in the brief time I will be remembered before I and my life are completely forgotten on the earth. What will stand out and be remembered when I am remembered at family gatherings. What are the stories that will be shared? What will I have contributed? Will it be positive or negative? Faith or doubt? Courage or fear? Harmony or conflict? Love or hatred?

As I enter into this, another day kicking off another work week, I’m thinking that legacy has more to do with my daily thoughts, words, and actions than I want to admit.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Death-to-Life

1 Comment

Death-to-Life (CaD Rev 21) – Wayfarer

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelations 21:5 (NIV)

Yesterday among our local gathering of Jesus’ followers I witnessed three teenagers and an adult being baptized. These baptisms were by immersion in which the four publically professing their faith stepped into a small pool of water. They were plunged into the water and brought back up out of it. It is a metaphor. The Greek word baptizo means to “plunge forcefully.”

Buried with Christ in the likeness of His death.
Raised with Christ in the likeness of His resurrection.
Sin washed away.
A new creation.
A new start.
A new life.

Life and death. Resurrection. Death-to-Life.

It is the meta-theme of the Great Story. Metaphors are layered with meaning, and God layered this theme in creation itself as every year we experience the death of winter and experience resurrection and new life in the spring. It is revealed in Jesus’ story: born in the darkness of exile, dying as darkness covers the land, and raised to new life at the dawn of a new day, the first day of a new week.

God revealed it to His people at the beginning of the story.

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live… Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV)

It is revealed spiritually in the life of every one who follow Jesus.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Cor 5:17 (NASB)

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:3-5 (NIV)

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. 1 John 3:14 (NIV)

The end of the Great Story is a new beginning. John’s vision reveals that earth and heaven as we know them “pass away” and a new heaven and new earth are created. I’m always surprised that I rarely hear these final chapters of the Great Story discussed, even among believers, given that it is an epic grand finale that so perfectly captures the grand theme of the Great Story itself.

Today’s chapter describes the vision revealed to John of an eternal city, a New Jerusalem, in which God and His people dwell. The city described is not novel. In fact, it’s an epic culmination of what God revealed from the beginning. The City is square like the camp prescribed through Moses for the Hebrews as they made their way to the promised land. The City is a giant cube, just like the “Most Holy Place” in the tabernacle and temple. The old “Most Holy Place” was an exclusive place for God’s holy presence, and only the High Priest entering once a year. This new “Most Holy Place” is for God and His people to dwell together. No sun or moon, because the Light of God’s glory illuminates the city in perpetuity. No more darkness, or crying, or pain. The old has passed away, the new has come.

In the quiet this morning, I’m thinking of the baptisms I witnessed yesterday. Parents, family, loved ones gathered as witnesses and even participating in the ritual. An individual’s choice to make public profession of his/her personal faith. An outward sign of an internal spiritual reality. Old things have passed away, new life has begun.

It is the meta-theme of the Great Story.

It is where I’m headed, this wayfaring stranger. Today, each day of this earthly sojourn I’m traveling through this world of woe. One day I will cross over to a place where “everything is made new.”

But there’s no sickness, no toil or danger
In that great City to which I go.

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

Chapter-a-Day

The Wedding

1 Comment

The Wedding (CaD Rev 19) – Wayfarer

Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
Revelations 19:9 (NIV)

I mentioned yesterday that Wendy and I were at a wedding this past weekend. The dinner was amazing. If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know that Wendy and I love a great meal, especially when it’s the trifecta of a great meal with great people enjoying great conversation.

At one point between savory bites, Wendy looked at me, her eyes as wide as saucers. “This is not only the best wedding meal I’ve ever had, but it’s right up there with maybe being the best meal I’ve had, ever.”

High praise, for sure. A great meal is always special amidst the love, laughter, joy, and celebration of two lives being united as one.

The metaphors of a wedding, of a bride and bridegroom, are used repeatedly by Jesus. At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the metaphor was even understood and shared between Jesus and His cousin, John the Baptist:

[John’s disciples] came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.”

To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”

Sometime later, the same disciples of John asked Jesus why His disciples didn’t religiously fast the way John made them fast:

Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.“

Toward the end of His ministry, Jesus was still using this metaphor. He told a parable of ten bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom to arrive so they could accompany him and his bride with their oil lamps to the wedding feast at the house of the bridegroom and his family. Some of the bridesmaids got tired of waiting and they didn’t have their oil lamps filled, trimmed, and ready when the bridegroom arrived.

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that the ancients often used weddings and funerals as metaphorical contrasts. John uses this ancient device in yesterday’s chapter (a funeral dirge for the demise of “Babylon the Great”) and today’s chapter in which Jesus, the Bridegroom, having tarried like the bridegroom in His parable for 2000+ earth years (as of today), finally celebrates a heavenly wedding feast and is united with His metaphorical bride, all of His followers whose names are written in the Book of Life.

But the contrasts aren’t over! There’s a feast to come that is a stark contrast to the wedding feast of the Lamb. An angel in heaven cries out to all the vultures and carrion fowl on earth to prepare for their own morbid picnic.

Jesus and a heavenly army then descend to meet the unholy trinity and all of the kings and kingdoms of the earth, those who had steadfastly refused to repent during the great tribulation, gathered against Him. The only weapon brought to the battle is the metaphorical sword of Jesus’ words. The anti-christ and his false prophet are captured and thrown into a lake of fire. Their followers become the entree du jour for the vultures.

In the quiet this morning, I’m struck by the simple roots of these contrasting metaphors. A funeral and a wedding. A death dirge and a wedding feast. The eerie silence of a battlefield when the battle is over and the carrion fowl pick at the corpses, and the raucous cheers of a wedding party, blessedly satiated and maybe a wee bit intoxicated, unabashedly dancing to “YMCA.”

I can’t help but be reminded of what God said to His people at the outset of this Great Story:

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses…I have set before you life and death…”

I made my choice. I sent in the RSVP.

I’m simply waiting for the bridegroom to arrive.

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

Chapter-a-Day

Wisdom to Know the Difference

1 Comment

Wisdom to Know the Difference (CaD Rev 14) – Wayfarer

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Revelation 14:6-7 (NIV)

One summer during my college years, my friend Spike and I were in need of money. It happened that a large institutional church was holding their national conference here in central Iowa and someone I knew told me they were in need of people to help with daycare for children and youth for a week. It paid well, so we signed up.

Being male college students, those in charge of the daycare program put us in charge of the older boys. I had the boys ages 11 and 12 in my group. If I remember correctly, Spike got the 9 and 10-year-old boys. Most of the boys were “Pastors’ Kids” (aka “PKs”), and PKs have a reputation for being particularly rebellious. Perhaps it’s because so many people expect the Pastor’s kid to be particularly virtuous that so many of them take normal unruly childishness to particularly rebellious extremes.

A few of my boys were the worst of the worse. The truth is that I really liked them, but whatever they were told to do they refused to do. Given the opportunity, they would go to great lengths to get into trouble. Their disruptions and antics made it virtually impossible for the others to enjoy themselves.

One episode happened on an old school bus that had taken all the kids to a museum. One of my worst offenders had purchased a kazoo in the museum gift shop. He was being particularly obnoxious with his kazoo as the bus was on the interstate heading back to the conference, making himself a pest to everyone around him. I calmly warned him twice to cease his kazoo playing. My warnings only stoked the fires of his defiance and he only intensified his obnoxious behavior. A third time I warned him, and this time I told him that if he didn’t stop I was throwing his kazoo out the bus window (the bus had no air conditioning and all the windows were open). He looked at me with insubordinate eyes and played the kazoo right in my face. I grabbed his kazoo and threw it out the window.

One of the reasons that Jesus told parables was because simple stories are often metaphors for deep spiritual truths. In one of His parables, Jesus told of a farmer who sowed his wheat in a field. His enemy came in the night and sowed weeds amidst the wheat. The farmer told his workers to leave the weeds, as pulling them might uproot the wheat, as well. “Wait for the harvest,” he said. “At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” Jesus then told His disciples the meaning of this metaphorical parable:

“The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 13:37-43 (NIV)

I thought of both Kazoo Boy and the parable of the weeds as I read today’s chapter. We are in the end times. This is the “harvest” in Jesus’ parable. Seven seal judgments and seven trumpet judgments have already occurred. The final set of judgments in the trinity, the bowl judgments, are about to be unleashed. God sends three angels to make proclamations “to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language, and people.” Wishing that none should perish, the first angel proclaims the good news of God’s love and salvation. The second angel warns of the kingdoms of the earth that are about to be taken down. The third angel warns the people of what will happen if they continue to defiantly worship the “beast and his image” and it’s not pleasant.

In the quiet this morning, I was struck by two things. Even at the very end of the Great Story, God is pleading with humanity to repent, believe, and be saved. It’s never too late to accept God’s gift of salvation. Second, those who remain through the judgment have chosen to be there just like my choice in yesterday’s post. I find myself in the tension between gratitude for God’s kindness and sadness for the oppositionally defiant.

Kazoo Boy would be in his late 40s at this point. I wonder about his story and his own journey. I said a little prayer for God’s goodness and blessing on him wherever he is. I’m so glad that we all have the opportunity to grow beyond the little twits we can be as children. As Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth:

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.

God, grant me the grace to put childishness behind me while living this day with child-like faith. Give me the wisdom to know the difference.

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

Chapter-a-Day

My Choice

1 Comment

My Choice (CaD Rev 13) – Wayfarer

“The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies…”
Revelation 13:5a (NIV)

Antithesis (noun) \ an-ˈti-thə-səs\ : 1. The direct opposite

From the very beginning, evil has been the antithesis of good. The evil one has opposed God. Evil is good’s opposite. Jesus’ ministry began by being tempted by the Evil One with the same basic three temptations the Serpent tempted Adam and Eve. Jesus’ earthly ministry ended by declaring that the “prince of this world” stands condemned (John 16:11). At the very heart of the Great Story lies the struggle between opposing forces: God, and the evil one who opposes God.

Along my journey, I have often found it helpful to reduce life’s complexities to the root binaries such as good or evil, death or life, and/or positive or negative before I choose my way.

Today’s chapter is the source material for some of the most commonly known elements of Revelation from which many heavy metal rock bands have gotten the dark themes they use to tap into the imaginations of rebellious teenagers motivated to extol the antithesis of anything their parents believe or desire of them. In this chapter, we meet the “beast” or “antichrist” who declares that no one can buy or sell anything without taking “the mark of the beast” on his/her hand or forehead. John goes on to say that anyone who has insight can calculate the “number of the beast,” the infamous “666.”

This chapter is filled with so much prophetic imagery that it’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of its puzzling metaphors. Yet, as I read and meditated on imagery, I found it important to reduce what is being presented to its roots: God and Anti-god.

An unholy trinity arises: the dragon (e.g. satan, anti-Father), the beast of the sea (e.g. anti-Christ), and the beast of the earth (e.g. anti-Holy Spirit).

The beast who is the anti-Christ has a mock resurrection in the form of a fatal wound from which he is healed.

As Jesus was the incarnate Word of God (John 1) sent to proclaim the words of Father, from the anti-Father dragon the anti-Christ beast is given a mouth to utter “proud words and blasphemies.”

As Jesus was the “Prince of Peace” sent from the Father who gave His Son that none should perish but all might have eternal life. the anti-Christ beast was given the power to wage war against God’s people and kill them.

As those who follow Jesus have their names written in the “Book of Life,” those who worship the anti-Christ beast do not have their names written there.

As Holy Spirit was sent into the world on behalf of Christ to draw people to Christ and to indwell believers with His presence and His power to perform signs and wonders, the anti-Holy Spirit beast is given “all the authority” of the anti-Christ beast to make the earth’s inhabitants to worship the anti-Christ beast as well as to perform “great signs.”

Just as Holy Spirit was sent to lead people to Jesus, the Truth, the anti-Holy Spirit beast decieves people into worshipping the anti-Christ beast.

As Jesus made the way for any and all who decide open their hearts to Him and choose to follow, the anti-Christ and anti-Holy Spirit beasts “made the earth and inhabitants worship” the anti-Christ, then “ordered” them to set up an image in honor of the anti-Christ. Any who did not obey are killed. They then “force” “all people” to receive a mark on their hands or foreheads in order to participate in the world’s economy.

Much of the imagery in today’s chapter was perceived by those who received it to correlate directly to the Roman Empire and its Emporers. The “Imperial Cult” made Caesar to be god and all Romans were forced to pledge their allegiance to participate in Roman commerce. Christians had been killed en masse by Nero and his successors. Both the Hebrew and Greek languages use alphabets in which letters also serve as numbers and the idea of names having corresponding numbers was popular. “Nero” when spelled a certain way in Hebrew adds up to 666.

So, does this mean that Revelation is only about the contemporary events and poeple of John’s day?

Prophetic literature is never “either-or,” but “both-and.” Many of the Hebrew prophets wrote about contemporary leader and events, but they are also about the coming Messiah. God’s base language is metaphor, and metaphor is always layered with meaning. Additionally, the Roman empire has always inspired subsequent empires and would be emporers from the Mafia to Hitler’s Third Reich, so it’s very easy to believe that it will also inspire an unholy trinity (6-6-6) that is the antithesis of the complete and Holy Trinity (7-7-7) in the end times.

In the quiet this morning, my mind and spirit humbly embrace (once again) the reality that I don’t know exactly how all these things will specifically play out. When I boil things down to the root of things, however, here’s what I do know:

I will choose God over the evil one.
I will choose good over evil.
I will choose Life over death.
I will choose Truth over deception.
I will choose humility over pride.
I will choose love over hatred.
I will choose joy over anger.
I will choose peace over discord.
I will choose patience over impatience.
I will choose kindness over harshness.
I will choose goodness over vengeance.
I will choose faithfulness over abandonment.
I will choose gentleness over forcefulness.
I will choose self-control over indulgence.
I will choose surrender over demand.
I will choose hope over despair.

As a follower of Jesus, this is the only way.

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

Chapter-a-Day

The Rabbit Hole & the Three Questions

Leave a comment

The Rabbit Hole and the Three Questions (CaD Rev 1) – Wayfarer

“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.”
Revelation 1:19 (NIV)

There are three great questions I always ask myself during times of confusion or decision:

Where am I at?
Where have I been?
Where am I going?

Those are the three questions I ask myself every time I finish a book on this chapter-a-day journey and need to decide where the trek should take me next. So, after finishing the book of Jude yesterday I went to the index of posts by book and realized that there’s only one book of the Great Story, written after Jesus’ death and resurrection that, isn’t currently in the index by book: Revelation. The last time I trekked through was in April of 2014. So, that’s where I’m going.

Known more formally as The Revelation of John, this is the last book in the Great Story. Both tradition and the text state that the visions described in the book were seen and experienced by John on the Isle of Patmos while he was exiled there (90-95 A.D). Revelation is well-known for its description of the end times, the climactic final battle between God and Satan, and its description of the eternal city of God.

To be honest, I have a love-hate relationship with Revelation. I love the mystery and the metaphor. It’s fascinating and I find important spiritual truths within. My hate is rooted in the rabbit hole that it becomes for people who fall in and become endlessly obsessed. Along my spiritual journey, my approach to Revelation eventually paralleled C.S. Lewis’ famous caution regarding the demonic. It’s a mistake to avoid or ignore it, but it’s also a mistake to take it too seriously. So, here we go.

In the opening chapter, John writes that he was worshiping on a Sunday and saw the glorified Christ. Jesus tells John to write “what you’ve seen, what is now, and what will take place later.” It’s Jesus’ riff on the three questions I always ask myself.

There are numerous schools of thought when it comes to interpreting Revelation. Some believe that Revelation points to historic events that have already taken place. Others believe that it’s primarily about what will take place in the future end times. A more modern movement of thought interprets the whole thing as political satire.

“Where have I been?”

Looking back at the life of Jesus and the ancient prophecies about Him, one thing becomes clear to me: Very smart people over a long period of time were completely wrong about how they interpreted the prophecies. So, from where I’m at, I tend to approach the prophetic with a huge dose of humility regarding what it might mean for “Where are we going?” in the future, and a heart that’s simply open to what in means for me “Where am I at?‘ in the context of today.

So, in the quiet this morning, I embark on this chapter-a-day trek through Revelation with humility and an open heart. I think I’ll take Jesus up on reading and meditating on John’s visions with the three questions in mind. I’m also determined not to fall down the rabbit hole.

Here we go!

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