Just came back from Carrefour, Haiti (Jan. 16,2012)
Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered this song. The Missions workbook we used on our team spoke of how difficult it is to enter another culture, and really identify as one of the people. I think I've learned that a little more, and how what Jesus did for us was so TOTALLY OVER-THE-TOP AWESOME. Our group of Americans, worked alongside Haitians rebuilding from the devastation of the 2010 earthquake during the day, but we went to a safe location at night, with a cot to sleep on. We had people make us food that wouldn't get us sick. We didn't have to go down to the well to pump our bathwater. The facility was guarded while we slept. We had very gracious hosts. But the people we went to help might always be at a distance from us, because we really didn't live in their worlds. We didn't sleep in a tent made of construction tarps, cooking whatever food we might have on smoky charcoal fires. We didn't speak Creole. How would they understand that God's love moved us to reach out to them. We hadn't become one of them, even though we are all in the human family.
God did become one of us (Philippians 2:5-11). He left it all behind to become one of us. Not just being God, He was born of the line of an earthly king, but even that he left behind that too, born as a common man; "a slob like us." He worked daily, and went home sweaty at the end of each day. He got hungry, and felt heat exhaustion. The gospel of John 1:14 says, "And the Word [God] became flesh and dwelt among us, .." Before that, (1:6) "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." Yeah, I think there were (and are still) many who don't want to look him in the face. We tend not to want to be distracted from our pursuits, by his inconvenient presence.
In one of the comments, someone said something about this as just a hypothetical thing, which IF you believed in God, it might have meaning. This too is one of the points of the song; "And without faith it is impossible to please him [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Is God still one of us?
Jesus himself says he is. (Matthew 25:31-46) v.45 "Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one one the least of these, you did not do it to me.'" He identifies himself with the face of the poor. In Genesis 1:27, "So God [says he] created man in his own image [with his face], in the image of God [with his face] he created him, male and female he created them." Did you ever use the expression, "They all look alike." Well, if we were looking at frogs or hamsters it might be easier for us to understand. Nevertheless, with all the uniqueness and individuality that God has imparted to people, we all look alike. Your face is his face, the same as those that mother Theresa cared for, or the same as you might encounter today. Will you see the face of God in them, and be struck with AWE.
I'm so glad the rest of the message isn't pessimistic, that God is only listening to the Pope, maybe. He hears me too, and all who will draw near to him by faith. Hebrews is a great book in the Bible, saying of Jesus, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15,16) The stuff gets much better after that!!! Read on.
Just came back from Carrefour, Haiti (Jan. 16,2012)
Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered this song. The Missions workbook we used on our team spoke of how difficult it is to enter another culture, and really identify as one of the people. I think I've learned that a little more, and how what Jesus did for us was so TOTALLY OVER-THE-TOP AWESOME. Our group of Americans, worked alongside Haitians rebuilding from the devastation of the 2010 earthquake during the day, but we went to a safe location at night, with a cot to sleep on. We had people make us food that wouldn't get us sick. We didn't have to go down to the well to pump our bathwater. The facility was guarded while we slept. We had very gracious hosts. But the people we went to help might always be at a distance from us, because we really didn't live in their worlds. We didn't sleep in a tent made of construction tarps, cooking whatever food we might have on smoky charcoal fires. We didn't speak Creole. How would they understand that God's love moved us to reach out to them. We hadn't become one of them, even though we are all in the human family.
God did become one of us (Philippians 2:5-11). He left it all behind to become one of us. Not just being God, He was born of the line of an earthly king, but even that he left behind that too, born as a common man; "a slob like us." He worked daily, and went home sweaty at the end of each day. He got hungry, and felt heat exhaustion. The gospel of John 1:14 says, "And the Word [God] became flesh and dwelt among us, .." Before that, (1:6) "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." Yeah, I think there were (and are still) many who don't want to look him in the face. We tend not to want to be distracted from our pursuits, by his inconvenient presence.
In one of the comments, someone said something about this as just a hypothetical thing, which IF you believed in God, it might have meaning. This too is one of the points of the song; "And without faith it is impossible to please him [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
Is God still one of us?
Jesus himself says he is. (Matthew 25:31-46) v.45 "Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one one the least of these, you did not do it to me.'" He identifies himself with the face of the poor. In Genesis 1:27, "So God [says he] created man in his own image [with his face], in the image of God [with his face] he created him, male and female he created them." Did you ever use the expression, "They all look alike." Well, if we were looking at frogs or hamsters it might be easier for us to understand. Nevertheless, with all the uniqueness and individuality that God has imparted to people, we all look alike. Your face is his face, the same as those that mother Theresa cared for, or the same as you might encounter today. Will you see the face of God in them, and be struck with AWE.
I'm so glad the rest of the message isn't pessimistic, that God is only listening to the Pope, maybe. He hears me too, and all who will draw near to him by faith. Hebrews is a great book in the Bible, saying of Jesus, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:15,16) The stuff gets much better after that!!! Read on.
I'm so glad to remember the song this morning.