David Bahn - Reflections

We want to domesticate God. We make him our personal place of safety, comfort, and security. But While Jesus came as a servant, he is not our personal assistant. We don't order God around. We do not demand that he answer us. We must remember who is God and who is not. Sometimes his demands might seem unreasonable. But who are we to judge?

The only thing that anchors my soul in times of turmoil, God's unpredictability, or my confusion is the belief that God is good. He is faithful and true. He is gracious and loving. And whatever else might come my way, the faithfulness, goodness, love, and kindness of God is the constant. Maniac? No? Crazy? Not. Unpredictable? Yes. Good? Thanks be to God he is.

We may not always understand how in need of God's grace we are. That is made clear, however, by Jesus' initial gift to the paralyzed man. Whether he was disappointed at being told his sins were forgiven - as opposed to being healed by Jesus - is not clear. But Jesus makes two points in his action on this occasion. First of all he sees and responds to our greatest need: the need for forgiveness. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is life and salvation (Luther). And he makes the point that he has the authority to forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins. Jesus is God. In the flesh. Full of grace and truth.

Whenever we bring someone to Jesus, we are bringing them to truth and grace. We are doing a very good thing. Truth be told, we need to do that with each other every moment of every day.

Grace will always look for a way other than judging and condemning. Grace will free people. Grace will put people on a different path.

Grace will even challenge the self-righteous. For they will either have to become even more judgmental and discredit others' kindness, or give in to their own need for it. Grace opens the door to the latter. And when people walk through that door they walk into freedom.

That was certainly true for the woman caught in adultery. She was free to go her way, her sins were forgiven. She was to live a new life, "Sin no more." But so is this true for the scribes and Pharisees who walk away one by one. They are free at least for the moment from a judgmental attitude that held them captive to a righteousness they could never really achieve.

We have no specific record of who brought the charges and what their lives were like after this encounter. Nor do we know for certain who this woman was. But we do know God's grace frees us. If we're not aware of our need for it, or we live in condemning judgment over all, we're missing the freedom that Jesus gives as he showers his grace upon us.

Jesus didn’t have to tell the woman at the well that her current living situation was sinful. She knew it. But he did invite her to expose this need for grace. When she did, he didn’t condemn her, but continued his conversation with her. He didn’t have to talk with her in the first place, but he did. He could have done what so many others surely had done, looking past her rather than seeing her and talking to and with her. He even broke two social barriers by this. He spoke to a woman. And the woman was a Samaritan.

Finally, Jesus teaches her about God, worship, and himself as Messiah. He is the embodiment of grace and truth. As a result her life was changed. Instead of avoiding people (by coming to the well when she would others not to be present), she now goes into the village and invites everyone to come see Jesus and hear his teaching.

Elijah's actions around the sacrifice to the LORD God set up a dramatic display of God's power and control over all of creation. Even after the altar is prepared and drenched with water, God rains down fire from heaven and consumes everything. "The Lord, he is God; The LORD, he is God!" goes up the cry after this mighty display. Elijah seizes and kills the prophets of Baal.

You'd think that this would put Elijah on a high that would never end. But it is not so. He had defeated the Prophets of Baal, but King Ahab, and Jezebel did not give up.  They threaten him relentlessly. They were still trying to kill him. He had hoped that his victory was sufficient, but it was not. He was very discouraged. He needed extra grace - even after seeing the mighty hand of God powerfully displayed.

We need to understand, first of all, that we all need grace. Some people, however, may be extra challenging in their attitude or actions toward us or the gospel message. Those people are called Extra Grace Required people (EGRs). They may live next door, work with you, or be part of your family. In fact, you may be an EGR! They push our buttons, manage always to illicit a negative response in us, try our patience, or turn us away. We all need grace. And God's supply is limitless. EGRs, however, need extra grace, humanly speaking: more than we might wish to give.

God loves EGRs, and it’s a good thing, for we all need grace. Sometimes we may need more than at other times. And the love of God changes our hearts. It is shown in Jesus’ ministry, seen in Jesus’ death on the cross, and will be celebrated for all eternity in the life of the world to come.

The love of a human being is a thing of great blessing. I am thankful for the love of my wife, family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and my friends. But human love - of a mother, sister, brother or even a spouse - has its limits.

The love of the Heavenly Father has no limits. He sees all. He knows all. And he is writing a narrative that stretches from Hagar to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jesus, and to you and me. Whatever plot lines or twists, the end of the story is of eternal blessings. Worth waiting for. Worth remembering. Even as human love fades and fails, God's love conquers all.

God does not turn his head or heart from pain and suffering. He does not ignore difficult and distressing situations. He draws near. And 2000 years ago he took on all of that in his Son, Jesus. Jesus embraced the pain, suffering, sickness, and sin of the world. He also experienced it himself. And although God forsook him at his darkest hour, the true hero of our faith, Jesus, still called out to his Father, "My God, My God..."

We too often judge God's goodness based on what we see or do not see. But we're all too selective in our perception. We don't have a whole world view. We don't see it all. But God does. And what God sees moves him. That means he sees you. He sees me. He notices. He loves. He cares. He acts.

We may think we know what we’re waiting for. But truth be told, we have only an inkling of it. Sometimes we may be exactly correct. The result comes back negative (good for medical tests). The wedding day gives way to the honeymoon. The judge calls your name and you’re on the jury. Or not.

But sometimes there comes a Crazy Ivan. Sometimes God breaks in in unexpected ways. Like here…God opens Hagar’s eyes and she sees a well nearby. It was there all along. But she did not see it. Maybe God is waiting, too, for us to see his provision. Perhaps we are the ones on whom God is waiting. Waiting for us to repent and believe the good news. Waiting for us to take him up on his promises. Waiting for us to mend a broken relationship. Waiting for us to come to the aid of someone in need.

There will be times of sadness and distress along life's way. We may be put into difficult and near hopeless situations. At those times, the slightest breeze can cool our sweaty brows, and a kindness of someone may be as a cup of refreshing water. Then we must take courage, stand again, and move forward with the assurance of God's presence, and the hope of the ultimate deliverance.

I'm wondering who will bring that refreshing cup of water to me today. And I'm thankful for Jesus who give me grace and hope.