As Dreams of Cadbury Creme Eggs

As the title of this blog suggests, Easter is coming! And that means chocolate! Truly a great time of the year, but for far more significant reasons than the unhealthy consumption of an exorbitant amount of candy. For this blog, I decided that I would examine a small portion of the Easter story, one that I believe is often overlooked, but one that I believe we can all identify with. This may not be anything too terribly earth-shattering or inspirational, but it is simply something that I have found somewhat interesting and intriguing over the last couple of days.

The passage that I would like to draw your attention to (hopefully I still do have your attention) is found in Matthew 27: 15-23: "Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew it was out of envy that they handed Jesus over to him. While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him." But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered. "What then shall I do, with Jesus who is called Christ?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!""

While so many Christians focus mainly on the actions of both Pilate and Jesus in this scene, it is the character of Barabbas that I wish to focus on for the remainder of this blog. When most Christians hear the name Barabbas, they immediately think of an, evil, vile man, who got off easy while our Lord and Saviour was sentenced to a brutally painful death. And this view of him is probably not too far off the mark, as the Bible tells us that Barabbas was a murderer, and was guilty of leading an insurrection against the government of his day. Even by today's standards, this was one guilty man deserving of punishment. And it is to our horror that he is basically given a "Get Out of Jail (or in this case, execution) For Free" card, as it violates every sense of justice in our being. But I believe that when our thought process ends here, we are missing a major point of the story, as every word of the Bible serves a purpose.

Think of it in this way: Barabbas was a man guilty of countless sins, and greatly deserving of punishment. But through Jesus' death sentence, he was set free, without having to face condemnation and punishment for his actions. I believe that this hardened criminal serves as a parallel to every last one of us as Christians, as "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Paul later says in Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Like Barabbas, we have all been found guilty of sin, and are deserving of death. Yet through Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on the cross, our sins have been covered over. As the Easter season approaches, I believe that it is impossible to even begin to comprehend the full magnitude of the cross unless we can first accept the fact that we are sinners, worthy of the death penalty. It is when we are blinded by our own pride that we somehow view ourselves as above these "sinners", and in the process, cheapen God's loving sacrifice at Calvary. We fall into the lie that we are somehow deserving of this gift, and therefore take Jesus' pain and suffering for granted. I know that I am guilty of falling into this trap, and have only recently begun the process of removing the blinders of my pride, but it is my desire to be able to fully appreciate and express my gratitude for the cross, although I don't claim to have reached this point in my journey yet. But the good news is that no matter how we may view the cross, it cannot change the cold hard facts of it, and the love poured out for us that day. Anyways, sorry if I bored anyone, I just felt the need to do some more blogging on a quiet evening such as this.

Hungry?

For those of you who know me even the slightest bit, one glance at the title and you will probably say to yourself, "What a surprise, Tyler is thinking of food again (or still)!" In most cases, you would be correct, and still are, as I am currently envisioning a large juicy steak grilled to perfection, after a long hard day of marinating and tenderizing. Mmmmm....steak! They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and I am living proof of this. But as much as I enjoy the culinary art of consumption, it is about a different kind of hunger that I wish to share some thoughts on tonight. I am talking about a hunger and thirst for God.

But before I delve into this topic any farther, I feel that I should first share a little of my own experiences over the past seven months or so. It all started at Belle View, during the last campfire of the week. As I sat there, I began to wonder why it was that everyone else seemed to have these major encounters with God at camp, and why, aside from good memories and good friends and good food (there I go again! Thank-you Ben!!!!!!), I usually didn't return from camp with too many life changing decisions or revelations. In my mind, I thought I was a pretty good Christian, and that there was no reason that God shouldn't be revealing Himself to me. And then it hit me. It was this very fact that was blocking my communication with God; ugly selfish pride. You see, I had fallen under the illusion that I didn't struggle with any of the more visible "major" sins, that I was somehow a kind of "super-Christian". I began to realize at that moment how wrong I had been. Through my pride, I was essentially saying that I had no need to hear from God, as I felt I had everything together, and that is why it was all too rare that I felt I heard God speak to me. Since that time, it has felt like I have been a brand new Christian, as I have been learning more and more every week, and realizing just how little I really know. So that is where I was coming from.

Anyways, shortly after returning from camp, I began to pray that God would not only humble me, but that He would fill me with a hunger and thirst to know Him on a more personal level. And He didn't disappoint. These past few months have been ones full of new realizations and revelations, as God has been revealing to me more and more of His character. For most of my life, I would be lucky if God would reveal something of Himself to me several times a year, due to the barrier of pride that I had built up in my life. Since camp, God has been speaking to me in a very real way, often teaching me something new several times a week. Needless to say, it has been an immensely exciting time for me spiritually, which is good, as what social life I had has gone down the drain this past year. I am by no means claiming that this hunger and thirst for God has been a constant thing in my life, as I often find this desire fading. But when it begins to fade, I then simply pray and ask God to restore this hunger and thirst, and then it is not long before God chooses to reveal something more to me. So far, it seems to be a prayer that God takes great delight in answering, and will answer without fail.

Jesus himself said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6) He also said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) He couldn't have spoken truer words. So I encourage you, that if you feel like you are in kind of a rut spiritually, why not ask God to fill you with a hunger and thirst for Him? You would be amazed at the results such a simple prayer can have. Make Psalm 63 the prayer of your heart: "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water...".

A Welcome Break From The Routine

Today was quite possibly the most exciting day of work ever for me. Although it was yesterday that our shop truck was in a bit of an accident, and we have had no fires for quite some time, it was exciting for an entirely different reason. You see, today I spent a solid two hours explaining the gospel to one of my co-workers, and attempting to answer some of his questions about Christianity and what we believe and why. His questions ranged from "How could an all powerful God allow so much evil and corruption to exist?" to "If God created all plants, is it a sin to smoke marijuana, as it is something that He created?". So as you can tell, the conversation jumped around to a variety of topics. As far as I can recall, this was the first time that I have ever had the chance to actually share the message of the gospel with a non-believer, or at the very least the first time that I have had the courage to do so. As I talked with him, he said that some things were starting to make more sense, but he still remains skeptical, so needs more prayer. The whole experience payed dividends for me as well, as it really caused me to think about what it is that I believe. So as you can tell, I am extremely excited that I had the privilege to be a part of this.

Over the course of the conversation, his one question really stuck out to me, as it is pretty much essential to our entire faith, yet it is one that the church seems often to gloss over. After explaining Jesus' mission here on earth, he asked me, "Why would an all powerful God allow himself to become a human, as we are nothing at all in all our weakness?" It really struck me that this was one of the first questions to come to his mind after hearing the story of Jesus. For those of us who were raised in the church, I believe, at least as was my case, that we are somehow better than all the "sinners" out there, turning a blind eye to our own weakness in the name of pride. Or else we don't fully portray just how low a position Jesus held here on earth, compared to His home in heaven. Case in point, how many of you have seen a nativity scene at Christmas where piles of manure litter the floor of the stable; where Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds are dressed in rags; where the baby Jesus is crying; where golden halos float around the heads of those present? How many of you have ever scene pictures in Sunday school of a Jesus who was in extreme agony; a Jesus whose appearance was not that of a physically perfect man; a Jesus who wept openly, despite the fact that He knew that in a matter of days He would restore life to His friend Lazarus? Yet I think that these pictures are much more accurate depictions of the life of Jesus. At the time of His birth, as from all outside appearances He was born outside of wedlock, he would have been shunned by the close-knit Jewish community in which He grew up, living as an outcast. As far as life on earth goes by human standards, Jesus did not have a whole lot going for Him. Yet how often does this fact register in our minds, as we prefer to focus on the kind, joyful, and loving teacher that we know so well? (I am not denying the fact that He displayed these characteristics, I merely mean to point out that there is so much more to Him than we normally choose to remember) I believe that unless we recognize our own depravity, it is impossible to fully comprehend God's act of love in sending His son in human form to earth. I believe that this alone was a huge sacrifice on God's part, only being overshadowed by the crucifixion. For those of you who have read the book "The Jesus I Never Knew", you can probably see where many of these ideas are coming from. For those of you who haven't, you're missing out big time! Anyways, just thought I'd share a little snippet of excitement in an otherwise mundane day, and maybe even challenged your thinking in the process.

Dream On!

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or another of these destinations." -C.S. Lewis

Today as I was once again reading through the book "The Jesus I Never Knew", I was struck by an idea that I found both inspirational and challenging. It all centers around the idea of dreams, and as I have already shared my dream with you in a previous blog, I'll spare you the details. Anyways, I want you to go through an exercise here with me for a second. I want you to think of the top five most influencial people in history. There's the obvious Sunday school answer of Jesus, but who else? Abraham Lincoln? Martin Luther King Jr.? Pope John Paul II? Napoleon Bonaparte? Napoleon Dynamite? While all of these people have had undeniable impacts on history, it is not their lives that has inspired me of late.

No, the people that have inspired me are much less noble. The men that I am talking about were everyday men, and by no means saints. They were at times hot-tempered, and not afraid to lash out with the sword. They were proud men, and quarrelled about who among them was the greatest. They were relatively uneducated, and were slow learners at that. When things turned ugly, they were quick to desert their closest friend, hardly the type of people that our society chooses to honor. Yet these eleven men were some of the most influencial men in the entire history of the world, next to Jesus. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am talking about the eleven disciples of Jesus (discounting Judas Iscariot). These men, ordinary and imperfect as they were, continue to exert tremendous influence even today, 2000 years after they walked the earth. It is upon the shoulders of these men that the church was formed. Without their eye witness accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and their willingness to preach the gospel, I would assume that there would be no church, as we would never know of God's ultimate sacrifice. If God can use these few men, inspite of all their faults, to shape the world as we know it, how much more can he use us, should we choose to let Him live and work through us?

I believe that everyone has a God-given dream, whether they realize it or not. For some, they may be earth-shattering; for others, it may simply be being a witness to that one co-worker. But the point is, God has plans for everybody's lives, and His plans are generally much larger than we can foresee or comprehend. Jesus himself says, "Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12) Yet as I examine the modern church here in North America, there appears to be a major inconsistency between the words of Jesus and how we live our lives. When somebody seizes their God-given dreams and makes a significant impact in the world, why is it that we view them as being "super-Christians", as if somehow their own effort and perseverence has got them to where they are today? I believe that if you were to ask people like Billy Graham and Mother Theresa, they would bluntly tell you that on their own, they can do nothing, and that only by allowing God to work through their lives were they able to realize and fulfill their greatest dreams. What is stopping the other 98% of us from having a significant impact for the Kingdom (I am not saying that God has world changing plans for everyone in store, but He definitely has plans for everyone. I merely mean that we should choose to live in such a way that we can maximize our full potential in Christ).

If you were to glance up and down your church pews on a Sunday morning, how many people would you see who are just going through the motions of Christianity, forsaking any dreams that they may of once had, but for whatever reason chose not to pursue? I am not trying to come down hard on the church, but what would your city, province, country, or even world look like if even half of us chose to pursue our God-given dreams? The prospect just blows my mind! We may feel unworthy to accomplish our dreams, but just look at what God accomplished through a ragtag bunch of fishermen! I believe that the key is to surrender control of our lives, and to instead rely on God's prompting and prodding. Some people may abandon their dreams because they feel that only by pursuing the world's standard of success can they find contentment. The fact is, there is nothing more discontenting than that of an unfulfilled dream, and the fact is, God will provide for those who choose to follow him whole-heartedly. If I have convicted any of you, then good! But hopefully I have instead encouraged you not to lose sight of your God-given dreams, be they great or small, and that in time they will change from dreams to reality. Not everyone can change the world, but everyone can change the part of the world in which they live, work, play, etc. So in the words of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, "Dream on!".