Friday, September 26, 2014

Consider

This thought crossed my mind today. It was jaywalking because it was not in the regular traffic pattern of my thoughts at the time. Rather than demanding the thought pay attention to my thinking pattern, I decided to go with it. I chased a rabbit. I'm a preacher, I can do that.

The word "consider" popped into my mind; I'm not sure why. Then I began to think about the times it is used in the Bible. Logos Bible software gave me hundreds of hits of the word in English. After a little clicking here and there I found that many Hebrew and Greek words are translated "consider" in our English Bibles.

Since I was chasing a rabbit and needed to get back to the task at hand I decided to just consider a few verses...in English.

Job 1:1 says, Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?"

Luke 12:24, 27 say, "Consider the ravens" and "Consider how the lilies grow."

Acts 15 tells of the Jerusalem council considering the question of circumcision.

Consider this... Each of these passages calls us to consider someone or some object or some issue. What is common about them? Each invitation to consider is an invitation to learn something about God.

The story of Job is not about his success, loss, and regained success. God is the center of the story. When we consider Job we see how God impacts a person's character in both good and bad times. We see God at work with complete authority over all things. We see God having no equal. We see God being merciful and gracious. We see how God's ways and thoughts are so much different that the way we think. Considering Job teaches us so much about God.

Ravens and lilies are not simply parts of creation for which God cares and to which God tends. Ravens and lilies show us God's dominion over creation so we can be confident he has dominion over our lives and problems, too. Considering God's activity in the least of creation causes us to realize he will be actively involved caring and providing for us. We do not live in a world of Deism where God created but no longer attends to the world; God is ever-present and ever-active in our lives. Considering the ravens and lilies teaches us so much about God.

The Jerusalem Council convened to discuss what it meant to be a Christian. Was Christianity an advanced stage of Judaism? If so, then circumcision must be part of the Christian experience. The council rightly determined that circumcision was not necessary to be a Christian. In other words, the trappings of religion may get in the way of truly knowing God. The circumcision given to Abraham's descendants was an act of obedience marking the people as God's chosen ones. Paul referred to the true faith-descendants of Abraham being marked by a changed heart, not a changed physique. The Jerusalem Council agreed that God is looking not on outward appearance but upon the heart. Considering how a Christian lives teaches us so much about God.

Consider this... God created you to be in a love relationship with him that brings honor to him as your worship him. Your sin stands in the way of that relationship but Jesus - God in the flesh - gave his own life as the penalty for your sin so that the relationship can be restored as God desires. Will you turn from your sin and toward God's purpose of relationship and praise? Will you follow him? Will you serve him? Will you consider following Jesus?

No comments: