The power of the sermon strikes the reader from the very beginning as Jesus introduces His teaching with the distinctive rhythm of the Beatitudes, eight short declarations that introduce the Sermon, give the Sermon its structure, and turn our spiritual presuppositions upside down. It has been often noted that the Beatitudes form a series of steps. Each step is a logical result of the step that is before it.

The first beatitude is spiritual poverty. This is the starting point. Entering into the Kingdom begins with one’s realization that s/he is completely dependent upon God. The realization of one’s poverty results in a deep grief, which is the second step. This mourning brings about a natural meekness, which is the third step. Once we have realized our pitiful position, grieved over it, and been brought to meekness we begin to hunger and thirst for true righteousness. This is the fourth step. But true righteousness does not just simply seek punishment, it seeks mercy, which is the fifth step. When we desire mercy for people our motives are pure, and we find ourselves on the sixth step of the pure in heart. Once we have been purified from misplaced motives we are able to be peacemakers who restore relationships, which is the seventh step. If we are walking in these kingdom principles we can be confident that we will be persecuted for our actions. This brings us to the eighth and final step. Undoubtedly, our persecution will only heighten the first realization again. That is, that we are in fact helplessly dependent upon God. Thus, the steps begin again in what is an unending process in the life of the believer.

Given this constant, cyclical nature of walking with God the first step is absolutely critical in establishing the starting point for the spiritual seeker. In the first Beatitude Jesus declares, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). In Jesus’ day this should not have been a shocking statement. After all, God had declared that He dwells with the lowly throughout the Old Testament (e.g. Psalms 51:17; Isaiah 66:1-2). Yet, this concept would prove to be a stumbling block to many of the Jews in Jesus’ day. Evidently some had come to rely on their knowledge and study of the Hebrew Bible. Spiritual poverty was seen as a sign of spiritual weakness, not a spiritual attribute. Yet, here is Jesus declaring that this is not only not a bad position, but a blessed position.

The great 19th century preacher, Charles Spurgeon, noted the appropriateness of this beginning point. He remarked, “A ladder, if it is to be of any use, must have its first step near the ground, or feeble climbers will never be able to mount it.” Is there any lower position for the human soul than the overwhelming realization that s/he is absolutely spiritually bankrupt? The answer, of course, is no. And there is also no position more greatly blessed.

A giant step at the bottom of the ladder would have been understandable, but it would have prevented many from even attempting the ascent. Instead, the stumbling block here is not a lack of human ability, but a lack of humility. Only the soul who has recognized that s/he is helplessly dependent on God can set foot on the first step of this ladder. The realization of one’s need for God will bring about profound mourning, and bring him/her to the second step. The proud soul can only scoff in disbelief.

As he begins to talk about “the poor in spirit” your interest is immediately piqued. While you think that you can relate to spiritual poverty you simultaneously assume that he must be talking about spiritual giants, not flawed, average people like yourself. He moves on to talk about “those who mourn.” You want to relate, but once again you are overwhelmed by the feeling that he must be referring to people more spiritual than yourself. Back and forth your thinking goes as he delivers the Beatitudes. When he reaches the final point you have given up on being one of those people to whom he is referring. As he speaks about “those who are persecuted” you are left to wonder, “Who are these spiritual superheroes?”

Suddenly, as if he had heard your thoughts, he turns and looks you in the eyes. He repeats his point about the persecuted, but this time he says, “Blessed are YOU when people insult YOU, persecute YOU and falsely say all kinds of evil against YOU because of me.” Could it be true? Could He be telling you how meaningful your life is, how valued you are in the sight of God? Your heart begins to race and he seems to flash a proud grin at you as he speaks of your reward in Heaven. You are overwhelmed by the sudden feeling of God’s unconditional love for you. As you are wondering if he could possibly speak anything more loving and affirming to  you he declares that, “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.”

How can this be? How can your life move so quickly from seemingly being so worthless to being so esteemed by God? He goes on to question whether or not salt would just be left to sit around and lose its saltiness. He wonders out loud at whether light would be created and then never used, only hidden under a bowl where it is of no use to anyone. Of course not! Salt is made to make things salty. Light is made to give light to all who can see it.

Your life is not something that has lost its value. Your circumstances are not something to which you have to be ashamed. The things that the world would condemn you for are the very things that you can display for all to see. You really are the salt of the earth! You really are the light of the world! YOU! Now you know that you can shine your life before others and glorify your Father in Heaven.

Anyway, I don’t know where this image in my mind came from, my earthly father is not that way. But for whatever reason I have had this image of God. A few years ago that whole image got severely disrupted by a simple revelation: God is chatty!

If you do not believe me just take a look at the bible. It turns out that there is always lots of stuff going on in heaven, including a ton of conversations. He has some cosmic divine council that he is always consulting.

For example, in the creation account God suddenly says, “Lets make man in our image” (Gen. 1:26). Who is he talking to? And when God comes down to judge Sodom and Gomorrah he decides to stop for a snack at Abraham’s place. You know, just to talk a bit. And when he is about to leave he says to those that are with him, “Can I really walk out of here and not tell Abraham what we’re up to?” (see Gen 18:17). Isaiah ends up in heaven and God is talking (of course), and he says, “So, who should we send to do this thing?” (see Isa. 6:8). Similarly, the prophet Michaiah witnessed God consulting with his council in heaven on who they might get to trick Ahab into engaging in a battle that would take his life (1 Kings 22:1-28). Amos says that God will not do anything (that’s right, not one thing) without revealing it to his prophets (Amos 3:7).

Once I looked at the evidence I finally realized that God loves to chat. He loves to tell people what he is up to. God loves to reveal himself to his creation and in his creation. He loves to relate to us, and let us in on everything. He never revealed himself any more clearly, any more beautifully, he never spoke more loudly than he did in the supreme and ultimate statement: Jesus Christ.

Yes, there are seasons when God seems silent. There is a purpose for those seasons, even though we may not understand it. However, we often think that God is silent when he is actually talking nonstop. Perhaps our ears are not tuned in to the right frequency. Perhaps the clamoring noise of earthly worries have kept us from hearing his sometimes still, small voice. Or perhaps you are like me, and haven’t learned to listen because you assume God simply doesn’t like to talk that much. The truth is that God loves to talk with you. Take the time to see if he is up for a chat right now, you might be surprised at what you hear.

When we gather as the body of Christ we are not merely congregating on a piece of land, or in a certain space. We are coming together in a way that offers place to each and every individual member of the body. If the point were simply to gather in a space then each of us would be able to measure our discipleship by tracking our attendance. But again, when we assemble we are not just gathering together, we are being put together.

We are instructed to make sure that we do not forsake this practice of assembling ourselves in the book of Hebrews (see 10:25). When we read the instruction to not forsake assembling ourselves together we immediately hear a sort of parenthetical statement, “as is the manner of some” (v. 25). Evidently even in first century Christianity some believers were known to not take corporate gathering very seriously. When we neglect this biblical instruction to gather together we are not just being disobedient, we are hurting ourselves and others.

In our individualistic and relativistic culture it might sound harsh to take the commandment to gather together so seriously. But we do not gather to satisfy a rule. We gather in order to “stir up love and good works” (v. 24). If I do not gather together with the rest of the body of Christ I will soon find a deficit of both love and good works in my life. That is a loss for me personally. But it is also a loss for the rest of the body, because they will have never been able to experience the love and good works that God would have developed in me if I had been assembled into the body of Christ.

This applies not only to Sunday morning, but also to the smaller, more personal gatherings that happen throughout the week. Some groups gather for prayer, some for bible study, some for learning about specific topics, some for fellowship and some to pursue interests and hobbies together. Whether or not the gathering appears to be overtly spiritual all of our gatherings are part of the process by which God fits us into the body of Christ. It is as important today to be assembled with the rest of the body as it has ever been. Do not forsake it. And encourage others to do the same.

I know that I have been talking about going to church a lot lately. Just last week I hinted at it here, and directly stated it here. I know that my exhortation on this subject might be met with a good bit of suspicion. After all, I am a pastor on staff at a church, and some people feel that pastors at churches are always hounding people about attending church (and not always with pure motives). However, I cannot let this subject go.

Most Christians believe that it is good to go to church and bad to not go to church, at least as a general rule. Yet many have quit going to church for various reasons. At the risk of sounding cryptic or apocalyptic or hyper-spiritual or just plain weird, let me say this. I believe that we are entering into a time when everyone will need to have a vital connection to the body of Christ in order to sustain themselves. And at the risk of sounding preachy or old-school or legalistic or just plain weird, let me say this. S.M.O. (Sunday morning only) Christianity will not be enough. If you struggle to even attend that one larger, weekly gathering you still have a long way to go in finding the type of vital relationship to the body that you need.

I have said it before and I will say it again. You need the body and the body needs you. There are no vestigial organs in the Body of Christ. You have a place, and the body cannot fully function without you. Do whatever you have to do to find your place. Drive however far you need to drive to be in the church to which you are called. Move if necessary. I’m not kidding. It is time. If you are misplaced consider these two aspects of your position: (1) you are not where you are suppose to be, and (2) you are occupying a place that is intended for someone else. If you refuse to be placed by God then you will eventually get replaced in the place where you are suppose to be, and displaced from the place that you occupy. Today is the day of placement. But the days of displacement and replacement will soon be upon us. So do whatever you need to do to become a vital member of the Body of Christ. And do that today.

I first met Mike in this sanctuary. We were attempting to put all of these chairs back in place after our annual missions banquet and he volunteered to help. It was a few hours of pretty hard work, and I had no idea how difficult it was for him to do that work. After a while I began to notice that the effort was taking a bit of a toll on him. So, I let him know that he had done more than enough, and that he should probably call it quits. Of course, he refused to stop. And that’s when I learned the first thing about him. Mike is a stubborn man.

We finished up the work and Mike asked if it would be possible for us to meet soon. He said he had a few things he wanted to talk about. He promised me he would take no more than twenty minutes of my time. Since it was a going to be a quick meeting I told him I could do it that afternoon. So, he came back that afternoon for our twenty-minute meeting. He left my office two hours later. And that’s when I learned the second thing about him. Mike likes to talk.

I cannot remember everything that we talked about that day. I know that we talked about my job at the church. Once he understood my responsibilities he had some ideas about how I might do my job better. We talked about some of the type of people that don’t come to church. So, Mike had some ideas about how the church might do its job better. We talked about his six children, and at that he beamed. He informed me that his kids were really nice looking, and at that I looked at him with suspicion. We both got a good laugh, and then he had some ideas about how he could do his job better. And that’s when I learned the third and fourth thing about him. Mike has a lot of ideas and Mike likes to do things better.

When Mike left my office that day he asked if we could do it again some time soon. I said yes. He said he would contact me. I did not think too much about it, people say things like “Hey, lets do this again some time” and “I’ll give you a call” all the time. Often you never hear from them again. But the following week I got a text from Mike. “Hey can we meet again? I’ll only take twenty minutes of your time.” And that’s when I learned the fifth thing about him. Mike actually puts his ideas into practice.

There were many things I learned about Mike in those first several weeks. Time does not allow for me to share all of them. But I will quickly say that Mike was one of the more intentional people I have ever known. Although he had lots of ideas he did not throw around ideas carelessly. He intended to follow through with his ideas. He was also a very practical man. Someone with his intelligence often obsesses over impractical ideas, but Mike despised empty words. Mike loved simplicity, and understood the gospel to be a simple message from God. One of his biggest concerns was that the church had moved away from the simplicity that is in Christ, and he was determined to develop a simple message that communicated the gospel in simple terms that could be easily shared and understood by everyone. Finally, Mike was a man of his word. He did everything he ever told me he was going to do accept for one thing, keep our meetings to twenty minutes. It was the one promise he never kept.

We were only a few weeks into our journey when Mike leveled with me. He came in and sat down, and after a few words he dropped his bomb on me: “Look, here’s the deal,” he said. “I’m dying of cancer. I don’t know if we’re talking months or years, but it looks inevitable. And I want to ask you if you will preach my funeral.”

I was stunned. I could tell that he was ill, and possibly terminally ill, but I couldn’t tell for sure. But more than anything I was having trouble understanding why, after only a few meetings, he was asking me to preach his funeral. That question would linger with me during our eleven-month friendship, and it wasn’t until his final few days that I finally understood.

Along the way I speculated about why he asked me to preach his funeral. I wondered if he was a somewhat isolated man with very little family support. By the end I knew that was not the case, and if you look around you also know that is not the case. Mike is blessed with a large and loving family, both his immediate and extended family. I also wondered if he had a lack of spiritual relationships. However, that turned out to be the false as well. Mike has been very involved in various small groups, Sunday school classes, ministries and churches around town. He has poured into others and allowed many to pour into him. Mike has had plenty of spiritual relationships. So, I thought that perhaps he lacked some basic friendships. But once again, by the end of our journey I saw this was not true either. Mike has many friends. He has come to know a wide variety of people through work, through small groups, through spiritual retreats, and various church functions through the years.

Mike has friends. Mike has spiritual companions. Mike has both spiritual fathers and spiritual children. And Mike has a loving family that is so dear to him that I cannot imagine how he could have had any more family support. So, the question remained. Why did Mike want ME to preach his funeral?

One day a few months ago Mike contacted me. He was very excited. He had finally boiled all of his theological studies down into a simple message of God’s love and our response. You can find the simplest version of it in the program. It might be tempting to look at that message, in all of its simplicity, and pass over it as the most basic form of the gospel…stuff that you already know. But that would be a gross misunderstanding of what this is and how Mike got to it. He spent years of study trying to figure out for himself what was essential and what was secondary. He passionately wanted to discover the gospel in its purest form. He did not pursue that for personal benefit. He pursued that because all around him he saw angry orphans, children of God who had left the church disillusioned and confused about the message that they were being taught. He wanted to see lost pilgrims and prodigals, loners and misfits, wayward sons and wandering daughters returning home.

This is a message that Mike believed was essential for returning the church to its purpose in the world. It is the missiones ecclesia, the mission of the church. It is not merely a convenient form of communicating the gospel, it is the very foundation of the gospel. And any time we move past it without coming right back to it we begin the process of eventually missing the whole point. So, I want us to read this together. And I want us to get the point.

God’s Simple Answer

By Mike Dyer

 

1.)   God loves us.

2.)   God takes the first step and reaches out to us.

3.)   God wants us to be happy and wants us to love Jesus.

4.)   I choose to be in a loving, healthy relationship with Jesus.

5.)   I choose to obey Jesus and form loving relationships with others.

6.)   I choose to remain in Jesus, accept his help and produce love.

My mission: Loving Jesus, Loving others.

Singularity of all truth is found in the Bible, the life of Jesus and the moment Jesus died on the cross.

In all of my chapels and convocations and church services during my five years at Lee University I only remember one sermon title. It was a message from Dr. Conn, and the title was It’s the Relationship Stupid. If I had to put into one short phrase the message of God that Mike Dyer so desperately tried to share with us that would be it. I can almost hear him saying it: It’s the relationship stupid!

But we still have this question before us. Why did Mike choose me to preach his funeral? I eliminated all of my initial ideas. Mike didn’t need me. He was not bankrupt on spiritual companionship. He was not a lonely man. He was not short on family. But in the final days of Mike’s life it finally hit me that I was missing the point by asking the wrong question. The point was not WHY Mike chose me. The point was that HE DID choose me. And as soon as I had that revelation the Lord gave me these verses:

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:12-17

Mike chose me, just like God chose me. I no more understand why Mike chose me than I understand why God chose me. The point is that he did. And just like God has called me his friend so has Mike. I am Mike’s friend and he is my friend. And I pray that you don’t count me rude, but I need to say a few final words to my friend:

Mike,

This is it. You have fought the good fight, not only of faith, but in life. You have heard the words that all of us long to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into your rest.” Down here we are all still fighting. It’s pretty tough, but you left us with some mighty fine weapons. I have done all of the things you asked me to do. I don’t know how well I did them, only that I was faithful in what you asked me to do. May God bless the work of our hands.

I miss you, Mike. I wanted to talk with you one more time. I understand our relationship now, and it’s kind of ironic. Michael means, “Who is like God?” I know that you didn’t claim to be a whole lot like God, only close to him, like a child and his father. But that is exactly how I understand our relationship now. It is a lot like God. You chose me, and now I see that God chose me as well. God chose all of us, and he calls us his friends. All he wants from me is to call him my friend. That is all he wants from all of us. You taught us that. Love God and love others. That is our mission. Thank you, Mike. I know this is not goodbye, but see you soon. I pray it comes quickly. Goodnight, my friend. Enter into your rest. We will continue the fight here.

Now, I leave us with only these words: God calls you his friend; so be one. 

Through this brief description we come to see some important aspects of the nature of God. For example, He is creative, loving and powerful all at the same time. God loves to work and He loves to rest. He is fully engaged with His creation, and He also gives His creation room to make their own choices. Many of the “big” themes in Scripture such as life, love, relationship, covenant, sin, salvation, death, restoration and victory are introduced to us in the first three chapters of Genesis. Indeed, the creation story sets the stage for everything that is revealed about God and humanity through the holy Scripture.

One of those insights is the way that God goes about creating. We see a pattern set up in verse two when it says, “the earth was without form, and void.” When God began his handiwork there was nothing, things were formless and empty. He proceeded to first form the expanse, the water and the land. Then He filled the newly formed areas with stars, planets, fish, plants, animals, and humanity. So, He forms then fills.

That is not just the pattern for the creation story, that is the pattern of our Creator. He broods over the waters of our lives, over the empty places, and forms them for His purposes and then fills them with His goodness. That is what He did then, and that is what He does now.

It is not only what God does, it is also what He calls us to do, what He empowers us to do. Your calling is much greater than your vocation. He wants you to allow the Holy Spirit to work through you in the lives of those around you. He is calling you to join Him in brooding over the waters of their lives, over the empty places, in order to fill them with the goodness of God. God created all of this and said it was good. Now He wants us to keep up the good work.

Apparently Leah was considered the ugly sister. The first two things we learn about Leah is that she is the older one and the one with tender eyes, which most scholars interpret to mean weak eyes (Gen 29:16-17). She is then immediately compared to her younger sister, “…but Rachel was lovely in form, and beautiful” (v. 17). Leah knew that she was not as appealing as her younger sister, and may have wondered if she would ever find a husband that would love her.

Evidently Laban also had his doubts about Leah marrying. And in the Ancient Near East a woman with no husband was considered almost dead. So, Laban devised a scheme to force Jacob to marry both of his daughters, and it worked. We hope for Leah at the beginning of the story. Perhaps Jacob will learn to love her. But sadly there is no evidence that he ever did. Ironically, God proclaims hundreds of years later, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Malachi 1:2). God rejected Esau, the older brother. Jacob rejected Leah, the older sister.

However, the marriage arrangement still gave Leah a fighting chance, for in that culture the number of sons a woman could produce often measured her worth.  And, as it turned out Leah produced a lot of sons, six altogether, and a daughter to boot. She hoped it would be enough to win the love of her husband, and it is there that we find the crux of Leah’s story.

When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” Genesis 29:31-32

It is one of those passages where it is hard not to ache with pity. This woman, unsightly and handicapped, simply wants to be loved by her husband. Evidently her hopes were unmet after the birth of the first son, Reuben, for we immediately hear of a second son. She names him Simeon and thinks, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too” (v. 33). Yet, it still did not do the trick. For we move on to hear of the third son named Levi, and accompanying him renewed hope. She said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons” (v. 34).

Three times Leah conceived. Three times she was convinced that this would finally be the time that she would experience genuine love and desire from a man. Then comes the fourth son. She names him Judah, and we expect the same refrain. But this time something changes. She does not turn to see if Jacob finally loves her. She turns her attention in a different direction. And she says, “This time I will praise the Lord” (v. 35).

Leah finally surrenders, but it is not the giving up of failure. It is the peace that comes from relinquishing oneself to God. Here we have the rejected one, an outcast. She was unloved and undesired. Yet, she found her peace with God. But the story is not over there. She not only turned her tender eyes to God, but God turned his loving eyes to her. He chose Leah, the rejected one, to birth Judah, whose line would one day produce Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.

There is only one thing that heals rejection. It is turning to God. Next time you feel yourself sinking back into the same old cycle of pity that has haunted you for years, perhaps a lifetime, consider Leah and make a decision: This time I will praise the Lord. Who knows what he might produce?

Sometimes we as parents want to shelter our children in a way that discourages their active participation in the events around them. Sometimes this is because we underestimate our children’s abilities. At other times we just simply want to do it for them for the sake of time and convenience. However, what we often fail to realize is that we are training our children to sit back and let someone else take care of things.

God, who is the ultimate parent, shelters in a much different kind of way. We see this in Psalm 18, where God offers us shelter (v. 2) and fights some battles for us (v. 17), but he also prepares us for war (v. 34) to fight some battles for ourselves (vv. 37-38). If it was healthy for us to always be delivered by him I am certain he would do it that way all of the time. Obviously he thinks that it is important that we go out and participate in the battle, and not just sit back and wait for our deliverer. So, we begin to see that the obstacles on our path do not show up accidentally. They are put there for our benefit, that we might learn how to overcome them, that we might become mighty warriors like our Lord.

It is overwhelmingly tempting to rescue our children from the obstacles they face. Even the most determined parent will give into that temptation. That is okay. In fact, it is important for us to rescue our children from enemies that are too great for them. However, always rescuing them will cause them to fail to develop certain attributes for overcoming challenges in their life. With that in mind, consider some of the following ways to develop your children’s ability to fight and overcome:

1.) Don’t be a fixer. When your children are facing a crisis ask them, “What do you think you can do about this?”

2.) Don’t over-schedule your children. They may need to get a little bored sometimes, because getting bored is an opportunity for them to create new activity in their life. So, they need time for free play, time to explore and discover.

3.) The counterbalance to previous statement is this: make sure your children are involved in things outside of the home. Sports are a great option. However, if that is not an option consider hobbies and other activities. If you find yourself unwilling to bring a sport or hobby into your children’s lives take the time to ask yourself why that is. Often we as parents are unwilling to take on these activities because of our own insecurities. We tell ourself that we have the best interest of the child in mind, but in fact we are avoiding our own anxieties. If you are unwilling to help your children find new activities challenge yourself by exploring whether or not your own anxieties are in fact the root of the problem.

4.) Your children don’t have to always be okay. This is a difficult one. It goes against all of our parenting instincts. However, God puts obstacles and challenges in our life in order for us to overcome them. So, those struggles in your child’s life actually have a purpose. Be careful not to remove them. And be careful not to accidentally train your child to avoid them.

God trains your hands for war, and expects you to prepare your children for battle. Have you lost your fight? Have you let your children run into battle? Today is the day. Today we fight.

Now I get to experience the same joy with my own children. I am the one that holds all of the strength and they are the ones amazed at my power. Now that I am on the other side of the wrestling match I can see something that many people often miss. That is, there are few things that are as intimate as wrestling. Yet, when we think of the most famous wrestler in Scripture the word that comes to mind is probably not intimacy.

Jacob most likely means “heel grabber.” When he is so-named because of the way he was holding onto Esau’s heel at birth, any other implications of his name are not immediately clear. However, as we read about the events between his birth and his divine wrestling match things begin to clear up quickly. Jacob supplanted Esau by stealing his blessing as the oldest son, and deceived his father in doing so. He fled from Esau only to find himself “wrestling” with Laban, and then Laban’s servants. He struggled with his wives and children. In all of this he never seemed to fail to miss an opportunity to seize things for himself. Jacob does not appear to be one pursuing intimacy. Instead, he seems to be self-serving and divisive.

Yet, something interesting happened to Jacob when he was alone in the desert one night. Most of us know the story of Jacob wrestling with the Angel of the Lord. He wrestled with a divine being that had the appearance of a man. Although Jacob could not overpower his opponent he refused to let him go until he gave him a blessing. It was the same old Jacob, the tenacious, bulldog-of-a-man who is looking to increase his own personal blessing. Yet, he could have never imagined the blessing that he was about to receive!

When Jacob asked for the blessing his rival pronounced upon him a name change. He told him that he would no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because he had struggled with both God and men and overcame. Israel means, “struggles (wrestles) with God.” Suddenly we begin to see something new about Jacob’s life. All of his life he has been wrestling with man. He wrestled with his brother, with his father, with his father-in-law, with his wives, with his father-in-laws’ servants, etc. However, now we are seeing that he was not just wrestling with man, but had in fact been wrestling with God.

Just like the Angel of the Lord with whom Jacob wrestled that night, his struggles had the appearance of man. Yet, God had been working through those struggles in order to bring Jacob to this moment. His wrestling culminated with a match that ended with the revelation of God’s hand in his life. It’s as if God said to Jacob, “You thought you were just wrestling with man, but you were in fact wrestling with me.”

This revelation of God’s proximity brought about a transformation in Jacob’s life. He was never again the same. He named the place Peniel, which means “face of God.” He realized that he had quite literally faced off against God, and yet God had spared his life. And I would purport that God had done more than spared his life. He had in fact engaged his life, and did it in the most intimate of ways.

Perhaps you have been wrestling. Your opponent may take the form of life circumstances, work challenges or human relationships. Whatever the case may be, you can be assured that God is engaged in it. He may be about to deliver you from your enemy. However, he may reveal to you that he is actually the one with whom you are ultimately wrestling. In either case he intends to use your struggle in order to bring about the transformation that comes when you overcome in your struggle with God and men. And in either case you can rest assured that your father is intimately close to you, even when he is wrestling against you.

Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death also.

When I read stories like this I honestly wonder how anyone could not love the bible. So many unanswered questions. So much mystery. So astounding and…odd. Isn’t it beautiful?

But what was Onan’s offense? Was it copulation without the intention of procreation? With all due respect to beliefs about birth control Onan was hardly the only one to ever do such a thing. It is difficult to reconcile God’s reaction in the story if this were the case. Was it that he disobeyed his father? The law of Moses had not been given yet. However, honoring one’s father was already a big deal. Just ask Ham! But even Ham was spared the death penalty. Was it that he failed to fulfill his duty in a family covenant? Indeed, covenants are serious business in the Hebrew bible. But God demonstrates his willingness to take back the covenanted unfaithful over and over again throughout the history of Israel. So again, what was Onan’s sin?

I wonder if the key to understanding this mystifying story does not lay in ten little words: But Onan knew that the child would not be his. Onan was guilty of all of the things mentioned above, but it was his unwillingness to take responsibility of a child that would not belong to him that brought about the harsh reaction from God. Wow, I am sure glad that we do not ever do that….or do we?

People often make amazing sacrifices. People often do hard things. At times people even do those things with little apparent benefit to themselves. But there is one thing that motivates us, even when there appears to be no motivating forces. We think it is a small thing, no big deal. We don’t really believe we are seeking it, even when we are offended if it does not happen. In truth it is one of our favorite things. It is recognition. 

Jesus said that if we did good things in order to gain the praise of men we would have no reward from our father in heaven. Instead we are to do those things in secret, trusting that he sees us and he will reward us (see Matthew 6:1-4). But we want to get our credit from people. We drop some details about how we helped out. We sprinkle in a reference about some really good deed. We listen to the reactions, Wow, that was a really nice thing to do! And then we dismiss the praise by telling them that it is not a big deal, while we glow with pride on the inside. When we do a good deed for ourselves it is ours. It belongs to us. We own it. And so, quite naturally, we turn around and show it off. But when we do a good deed for God it is his, and we are simply glad to have blessed him with it.

In some translations verse nine starts this way: But Onan knew that the child would not bear his name. I think that brings it home for us. We want to stamp our name on stuff. We want to put our logo on it. We want people to see how great we are. My question is this: What would it look like if Christians quit slapping their names on whatever good deeds they managed to produce? What would it look like if churches did good secret works? What would it look like if a community of faith poured its time and energy and resources into the life of something or someone that would ultimately mature and bear someone else’s name?

I could get pretty fired up by talking about what others should be doing that would not only bring them no recognition, but even bear someone else’s name. However, am I willing to that myself? It seems unlikely…as I type this on the blog that bears my name. And that is sad to me. It is sad to think that I could spend my life trying to do so many good things only to enter into eternity and discover that I cashed in all of my eternal rewards for nothing more than the praise of men. Perhaps we should all do ourselves a favor today, and do one thing for God that no one knows about but you and him.