Lest We Forget

(I'd typed this yesterday, but because of Blogger problems, can only post it now)

Nearing the end of the Bible, we find several short letters, or rather, reminders, from church leaders and apostles. There is hardly anything theologically new here, but these few letters recapitulate much of what has gone on since Jesus, and in some ways pave the way for future generations of believers.

For some reason, I was attracted by a number of pictorial images and metaphors in these letters, and they will find their way into the following...

James

The leader of the Jerusalem church writes of faith and action, how as one synergical force (Yoshua!) they bring wisdom and confidence in life.

Peterson writes "what good is a truth if we don't know how to live it?"

"The desirable and beneficial gifts from heaven are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light." There is so much that God wants to give, more than we know or might even want to receive.

The ones who hear and don't do, are like "those who glance into the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like."

I guess that's James' message; when our lives don't resonate with both truth and the things we must do as God followers, we'll forget who we are -- who we are because of God. And if we forget who we are, how can we then allow God to make us what we're meant to be?

And this is where prayer comes in. Soo Tian told me recently that he finds himself more drawn to prayer than reading the Bible; for me it's the opposite. And he's right. What good is it that I'm here, several pages from the end of the Bible, yet I haven't made a real call to God in a long time?

Confidence in our stride, a bouncy gait -- they come from a real knowledge in every way, that God is the real-est part in everything we do.

Peter

I approached his letters from the point-of-view that this was one of Jesus' disciples. I was thinking along the lines of how he had changed, what things continued to influence him, and how far he'd progressed.

Obviously, he didn't regret a single part of the journey at all; "We have everything to live for." Each step was a step of growth; "Build on what you've been given... each dimension fitting into and developing the others."

There were several references to things Jesus said; about how angels would've given anything to be in on the Message, Jesus as the cornerstone, to respect the government, to live for heaven, to be content with who we are, judgement, and the transfiguration, which obviously never quite left him. The glory was still felt.

He doesn't quite worry about the troubles of the world, because "we'll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness."

Of course, the verse that caught my eye most was this: "With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years a day." How I wish SPM were a day and STM were a thousand years! (OK... maybe not, but still...)

He sees heaven as a place where "encores till the end of time" will resound, with applause from the saints and God himself. But there's one thing I couldn't shake throughout; the thought that this was an apostle who had such humble beginnings, and maybe even more humble endings.

But he'd become an Apprentice in the Great Adventure. Jesus said "come follow me" and he came. It's quite remarkable how Peter never gave up, and his letters exude a sense of heaven-ness that shows just how much he appreciates and would never give up the journey. Some of these are echoed in the letters of...

John

If anything could be said about John's three epistles, they're a reduced version of his gospel. In both his gospel and the epistles, his central themes are love, truth and light. John's writings were among the last to be made, and now this grand old man recalls the light that still shines, the truth that still stands and the love that still challenges.

There are many references in his letters to his gospel, but here he draws lessons from church life, and how the lofty teachings of Jesus are to become the very model and framework of living this life.

He regards the Master affectionately; "What marvellous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it -- we're called children of God!" and "God knwos more about us that we do ourselves." He would know, since Jesus gave him so many chances for change, that this Son of Thunder became the Loudspeaker of Love.

And now, probably near the door of death, having outlived all the other apostles, he writes "Anyone who gets so progressive in his thinking that he walks out on the teaching of Christ..." It happens that the more we know, the less we think there is left to know. How wrong!

Probably recalling Jesus' many teachings on rebirth and life from the Spirit, he also writes that commandments are not at all troublesome when they become part of the natural flow of a life in Christ.

John strikes me as someone who seems to have enjoyed personal contact and company, signing off his letters with words like "I hope to see you soon."

The disciple whom Jesus loved, now allowed this love to overflow to others and really, it became his theme. It was all that mattered to him, so much so that he proclaimed "God is love!"

Jude

There are many warnings from Jude against wordly corruption, and probably the entire letter can be summed up in the words of verse 8, "glory dragged in the mud."

Glory does NOT belong in the mud, but that was what was happening. People were trading the good and eternal for the evil and temporal. It's really like what C.S. Lewis wrote, "We are like an ignorant child who goes on making mud pies in the slum, because he does not know what is meant by a holiday at the beach."

Thing is, we do know. Jude addressed his letter to those who had lived by the sea, borne by the breeze, who now were returning to live in the slums.

How could they possibly give up "the unending life, the real life" for something so utterly useless? Come to think of it, how can we?

How apt that this message should come near the end of the Bible. After some 64 books, we've had a lot of glory around us, and God was walking each step with us. But after that? Will we allow ourselves to fall back into the mud, we who have been so changed by God?

The letters that form the rear guard, escorting the reader towards the end of the written Word, leave more question marks than any other book; not in the themes or theology, for the principles are relatively straightforward. But they all have this in common, that they pose the question, "What do you do with God?"

One more book to go; today's the last day, but what's more important than finishing is finishing together and finishing well. See you tomorrow, Soo Tian.