Discerning the Logos, Part Six

Preparing to Heed the Call

(Six-minute read. KJV used unless otherwise noted.)

The Alpha and the Omega…

the bon voyage and the welcoming home party…

the sending forth and the gathering in…

These are all ways the Bible explains Christ. What does this mean?

Perhaps this story explains it best. Once a monk was asked what he did all day in the monastery. His reply: “I fall and get up. I fall and get up.”

This sums up Peter so far: he falls and gets up over and over. When he realized Jesus was God incarnate, he literally fell to his knees to then get up to follow Him. In the following, Peter ate of the Living Bread, drank the Spring welling up to eternal life, and received warmth and light from the Fire. Our encounter with Christ is a series of being sent forth, failing, acknowledging our failures, and being picked up to be sent out again.

In the same chapter in which Peter makes his great confession, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God,1 Jesus told him, “Thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” The falling often follows swiftly after the great sendoff.

Jesus said to Satan and Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” How’s that for failing?

Worst of all, Peter denied knowing Christ and then took refuge in a locked room. For three years, he had followed Christ. It seemed he’d learned little. He feared and focused on himself and his troubles. How much are we like Peter?

His troubles loomed so large that when Jesus appeared before him, he mistook Him for a ghost instead of the resurrected Christ. The Logos had to show Himself as the Logos throughout Scripture before Peter and the other disciples began to understand. Whew! What a journey Peter had.

Peter and the other disciples then received the Holy Spirit, not on the Day of Pentecost, but on the day of Christ’s resurrection. Jesus breathed out the Holy Spirit and immediately began communicating through Him with His disciples. Peter was well equipped for his next phase of life after being taught by Christ and receiving the Spirit.

Here’s the Kicker: So are we. God has equipped us to face our challenges. Christians walk with Jesus beside them and the Holy Spirit in their hearts.

Two things have happened that Jesus promised. He has shown Himself to the disciples and has given them the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples ahead of time so that they could be watching and learning that He is trustworthy and keeps His promises.

One promise is yet to be fulfilled: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”

The resurrected Christ spent forty days with the disciples. What was He doing? Preparing them for their next encounter with the Sacred. The disciples had spent time with the Son and received the Holy Spirit. Next will be their encounter with the Father.

Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, the disciples asked for a glimpse of the future. Jesus told them it was not for them to know. Remember that the resurrected Christ had oriented them to the past, back to the Torah, and explained how He was the Logos. The Logos was woven into Scripture, from the beginning until the end.

Have you noticed that the word “orientated” has the word “orient” in it? To orient means to face east, towards the rising of the sun. The rising sun is behind us, and we must face it. Why? Because our past shines its light on the path ahead.

Here’s the Thing: The past guides us to the future.

Nonetheless, the future remains unknown and unknowable. And here comes the but . ... the looking back allows us to visualize how trustworthy God is. The past will show us how to trust Him with our future.

It’s not that we won’t fall and make fools of ourselves. We will, but we must have the courage to rise, not to hide in embarrassment. Our trusting is aimed at God; however, we must also trust in our ability to admit mistakes.

So, what did the disciples do after Jesus ascended to the Father? They “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.” They united with one accord and sought God’s guidance.

Following this, Peter stood up to address a problem. The disciples had to choose someone to replace Judas. Peter took charge. He now understood that to look back was to move forward. After his false start when Jesus went to the cross, Peter is now ready to assume the role of leader.

This is to visualize his role correctly, not as one seizing authority, but as one who receives authority from Christ.

Peter recognized his inadequacies, recognized the many times he had fallen, recognized that the power to rise did not reside in him. Power is found in the willingness to grasp the hand of God to be pulled up.

Jesus had told the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father to receive power.

Connected to this promise from the Father is something I misunderstood for years. I thought that the Father turned His back on His Son. Isn’t that what happened? “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Don’t those words prove God the Father is not trustworthy?

No, not if we know that Jesus quotes only a portion of a Psalm and expected His hearers to fill in the rest. Let’s see what this Psalm tells us about the Father.

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations. All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. ~ Psalm 22, emphasis mine

Two of the worst periods of my life held secret blessings.

My mother-in-law, who was dying of lung cancer, spent her last months in our home on Hospice. Her discomfort and agitation became more pronounced. When we realized the time was near, we called two of her sons who lived nearby. They and their families came over to be with her, and her fear and agitation gave way to peace.

After everyone left, my husband carried his mother to her room. Her last words were, “This bed feels so good.” She closed her eyes and went peacefully to sleep to awaken with the Lord.

Fast forward a few years. My mother lay dying. I stood at her head to wipe her brow. She turned to look past me and raised an arm in recognition.

When I asked her who she was waving to, she answered, “They’ve come to get me.” A short time later she breathed her last.

When our final cries reach our Father, He hears and answers.

The Father upholds us.

The Father loves us.

The Father keeps us safe in His loving arms when we cry out to Him.

May we trust Jesus’ promise to bring the Father who hears our cries. To do so is to visualize all that lies behind us, to understand His trustworthiness, and to become completely trusting. If we are like Peter, it takes lots of falling and getting up. Each time we rise brings us closer to the Father. He awaits if we trust and obey. We must visualize His beckoning to us. We must visualize His arms outstretched to welcome us.

May we all see how He has proven Himself over and over again. May we all see the Father waiting to receive us.

Amen.

Next week, our last step in Discerning the Logos. Dramatize, the promise of the Father. Hope to see you then.