Abraham, Isaac, and Good Friday

We were listening to the Jesus Storybook Bible in the car on the way home from ice-skating lessons when the story of Abraham and Isaac came on.

I unknowingly tensed up. My heart pounded as Abraham climbed the mountain with his son, anticipating what he must do at the top. My heart pounded still harder as Abraham tied up Isaac and raised his knife. I knew how the story would end, but as a mother, I could not bear it.

I have never really understood the story of Abraham. I know that Abraham showed faith in his willingness to sacrifice his only son, and that the ram in the bush represents Jesus, but I just couldn't comprehend God's request. How could He ask a father to kill his own child?! I would not have been obedient.

We continued our journey home. I continued to listen. And then, a revelation came to me! (This is the kind of 'feast' I wrote about two posts ago.)

When we try to live without God's help, we are unknowingly making daily sacrifices. We are in fact killing what we cherish and hold dear, all the things we love best, may that be our spouse, our children, our talents, or our dreams. It is only through God's saving sacrifice that we are stopped from making the definitive, fatal cut. With God's sacrifice of His only son, all can be restored. All can be healed in our lives. And we no longer have to make those sacrifices.

And the question of 'how could God ask a father to kill his own child'? I understand now that God the Father HIMSELF was the One who HAD to follow through with killing his own son. It was hard for Abraham to take the first steps of obedient. It is so hard that I can't even picture taking those steps myself. But God couldn't allow Abraham to do it, even when He knew that He Himself would have to do it someday. God was the only One who had to feel His heart break as He watched His son die according to His will. 

And so today we celebrate Good Friday. My nine-year-old asked me a few days ago, "Why is it called 'good' when Jesus had to die?" Now I know why it is a good day.

Good Friday is the day that God made the ultimate sacrifice so that we didn't have to make ours; when a Father gave up his most beloved, cherished, precious thing so that he could draw his other beloveds back to Him; when we can feel our hearts pounding and our shoulders tense up because we KNOW that though this is hard, the story gets better.

Three days. Easter is coming. The one who was sacrificed would not stay dead. All will be restored.

Not Your Typical King

"The King is coming! The King is coming!"

The words ring outside the streets of Jerusalem. Curious people come running to see this man. They say he is a prophet and a descendent of King David himself. What does he look like? Is he regal, dressed in purple, gold, and jewels? Does he have an entourage of soldiers, horses, musicians, and servants? Are they surprised then when they see a simple man riding through the street on a young donkey?

And are we surprised at all? After hearing the story of Palm Sunday for years, maybe we're not. Or maybe it makes sense to us that the King who was born in an animal stall should ride in a parade on a humble pack animal.

The Jewish people of Jesus's time were disappointed when their Savior didn't vanquish armies and declare a new nation, but WE know that Jesus came with a very clear goal in mind: to be a servant-king who will die for his people. He washed people's feet. He touched and loved the ostracized. And he died the death of a common thief.

And the story does not end there. After all, he was a servant-king. Jesus rose from the dead to establish a new kingdom–not a nation of Israel, but a heavenly, eternal kingdom on earth that includes ALL people.

Clearly not your typical king.

Which is all the more the reason I want to follow Him.

Come and Feast!

My absolute favorite type of meal is a potluck. Some people scoff at this because potlucks remind them of Sunday lunches in their church's 'fellowship' hall. I've even heard that some churches do not like to use the term 'potluck' because luck is not a Biblical idea. So, call it whatever you want. I just really enjoy a meal where everyone comes together and brings a dish. And I'm not just saying that because it means there is less cooking for me. I enjoy potlucks because I like to try other people's cooking!

Take my husband's 40th birthday party/potluck. We started with a few plates of appetizers, made by me. As friends and family arrived, the plates multiplied. Soon, there were bowls of colorful fruit and salads, delicious carne asada, scrumptious roasted asparagus, garlicky potatoes, teriyaki salmon, chicken, pasta, pizza, spinach dip… is your mouth watering like mine is right now? There was so much food, I couldn't find room for it all! Needless to say, it was a great party, and we all left with full and happy stomachs.

I'm learning right now that sitting with God is like this potluck, only that He is the one bringing all the food, and the food is more amazing than anything I can even imagine! What a contrast to a few months ago, when I saw my time in the Word as a dry exercise in Christian discipline. Open the book, read, ponder, close the book, done. 

But that is so far from the truth! When we sit in God's presence, our souls feast on His love, peace, joy, and wisdom. As I strive to begin every day with a few minutes in the Bible, I am starting to enjoy more and more of this feast: first a few nibbles... then a few bites… 

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! ~Psalm 34:8

Easter will be upon us soon. Take the time this year to discover all that God wants to give you. Don't just spend the day filling your stomachs; fill your souls too!

He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. ~Song of Solomon 2:4

We Are His Workmanship

My friend is a writer. I mean, a real writer. She has an agent. She's been published. She spends the bulk of her day actually writing.

I'm sure you caught the hint of envy in my voice. Whenever I hear her good news, I am genuinely happy for her, but I can't help but think, "Hey, she has only one child. Of course she's a better writer than me." I think about the few moments when the house is quiet enough for me to think a complete thought. I think about all the times I try to write, in my head, while washing the dishes or driving from Point A to Point B. I think of that someday when I can tackle my writing like a professional.

I am thinking of all the things I am not.

Comparison can be harmless, but it is also sneaky, because it  unlocks the door for your real enemy: envy. And envy can take anyone's happy circumstances (or your own!) and turn it into an arrow aimed for your heart. It can even take a loved one's joy and turn it into a bitter tea.

But it is not a tea that you must drink.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. ~Ephesians 2:10

God has amazing plans for ALL of us. But they are not all the SAME plans. And the plans may not be what we dream for ourselves. But they are good. And they will lead to more goodness if we follow through with them.

So with this in mind, I need to refocus on the path that God has for me. It is a path of great joy, but only if I don't allow comparison and envy to come and steal away that joy. My 'good works' are here, as a homeschooling mother of six, as a wife of a pastor, as the bearer of Child #7, as a writer, as a missionary to everyone I meet. I will walk in these good works, because I am HIS workmanship.

Passing on What Matters Most

I love live music, and I want my children to be exposed to non-pop music as much as possible. So when our friend invited us to hear her perform with her symphony orchestra, my husband and I decided to go as a family.

All went well until intermission. As the children returned to their seats, an older woman in front of us turned and said roughly, "Your children are kicking the seat." I hadn't noticed anyone kicking, but I apologized anyway. And our family left before the concert was done because the woman had ruined our evening.

I wish I could have told her how I felt. I made the effort to be at a performance for the sake of my friend and my children. And these children are the future of live, orchestral music. They are the ones who will pick up the violin or oboe and someday fill our halls with beautiful music. I didn't mean to distract from this woman's enjoyment, but I knew that there was so much more to our outing than enjoyment. I just wish she saw it that way too.

My reason for sharing this little story with you is not because I want to rant about some stranger, but because it illustrates how we as parents will make the effort to bring our children to places and events when it is important to us. Some parents drive for hours and pay hundreds of dollars to bring their children to Disneyland. It's important to them. Some parents bring their children to sporting events and teach them to ice-skate, throw, or kick as soon as the child can walk. It's important to them. These parents, like me when it comes to  music, are doing what they do because they want to pass something onto their children.

And yet, when it comes to bringing children to a worship service for a few hours, some parents freeze. They'd rather sleep in and stay home. Or go to a park. Or go to Disneyland. They don't see why they should go to church, especially if there is no "children's program", because sitting with their children means that they, the parents, aren't really fully absorbing the message or paying full attention. And what will other people think? they wonder. When their child starts to wiggle, they see heads turn and they feel their cheeks burn. Is it worth it?

Author Melissa Kruger writes this in her devotional Bible study Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood:

While the paintings that hang in church nurseries always represent [Jesus and the children] as a peaceful scene, I have a feeling it was much more complicated. Surely as [the parents] traveled to get their children to Jesus, there were diapers that needed changing, hungry mouths to feed (and no a Chick-fil-A in sight), arguments, whining, dirty hands and feet, tired children, exhausted, and a myriad of other obstacles. It would not have been an easy journey.

But for these parents, it WAS worth it. Even when the disciples scolded them for bothering Jesus. And for everyone else there that day, it was worth it too, because they saw Jesus respond to these children with "Come." I'm sure the disciples took notice. And as well as anyone else there who had thought that the children were distracting them from Jesus's teachings.

As my husband and I prepare to bring our children to our church's prayer night on Thursday, I fill my mind with this image. Even though I spend most of the evening walking around with the toddler and trying to keep him quiet and out of trouble, I know that I am taking the first steps to bringing him to Jesus. Also, I remind myself that other people need to see the children there, even if they are a little distracting. Without them, the body of Christ wouldn't be complete.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

Children are, after all, the future of God's kingdom.