SWEET?

That’s the inside of my fridge you’re looking at. Yup! My treasure chest of goodies that represent this season, at least gastronomically.

At each of the innumerable parties I’ve been attending this Christmas, my contribution has been … dessert! Invariably there is a plethora of food at these affairs and I—blessed be me!—I’m left with a considerable portion of my offering to take back home. To be honest, I am thrilled to return with these calorific goodies. I could live on them. In fact, for the next several weeks, I will!

Sweet!

(Note to self: Self, take an extra cholesterol pill everyday for the next month.)

Anyhow, as I was saying, this is the season for sweet stuff. Not the least of which is the Christmas-card Jesus, the sweet baby Jesus!

Silent night, holy night,
Round yon virgin mother and child,
Holy infant, so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace!

And …

Away in a manger,
No crib for His bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head.

And one of my favorites—a German chorale harmonized by Bach:

O Jesulein süß! O Jesulein mild!
(O Jesus, so sweet! O Jesus, so mild!)

Jesus—all sweet and tender and mild. Clean and cute and cuddly. Cooing, gurgling, smiling. Hush, you cows, quit your lowing, lest “the poor Baby wakes!”

Who doesn’t love babies? Decidedly a more palatable picture of Jesus than what the Bible portrays. Take John’s description, in Revelation, for instance ….

I saw one like a son of man,
clothed in a robe reaching to the feet,
and girded across His chest
with a golden sash.
His head and His hair were
white like white wool, like snow;
and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
His feet were like burnished bronze,
when it has been made
to glow in a furnace,
and His voice was like
the sound of many waters.
In His right hand He held seven stars,
and out of His mouth
came a sharp two-edged sword;
and His face was like
the sun shining in its strength.
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet
like a dead man.
And He placed His right hand on me,
saying, "Do not be afraid;
I am the first and the last,
and the living One ….
Revelation 1:13–18

The Second Person of the Trinity. Fully human and fully God. I am thankful He came as a baby. But let’s not forget: Jesus Christ is not a helpless, harmless, heart-warming, pleasure-giving, sugary, savory, make-me-feel-good, keep-me-all-safe kinda God who makes no demand and seeks no commitment.

Here’s John, again, at the end of the same Book …

And I saw heaven opened,
and behold, a white horse,
and He who sat on it
is called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness
He judges and wages war.
His eyes are a flame of fire,
and on His head are many diadems; ….
He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood,
and His name is called The Word of God.
From His mouth comes a sharp sword,
so that with it He may
strike down the nations,
and He will rule them with a rod of iron;
and He treads the wine press
of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
And on His robe and on His thigh
He has a name written,
“KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Revelation 19:11–13; 15–16

No diapers. No pacifiers. No baby blankets. Instead diadems, swords, and blood. Baby? Sweet? Mild? Maybe.

But also King of kings and Lord of lords! Amen!

ENDURANCE!

Here it is—my annual cricket special! This time India is playing England, and beating her at her own game, I might add. And that means late nights for me watching these matches being played in India, 11½ hours ahead of Dallas. But it’s been worth the sleepless vigils. Especially last week.

You might remember the bombings in Mumbai a few weeks ago. England, touring in India, decided to return home for safety reasons (the incinerated Taj hotel, incidentally, had been one of their assigned dwellings). But, after getting assurances of heightened security and with a shift in Test match venues to the more sedate arena of Chennai, in South India, England returned. This display of England’s refusal to be browbeaten by terrorism was a victory for cricket, and, indeed, all sports. Hats off to those valiant souls! No losers in this game!

And history was created at Chennai as India chased down the fourth-highest total in Test cricket in the fourth and final innings. And the most famous son of Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar, undoubtedly the best batsman in the game today, was the architect of this stunning win. Not only did he consummate the end with a boundary (for four runs), with that he also scored (yet another) century—his 41st in Test cricket! Tendulkar, later, dedicated that century to the people of Mumbai. Indeed, a couple of parents at Tendulkar’s daughter’s school were victims of the carnage. “What happened in Mumbai,” he said, “was extremely unfortunate …. It's a terrible loss and our hearts are with them. All I can say is that in whatever way we can contribute to make them feel better, we’ll make that effort.” And he did. Spectacularly! Fighting dehydration in the blistering Chennai sun, he scampered between wickets like a teenager. The next day, journalists were using words like “imperious,” “breathtaking,” “focused,”
“entrenched,” “fortitude,” etc. It was a task of massive proportions, accomplished by sheer dint of grit—endurance. Despite all odds, despite the weather, the immense total that needed to be made, this was a phenomenal feat of endurance—one of Tendulkar’s finest innings, one of India’s most special wins.

But we who are believers have a finer innings to play, an innings of our life, in a “game” that lasts an earthly lifetime, as we live for the Lord. And so the Bible calls us to …

… walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
to please Him in all respects,
bearing fruit in every good work
and increasing in the knowledge of God;
strengthened with all power,
according to His glorious might,
for the attaining of all endurance ….
Colossians 1:10–11

And in God’s might, with God’s Spirit, by God’s grace, let us endure, despite all odds, despite the crumbling of worlds around us daily.

Consider it all joy, my brethren,
when you encounter various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith
produces endurance.
And let endruance
have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect and complete ….
James 1:2–4

The endurance, perseverance, patience to produce fruit for the Lord.

But the seed in the good soil,
these are the ones
who have heard the word
in an honest and good heart,
and hold it fast,
and bear fruit with endurance.
Luke 8:15

May no aggression from Satan, no attack from the world, no assault by our own sinful flesh affect our fruit-bearing for God’s glory. And … there is a reward.

We count those blessed who endured.
James 5:11

Let’s endure and be blessed. Hang in there!

JOURNEY!

Half-Price Books. A Dallas institution for over 36 years. Now in 15 states in the US. About 16 of them in the Dallas metropolitan area alone. A $100 million+ enterprise. Claiming to have recycled over 16 million books. Estimated savings value: 650,000 trees.

The flagship store of this noble venture is on NW Highway, a few miles from my abode. This one is about the size of your standard Costco! Coffee shop. Massage parlor. Art gallery. Comfortable and inviting sofas. Board games laid out. Great collection of classical and jazz CDs, not mention a kaleidoscope of other genres. All manner of magazines. And the books! Oh, the books! Did I die and attain nirvana?

Yeah, I know. That’s an inappropriate comment for a seminary prof to make. Sorry. But you get the idea: books, books, and more books!

I make my pilgrimage to this shrine weekly. Have done so for the decade that I’ve lived in this fair city. You never know what you find there. First editions? Rare 18th century publications? CDs by unknown musicians of unknown works by unknown composers? Out-of-print stuff on rhetoric? A set of the symphonies of Mozart (all 41+ of them)? The searching is as much fun as the finding. The joy of the journey! The anticipatory browse, the exhilarating pursuit, the delight of the chase. The joy of the journey!

There is a joy in the journey,
There’s a light we can love on the way;
There is a wonder and wildness to life,
And freedom for those who obey.
Michael Card, 1994

The conception of the Christian life as a pilgrimage is widespread—a journey to a glorious consummation. In fact, Christians in the first century were referred to as “those of the Way.” Saul (later, Paul), the book of Acts recounts, sought to persecute these Wayfarers.

… so that if he found any
belonging to the Way,
both men and women,
he might bring them bound
to Jerusalem.
Acts 9:2

In fact, one of the Greek words for “living” also means “walking” (they are translated either way in the various English versions).

Brethren, join in following my example,
and observe those who walk
according to the pattern you have in us.
Philippians 3:17

The biblical focus on the journey is considerable. While there is no question that the hope of eternal life set before us strengthens us for this expedition, it is easy to live for the then-and-there and forget the here-and-now. The importance of the journey!

Therefore, since we have so great
a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
let us also lay aside every encumbrance
and the sin which so easily entangles us,
and let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of faith,
who for the joy set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame ….
Hebrews 12:1–2

Have we, the people of the Way, forgotten to run? To walk? Following Him who called Himself the Way?

Jesus said to him,
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father
but through Me.
John 14:6

Let us not neglect the spiritual walk as we make our Way through this life.

But I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not carry out
the desire of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16

A walk that pleases God.

… so that you would walk
in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you
into His own kingdom and glory.
1 Thessalonians 2:12

Happy traveling!

PREPARED!

Thanksgiving, last week, was spent getting ready for a family wedding the next day in New Jersey. Large numbers of the clan congregated there, making merry and festive. Part of the celebrations included, in typical Indian fashion, a henna party for the ladies with the bride.

Henna (aka Lawsonia inermis) is a flowering plant native to the tropics and subtropics. It’s stardom lies in the red-orange dye, lawsone, that it produces, which binds to anatomical items of great interest to yours faithfully—skin, hair, and nails. The commercially available henna paste is carefully applied to the skin in intricate patterns by skilled artists and the pigment migrates deep into the epidermis, staining it red-brown within minutes. And the stuff remains for a few weeks, even after the black paste has fallen off (as in the hands of four cousins and nieces in the photo).

This Eastern practice of of the women (including the bride) getting together before the wedding to decorate their hands and feet is symbolic of the preparation of the bride for her groom. Indeed, Ugaritic texts, dating back to 14th–12th century BC, mention henna in the context of wedding celebrations. As a matter of fact, the Bible does, too. And I’ll give you one guess as to the book in which it is found.

Yup, you’re right!

My beloved is to me a
cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of Engedi. …
Your shoots are
an orchard of pomegranates,
with choice fruits,
henna with nard plants.
Song of Solomon 1:14; 4:13

The preparation of the bride! Another, much more important, bridal preparation is already underway.

Let us rejoice and be glad
and give the glory to Him [Christ],
for the marriage of the Lamb
has come and His bride
has made herself ready.
Revelation 19:7

Believers—the church, the bride of Christ—are being prepared for a wedding.

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD,
my soul will exult in my God;
for He has clothed me
with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me
with a robe of righteousness,
… as a bride adorns herself
with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10

The choice of the bride and the process of her preparation began with the death and resurrection of Christ, that momentous event of history—God’s provision of forgiveness that redeems believers, cleansing them from sins. The bride of Christ is exhorted to remain so prepared in purity for that great day when she (we!) will see the Groom face to face.

Beloved, now we are children of God ….
We know that when He appears,
we will be like Him,
because we will see Him just as He is.
And everyone who has
this hope fixed on Him
purifies himself, just as He is pure.
1 John 3:2–3

May God not be lamenting over us ….

“Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have forgotten Me
days without number.”
Jeremiah 2:32

Instead may He be rejoicing …

… as the bridegroom
rejoices over the bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
Isaiah 62:5

Let us remain pure by Christ’s grace, through the power of His Spirit, for the glory of God.

… Christ also loved the church
and gave Himself up for her,
so that He might sanctify her,
having cleansed her …,
that He might present to Himself
the church in all her glory,
having no spot or wrinkle
or any such thing;
but that she would be
holy and blameless.
Ephesians 5:25–27

Holy and blameless. A prepared bride!