Pause

See you in a week or two, after surgery and recovery.

Mark

Book of Revelation

I have found a love for the last book in the Bible such as I have never had. The turning point has been Richard Bauckham's The Theology of the Book of Revelation (Cambridge University Press, 1993). My guess is the Bauckham knows as much about this book as anyone, and this short work is in part a distillation of years of massive and loving study of Revelation.

Here is a taste of how Bauckham brings out the meaning of Revelation for all generations. He shows that the image of the 144,000 (7:2 and 14:1-5) is a symbol of the church, portrayed as the Messiah's army who combats idolatry not with material weapons but by means of moral uprightness, their faithful testimony, and their following the Lamb wherever he goes, including to the death.

Then he suggests that the multitude that no one can number in 7:9-17 is also a symbol of the church, redeemed from all nations and peoples to worship God and the Lamb.

Finally, the two witnesses in 11:1-13 are also a symbol representing the church in its prophetic witness to the pagan nations, in the lineage of Moses and Elijah. They preach repentance to all the nations and peoples, who repent and begin to worship the one true God.

So the 144,000 = the countless multitude for all nations = the two witnesses who bring the nations to repentance and true faith = the church, the people of God in all times and places, including you and me. Far from leading us to speculate about who the 144,000 or the two witnesses might be in some future time with no relation to us, Bauckham's sensitive discernment of the imagery of revelation draws us right into the mission of God here and now.

How we change

I John 3:2 contains this puzzling statement:

[W]e know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

How can just seeing someone, even the risen Christ, change us so completely?

The recent delight in Susan Boyle's unexpected performance on "Britain Has Talent" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY) illustrates what John is saying. When we watch the clip, we and the audience have a certain set of expectations, reactions and attitudes toward her. When she begins to sing, those attitudes undergo a major shift. Why? Because we have "seen her as she is."

Seeing and knowing someone as they really are changes our attitude toward that person.

Since the meaning of "sin" in the Bible is basically the matter of a wrong attitude toward God, seeing him as he really is, in Christ, will dramatically change our attitude toward God - and toward those things which compete within us for our affection and loyalty (I John 2:15-17).

The heart, therefore, in overcoming sin in our lives is not to try to focus on the sins and trying to keep them under control, but to focus on getting to know God better. The more deeply and truly we know God intimately, the more our sins will be both apparent and abhorrent to us.

So let's constantly pray, "Lord, reveal more of yourself to me and us. Show me and us more of what you are really like. Increase omy and our affection for you."

Personal reflections on asking

It has been about ten years since I first read Dallas Willard's claim (see the last three posts below) that asking is the way God has given us in his kingdom to help each other meet Christ, grow in him and serve him. Putting it into practice has proven to be a significant challenge.

Here are some less-than-helpful things that I have found myself doing rather than asking someone to do something:

• Expecting people to know what I would like them to do (How dumb is that?)
  
• Complaining to someone else
  
• Worrying about what is going to happen
• Feeling frustrated

In other words, doing nothing constructive. How helpful is that?!

On the other hand, I find that the more I ask in the patient, considerate and respectful way that Willard describes, the more I find myself giving thanks for all that God has already done. I also find myself growing in appreciation for that person. And, of course, worrying less, complaining less, being much less frustrated.

Is your experience similar to this? A bit different?

Asking (Part 3)

Today we finish the passage from Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. He is discussing the well-known verses in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus invites his followers to Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you. His view of the text is fresh and challenging. (See the previous two posts.)

And as long as we respect them before God, and are thoughtful and gracious, we can keep asking, in appropriate ways, keep seeking and keep knocking on the door of their lives. We should note that the ask-seek-knock teaching first applies to our approach to others, not to prayer to God. We respect and never forget that the latch of the heart is within. We are glad for that fact and would not override it. We can gently but persistently keep our hopeful expectation before them and at the same time before God. Asking is indeed the great law of the spiritual world through which things are accomplished in cooperation with God and yet in harmony with the freedom and worth of every individual.

What do you think? What speaks the most to you in the excerpt we have read these past three days? How is it different from our usual approach? Do you agree with Willard that the ask-seek-knock teaching applies first to our relationships with each other? Why might this be important? How might Willard's insight affect our approach to evangelism? To family and church relationships?

I am interested in your thoughts!

Asking (Part 2)

Dallas Willard describes what happens as we "back off" from trying to fix or improve others and they begin to open up (see yesterday's post):

I may quickly begin to appear to them as a possible ally and resource. Now they begin to sense their problem to be the situation they have created, or possibly themselves. Because I am no longer trying to drive them, genuine communication, real sharing of hearts, becomes an attractive possibility. The healing dynamic of the request comes naturally into play. And this is ... how to really be of help to those near us (Matt. 7:7-11).

When we stand thus in the kingdom, our approach to influencing others, for their good as well as ours, will be simply to ask: to ask to change, and to help them in any way they ask of us. It is a natural extension of this dynamic when we turn to ask God to work in their lives and hearts. to bring about changes. These changes will certainly involve more than any conscious choice they could make or we could desire."

We might want to respond that we also need to ask God to change us. Willard deals with that subject in most of the book. The quotation we are meditating on challenges us to change the way we go about helping each other change.

Isn't it amazing how hard it is for us in the situation to even think of the possibility of asking another person to change something?

More on this next time.

Asking

One of the best books I have read on the Christian life is Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (HarperCollins, 1998). The excerpt that follows sheds a light on how Christian fellowship actually works that few others have expressed. Willard is commenting on Matthew 7:7, "Ask, and you shall receive," saying that it applies not only to prayer but to our relationships with one another.

The Dynamic of the Request

The most important element in the transformation [of personal relationships] is this: As long as I am condemning my friends or relatives, or pushing my 'pearls' on them, I am their problem. They have to respond to me, and that usually leads to their 'judging' me right back, or 'biting' me, as Jesus said.

But once I back away, maintaining a sensitive and nonmanipulative presence, I am no longer their problem. As I listen, they do not have to protect themselves from me, and they begin to open up. (p. 231)

The continuation of this quote from Dallas Willard next time.