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Jesus began his ministry with these words.  (Mar 1:14 – 15)  Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

It seems reasonable to ask, “Repent from what and believe in what?”  And while we’re at it, “What does repent mean?”  Let’s take a look.

To Repent means to change your way of thinking or of travel.  In other words it means to turn around and head in the other direction.  The prodigal son repented when he turned back in the direction of his father’s house.  (Luke 15:11-32)  That’s when the father came running to meet him.

As to the question, “Repent from what?”, I believe Paul tells us in Romans 10:1-4  “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them (his Jewish brethren) is that they may be saved.  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.“

Paul felt terrible for his fellow Jewish brothers because he knew that they were zealous followers of what they thought was the way to God (adherence to the Law).  In contrast to their confidence in their own righteousness,  Paul reminds them that even their own scriptures state clearly that no one will be found righteous by adherence to the Law.  In fact Paul redefines the concept of righteousness.

Righteousness has nothing to do with the Law or morality. Righteousness is a word which means “Right-Standing” or “Acceptable”.  The opposite of Righteousness is not immorality.  No, the opposite of Righteousness is Rejection!

An example of Righteousness which may be helpful occurred on the day of my cousin’s inauguration as Governor of the State of Maryland.  On January 21, 2015, in Annapolis, Maryland, Inauguration Day began with a Prayer Service at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.  Karen and I were invited to attend the Prayer Service and as Larry was leaving the church to return to the Governor’s house to await his swearing in as Governor, he stopped to talk with us and whispered in my ear, “I’ll see you up at the Governor’s house.”  I said, “Ok” and he went out.  Karen and I had no idea how to get to the Governor’s house from the church and when we got out on the sidewalk in front of the church, family members were getting into vehicles provided to take people to the house.  We assumed we were not included on the passenger lists for vehicles so I turned to one of the Governor’s half brothers and asked, “How do we walk to the Governor’s house?”  His response was, “You’re not on the list!”  I said, “Ok, but how would one walk to the Governor’s house from here?”  He repeated, “You’re not on the list!”  So we asked someone else.

Once we received directions, we walked up the streets in Annapolis until finally we arrived outside the Governor’s house.  The property is protected by an iron fence and on this day there were dozens of state police and plain clothes agents of several types guarding the house.  I decided to walk up to the biggest of the agents and I said, “I know I am not on the list, but at the Prayer Service, the Governor, who is my first cousin (our mother’s were sisters) told me to come to the Governor’s house to wait for the swearing in ceremony.”  The agent said, “You are sure you are not on the list?”  “What’s your name?”  I said, “Steve Herl.”  He took his finger and scrolled down the list while mumbling, “So you’re not on the list” until his finger came to a hand written note.  The Governor had written my name on the list.  The agent said, “Here you are, you’re on the list!”  “Have a good time.”

Karen and I walked in and we were on equal standing with everyone else on the list.  When the Governor saw us he was thrilled and he introduced us to all the dignitaries in attendance.  We were declared righteous by relationship.  We did nothing to earn it.  It was all about who we were.  In fact, not long after we arrived, a very well known local celebrity arrived at the front gate and insisted he be let in.  He said to the guards, “Don’t you know who I am?”  And they said, “You are not on the list!”  He did not have right standing.  We did.  We had the righteousness (the Right Standing) of the Governor and we were in his house because we were in him.

The celebrity rejected at the gate was rejected because he was trying to establish a righteousness of his own – being acceptable based on his standards.   Now here is the rub.  Nearly all of us, atheists, agnostics, Christians of every denomination and belief system, Jews, Hindus, Muslims and whatever live by the standards of our own “righteousness.”  That is, we have an internal list of requirements for ourselves with which we determine how we are doing or feeling or succeeding or progressing.  It has been said that we spend every day in the courtroom of self approval.  Psychologists and counselors often call it self-esteem.

We judge ourselves (and therefore others as well) by how we look (are we thin enough, are we big enough, are we pretty enough, etc.), whether we have or make enough money, are we the right ethnicity, is our family special enough, is our degree adequate or is a degree even necessary, are our politics correct, is our job something I am proud of, have we achieved enough, are we considered smart enough, are our sins respectable enough, do people respect us and give us enough credit for just how much we know and just how important we are, are our children representing us well, etc., etc., etc.

We each have a list and our individual list has layers of factors.  The closer a factor resides to the foundation of our beliefs, the more power it has in determining our self fulfillment.  If we were raised to value education we find great comfort in our degree or degrees.  If hard work was the mantra of our family then anyone who doesn’t get dirty working is less of a man.  If we are a people pleaser than affirmation is critical to our well being.  If we fear dying than symptoms of underlying health issues can control our lives.

So what does any of this have to do with Repentance and Righteousness?  Well this is the Good News – the Gospel.  Most of us, if we have ever heard the Gospel, have been taught that the Gospel is something like this – God created all things.  God is a Holy God which is said to mean he is perfectly righteous and just.  When he created man, he gave man a set of rules which to follow and either man surprised him by not obeying them or God created man in such a way that he couldn’t obey them.  Then when man failed, God became angry and in his wrath he forced man out of a perfect garden and made man toil to work to regain God’s favor.  God, in reaction to man’s inability to obey, sent his own son to earth as a man to be punished for man’s sin in order to allay God’s Holy wrath.  Anyone who chooses to trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross receives eternal life in exchange for honest belief.  That is the Gospel for many people with almost infinite variations and elements.

However, I have an alternate understanding of the Gospel to explore.  First, I believe God is God.  I believe the wonder and order of creation shows the evidence of God’s handiwork.  I believe our conscience tells us by nature that there are things that are right and things that are wrong unequivocally and therefore God is a God of goodness and order.

I believe God is a God of love (Agape) which is unemotional, instead it is an act of the will.  I believe love (Agape) always involves a choice because it is an act of the will so I believe that God, in love, created man with the ability to choose – that is, to love.  In order for man to have a choice, God expressed his character in a set of “laws” which were never meant to be a way for man to earn his right standing with God.  The “laws” were given for our good as an expression of God’s love and in order to afford us the opportunity to trust God, that is choose for him – to love.

The other purpose of the “laws” was that we would clearly perceive the Holiness (otherness) of God in comparison to us, his creatures, so that our only reasonable response to God’s love us would be the offering of ourselves as living sacrifices to the glory and worship of our creator.  In humility we are transformed into vessels of the otherness and the love (Agape) of God, allowing the light of the Spiritual realm to shine into the darkness.  (Romans 12:1-2)

We are credited with righteousness because “he who knew no sin became all sin, so that we could become the children of God”.  Now the question is will we repent (turn away from) our efforts and desires for self righteousness or will we fully accept and believe our righteousness in Christ?  We can see the evidence of self righteousness in our prejudice, our arrogance, our greed, our lust, our selfish ambition, our back biting, our pride, our judgmentalism, our insecurity, our unforgiveness, our hatred, our anxiety, our depression, our envy, our covetousness, our low self esteem, and our victimness and entitlement.

We can see the evidence of our righteousness in Christ in our virtue (walking with your head up), in our knowledge (our willingness to see the truth), our self-control (the ability to turn away), our steadfastness (the ability to withstand), our godliness (reflecting the light of God), our friendships (brotherly affection), and our Love (Agape, other looking), our Joy (knowing a secret), peace (settled contentment), patience (able to withstand), kindness (beneficial to others), goodness (like an apple is good for you), faithfulness (complete so can be counted on), and gentleness (softness as to never harm).

We don’t need to be better.  We don’t need to follow rules.  We need to just be who we are in the righteousness of God and of Christ.  We need to repent and believe.  The Kingdom of God is at hand and we are the children of the King.  Stop running away from God and turn back, trusting your acceptability in Jesus.  You are righteous and holy in Him!  Repent and Believe!

 

 

 

 

NCIS is one of my favorite television shows.  The characters and their relationships have always been consistently entertaining to me.  As I have discussed in an earlier post, I actually played catch with Mark Harmon when we were both about 10 years old.  He was quite an athlete even then and also are very nice young man.

I recently watched a rerun of an episode from Season 16, Episode 19.  In what I believe were the last two scenes in the episode, Gibbs (Mark Harmon’s character) reveals that being human involves feelings (which is against Rule 10 and against all for which he has fought his entire life) and a land lady says to Ellie (one of the agents on Gibb’s team), “The funny thing about Hope, once she gets into your blood, she never leaves you.”

Ever since I heard that quote I have not been able stop thinking about it.  I don’t generally go to NCIS for spiritual or philosophical insight, but the more I pondered the land lady’s wisdom, the more I was sure there was a deep, even eternal truth revealed through it.  It has been said that “life is in the blood.”  That is to say that physical life is in the blood.  The oxygen we need flows through the blood.  The nutrients we need flow through the blood.  Without blood we are physically dead.  

But there is something more than physical life.  There is real life.  Real life is life with a purpose.  Real life is life with contentment.  Real life is life filled with rest and peace.  Real life focuses outside of itself.  Hope is to real life as blood is to physical life.  Hope is the source of real life and a “Funny thing about Hope. once she gets into your blood, she never leaves.”

A few days from now I will celebrate my 69th birthday.  For well over half of my life I totally misunderstood Hope and I thought the source of real life was hard work, diligence, winning, making people happy, having and making more money, being liked, being appreciated, getting ahead, being in power, having stuff, and controlling people and events.  I wore myself out trying to find what I thought was real life – happiness.

I finally came to the end of myself.  I exhausted all of my sources of fulfillment.  Competing and winning at sports didn’t do it.  Teaching and coaching didn’t do it.  Making and spending money didn’t do it.  Being the boss didn’t do it.  Developing subdivisions, shopping centers and medical facilities didn’t do it.  Happiness turned out to be an illusion because happiness is based on “haps” and a “hap” is a chance event over which you have no control.  I couldn’t work or play hard enough to get all of my “haps” lined up just like I wanted them to be.  I finally collapsed.

What I needed wasn’t happiness.  What I needed was Hope.  And I didn’t even know what Hope was, much less know that I needed it or where to look for it.  Amazingly, I was a Christian and I thought my faith was just not strong enough.  Just like I had always done, I thought the way to dig out from the bottom of the pit was to try harder.  If only I had more faith everything would be better.  My pit only became deeper and darker.

Then one day I heard that Hope didn’t mean, “I hope the Nationals win!”  That kind of “hope” is just another “hap”, a chance event over which I have no control.  To say, “I hope the Nationals win!” is to use “hope” to say that if everything would go as I wish it would go, in order for me to be happy, the Nationals would win.  Real Hope, however,  at its essence means, “Confident expectation of good.”  It means that I know that I know that I know.  I now had a elementary understanding of the concept of Hope but I had no idea where to find it.

In the Bible, in Romans Chapter 4:18, I read, “In hope, he believed against hope……” and for the first time I understood that this passage about Abraham, the father of all three great world faiths (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) contrasts the two uses of the Word hope.  What it says is that Abraham in confident expectation of good (Hope) believed in the face of the evidence (hope as in wish) and God called it faith.  Now if Hope preceded faith what if anything preceded Hope?

In 1Corinthians 13:1-12, the Apostle Paul defines and describes Love (Agape).  He convinces us that Love can only come from God, is initiated by God and in fact is God.  The only way we can ever know Love, be Loved or Love ourselves or another is to receive the revelation and the reality of Love from God.  Agape Love is always other looking.  God is Love.

1Corinthians 13:13, the final verse of Chapter 13 (The Love Chapter) taught me the source of Hope.  It says, “Now these three remain, Faith, Hope and Love.  But the greatest of these is Love.”  Because I had become convinced that Hope came before Faith I now understood this passage.  Love precedes and begets Hope just as Hope precedes and begets Faith.  I had been trying to well up Faith when what I needed was to know the Love of God.  Once I knew the unconditional Love of God, revealed to us through the sacrificial Love of Jesus, I was filled with Hope.  Love allowed me to Love and Hope allowed me to take my eyes off of myself and to serve others because I now had Faith in God knowing that He loved me and promised good for me because I am his child.

In Galatians 5:22, we read, “Now the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.”  Once again, Love is the precedent and Hope (Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness) comes before Faithfulness and Self Control.  Knowing and receiving the Love of God fills us with Hope and Hope is the Blood flowing through and enlivening a Heart of Faith.  Ezekiel 36:26, “I will remove yourself heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” “The funny thing about Hope, once she gets into your blood, she never leaves you.”

 

 

 

Tom Harmon was a star running back for the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1940.  Harmon served as a U.S. Army pilot in World War II and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.

Around 1960, Tom Harmon was a presenter at an awards ceremony at which I received a trophy for my Little League baseball team.  Traveling with Mr. Harmon for his visit to our ceremony was his son, Mark, who like me had been born in 1951 and who like me loved sports of all kinds. Mark and I played catch both before and after the ceremony and it was obvious to me that he was an incredible athlete.

Little did I know that Mark Harmon would go on to play quarterback at UCLA while I was playing (mostly sitting) wide receiver and defensive back at Virginia Tech in the early 70’s.  After a successful college career, Mark went on to fame as a television and movie star.  He is best known as Leroy Jethro Gibbs, “Gibbs” on the hit show NCIS.

Which brings me to the concept of joy.  As I have written before, joy and happiness are not the same thing, in fact, they are not even related. The root word of happiness is an old English word, “hap”.  It is also the root of the word “hap”pen.  A “hap” is a chance event over which you have no control.  That is why when someone asks, “Who is to blame for the broken vase?”, it is appropriate to respond, “No one, it just “hap”pened.” We mean, it was just a chance event over which no one had control therefore no one is to blame.

Happiness is the state of being that exists when all of our “haps” are lined up exactly the way we desire.  The problem is of course that since “haps” are chance events over which we have no control, “hap”piness is fleeting at best.  The pursuit of happiness is a race without a finish line because the line keeps moving uncontrollably.  By definition, happiness is focused on circumstances over which we have no control.

Joy on the other hand is the sense of well being that springs forth from a settled truth which resides on the inside and is not affected by the ever changing phenomena of life. The only way joy can be capped or forgotten is for the underlying truth to be ignored or disbelieved.  In many cases, joy is simply knowing a secret.

In at least two episodes of the television drama “NCIS”, produced and directed by Mark Harmon, joy is revealed as incontainable and powerful. In one episode, Agent Ziva David is captured and imprisoned by the enemy.  Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Timothy McGee allow themselves to be captured  by the same enemy forces, all the time knowing that their boss, Agent LeRoy Jethro Gibbs is tracking their exact location.  Gibbs is a decorated sniper and the plan is that DiNozzo will get himself placed in the interrogation room by the enemy causing the leader of the enemy to be positioned perfectly for a sniper shot from long distance.  As the enemy leader is torturing Tony, including slaps across open wounds on his face, DiNozzo continues to mock the leader and endures the brutality.  During the entire ordeal he has a gleam in his eyes.  Why you ask?  Because he knows a secret.  He knows that the man standing over him is a dead man.  He knows he is a defeated enemy.  Agent DiNozzo has joy and it wells up from within allowing him to face incredible pain with a smile in his heart.  He knows the truth and as long as he focuses on the truth, he overflows with joy.  His circumstances are not in control because he is not looking for happiness.  He is filled with joy.

In a more recent episode, Agent Sloane must come face to face with the man who killed her team in front of her as an act of psychological torture against her.  Her torturer has kidnapped her boss, Leon Vance and she purposely allows herself to be captured in order to save Director Vance.  In the closing scene of the episode, Agent Sloane is tied to a chair next to Vance and is being told by her former torturer that he is going to slowly kill the Director in front of her just like he did to her team members.  His goal is to renew the effects of her PTSD that had crippled her for years after their first encounter.  Instead, as he is explaining what he is about to do to Leon Vance, she begins to laugh out loud.  Even Vance is concerned as he cannot understand her reaction.  He is sure that she has cracked and she is losing her grip on reality.  But the truth is that she is the only one in the room that knows the truth.  She has joy.  She laughs again and then she cannot contain the truth.  She shouts, “Do you think I came here without letting Gibbs know where I was going?”  “I am laughing because any second now, Agent Gibbs and his team are going to bust down this door and all of you are either dead or under arrest.”  Then she laughs again.  Suddenly Gibbs and his team rush in and her torturer is taken into custody.

As her torturer is about to be escorted out, he says to her, “Now you will get your revenge, you will torture me!”  She replies, “Let me tell you what is going to happen to you.  You will be safely escorted to a jail cell to await trial.  You will be fed three meals a day and protected until your trial.  You will receive a fair trial and a just punishment.  You will not be tortured.  You are the monster.  We are not like you!”  That is how joy responds to favor.  Joy holds fast to the truth and does not return evil with evil.  Joy is not controlled by circumstances, in fact, joy is the shield of faith against the schemes of the enemy.

These two episodes of a secular drama express a very deep understanding of what joy really is.  The Bible tells us, in Hebrews 12:2, that “For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame…….”  Jesus was filled with the joy of knowing the truth.  That joy gave him the strength to face the mocking and the pain of the cross and his heart was protected until the Father raised him from the dead.  Galatians 5:22 says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.”  Joy is only inferior to love when it comes to the fruit of the Spirit in believers.  We know a secret that many others do not know.  We know that we are saved by grace and grace alone and that God is rich in mercy, slow to anger and abounding in love.  We know that God has the power to do what He has promised.

We are not prisoners to our circumstances.  We are not creatures in pursuit of happiness.  We are joyful, secure, and unconditionally loved children of God set free from our selfishness and perfected by the certain work of God through His Power, Word and Spirit.  Even if we are tied to a chair being tortured and threatened, mocked or scorned, abandoned or rejected, we have our Father who is the Judge standing right outside the door about to enter the room.  We know a secret.  The world does not know the truth but we do.  “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Let you reasonableness (your soundness of mind, your understanding of the truth) be known to all.  The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving (because you know the truth) let your requests be known to God.  And the peace (Love, Joy, Peace) of God, which surpasses all understanding (its not controlled by circumstances) will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”    (Philippians 4:4-7)

Php 4:4-7. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You are in a bank, sitting in the bank president’s office, who also happens to be the person in whom you have the most confidence in all the world. He is the wisest person you know, has seemingly unlimited resources, has an arsenal of weapons in his office and on his cell phone he can speed dial the Governor, the sheriff, the state police, and anyone else you could ever need in an emergency. And better yet he loves you unconditionally and you always feel safe in his presence.

Over the years you have come to him many times, sometimes for bank loans, sometimes for advice, sometimes for tickets to events, and sometimes for help. He hasn’t always loaned you the money you have asked for and he doesn’t always have tickets to everything you want, but he always does what he thinks is best for you. Sometimes when you ask for help he asks you to participate in the work and at other times he asks you do something either before he helps or in response to his help. But he always does what is best for you.

Now while you are sitting in his office, the alarm goes off in the bank. The tellers can see into the presidents office through bullet proof glass, but you cannot see into the lobby where the customers are from inside the presidents office. You have no idea what the alarm means. Are you going to be anxious? If not how will you avoid it?

Well, here’s what Paul would say according to the verses in Philippians – Be glad that you are in the presence of the person in whom you have the most confidence in all the world. Remind yourself of who he is and what resources he has at his disposal. Remember that he has sensors on his desk and on his phone that have informed him of why the alarm is sounding and where the trouble is. If it’s a fire he will lead you outside to safety. If it’s a robbery he will tell you what to do. (Rejoice always).

You notice that he is calm and not surprised or anxious. You wait for him to speak. You can ask him questions or even make requests but most importantly you just remind yourself of who is in control. You remember his unconditional love for you. You remember his faithfulness and wisdom. You remind yourself that he is near. The tellers are watching you so it’s important that you show them your trust and faith in the president by staying reasonable and calm. (Let your reasonableness to evident to all). There is no reason to be anxious because you know the one who knows everything, has everything that is needed to respond, loves you unconditionally, and always has your best interest at heart.

Becoming anxious will not benefit anyone, it will only make the crisis seem longer and make other people doubt your relationship with the bank president and his faithfulness. So you rejoice because he is near, you remain sound in your thinking and you ask him what you should do. You can ask him for a gun or a drink of water or for permission to run and scream, but you trust him enough to ask and then wait for his response and then obey. (Which means to listen attentively). You are anxious for nothing because you are covered by who he is. You are Noah inside the ark, waiting for the waters to subside.

He tells you to stay in your seat, don’t move, stay away from the windows and he will be back. You ask for a gun and he says you won’t need one. He hands you a bottle of water and a book by Tim Keller and reminds you to stay in your seat and wait. And he leaves the room. Now you have a choice. Are you going to take over, become anxious, try to escape and save yourself or are you going to have Hope.

Hope is confident expectation of good. The evidence of real Hope is Joy.  Hope always has an object. The bank president is your object of hope. You can hope in him. So you sip your water, read your book and wait patiently for him to return. You rejoice in who he is and who you are in Him. You soundly reason that because he loves you unconditionally and knows all things that he will be back and everything will be ok.

You are anxious in nothing. You are safe in him, even when you don’t understand, even when he seems to be gone, even when he doesn’t give you everything you ask for. And when he returns, he will love you unconditionally and not be surprised that you had times of doubt while he was gone.  He will understand that in those moments you had to fight through some anxious thoughts. But you will have learned how to just let those anxious thoughts flow down the river of your thoughts without enlivening them by focusing on them. You will have learned to let the truth of who he is and who you are in him set you free from doubt and anxiety.

Be still and know that he is God.

Here is a great quote about selfless living….”the essence of Gospel humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of your self less.” Tim Keller.

Imagine for a minute that you find yourself at a resort when suddenly the entire kitchen staff for the resort falls ill and needs to be removed from the resort for six months. The owner of the resort has always made it a habit to look over the guest list periodically, making note of anyone staying at the resort who has any cooking ability or experience. He has your name on just such a list. At just the right time (now) he chooses you to be part of his team. He calls you into his office and tells you who he is, what has occurred, who you are in his eyes and what he needs you to do. He tells you that he will make everything that is his available to you (kitchen, recipes, procedures, dishes, etc.)

The owner also tells you that he has summoned his only son to run everything and be responsible for everything. All he asks of you is that you remember who you are in his eyes, doing whatever he believes you are capable of doing in his kitchen, with his cookware, energy and utensils.  He will also supply all the food and ingredients.

He knows you are going to sometimes fall short of perfection, maybe most of the time, but when you do he wants you to do three things – 1. Remember who you are in Him. 2. Remember that his son is in control. 3. Repent, which means turn around and head in the other direction or have a change of heart about who you are in Him. He will ask you to believe in him and in his son and trust that in doing exactly what he knows you already have in your heart and in your mind you will be doing all that he expects you to do.

The owner will be as it were the vinedresser, his son will be the vine and you will be one of the branches. The owner supplies and applies all that is needed for the vine to perform the function that the owner intends for it to do. As one of the branches you just need to remain connected to the vine and the life of the vine will flow through you and accomplish the owner’s (vinedresser’s) purposes.

Notice that you are not to focus on pleasing anyone, not the customers, not your friends, not your family, not even the owner or his son. You are simply to believe in who you are in his mind and heart and trust that in him you can all things he intends for you to do. By believing the truth about who you are in Him, you can be content and complete by accomplishing what he gives you the ability to do and you can focus on others, not to please them or to be validated by them but simply to love them and lift them up no matter how they respond to you.

When you catch yourself worrying about what other people think or in simply being self focused, you just need to repent (change your mind about who you are in Him, or turn around and head in the other direction). The more you remember who you are in him because of who he is, the more you can get over yourself and truly lift other people up. Don’t think less of yourself, think of yourself less!

 

Recently I have been trying to remember to not give my joy away. Yes you read that right – not give my joy away. Let me explain. Joy is that feeling inside that springs from a contentment in who you are, not in what you have or in what you have accomplished. As a Christian I am content in who I am because God has accepted me just as I am in his son. Therefore I have joy. No one can rob me of my joy because no one can change who I am in God’s eyes. No thing can rob me of my joy – no circumstance, no political post, no one cutting me off in traffic, no problem. The only thing that can take away my joy is me giving it away. If I choose to give my joy away by how I react to the circumstances of life, it’s my fault. But if, when faced with whatever circumstance, I choose to stay focused on who I am, I will remain in joy. As Christians we are supposed to overflow with joy and in that way of course we are to share our joy with everyone around us. However, we are not to give it away and forget who we are in God’s eyes. When I am walking my dog, Barnabas, and he becomes agitated by a circumstance of life, all I have to do is quietly call his name. When he hears my voice he is immediately reminded that he is in my presence and his peace and contentment returns. God has been reminding me of his still small voice, reminding me of his presence and restoring me to the joy of his salvation. Don’t give away your joy.

Purple through History

Throughout history, purple has been the color of royalty.  Purple dye was expensive because it was harvested from a special sea snail and was desired because of its rarity and longevity.   Purple was a sign of position, privilege and power.  In fact, Queen Elizabeth I would not allow anyone except close family members to wear purple.

Purple in the Bible

Purple is not even one of the primary colors.  Blue, red and yellow are the primary colors and orange, green and purple are simply the results of mixing two of the primary colors.  In the Bible, however, beginning in Exodus Chapter 25 and continuing throughout the rest of the book, purple is mentioned as one of the significant colors in the building of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was the place where God’s people would come to worship Him and the place where He would dwell among them throughout their wanderings the wilderness.

The order and relationship of Purple

In nearly every case, the list of colors in the tabernacle is given in the order blue, purple and scarlet (or crimson).  This makes perfect sense and is exactly as they appear in the spectrum of color.  Purple appears between blue and red because it is the blending of these two primary colors.  The order of and relationship between these colors is not only naturally significant, but it is spiritually and effectually important to our understanding of what it means to be in authority.  Let’s see how.

The meaning of Blue

From the website, Color-Meanings.com,  “Blue is a cool and calming color that shows creativity and intelligence. The color blue is a popular color among large companies, hospitals and airlines. It is a color that symbolizes loyalty, strength, wisdom and trust. Blue color meaning is also known to have a calming effect on the psyche. Blue is the color of the sky and the sea and is often used to represent these images. Blue is a color that generally looks good in almost any shade and it is a very popular color, especially among men. For your info, the color blue is my favorite color!

Blue is sincere, reserved and quiet, and does not like to make a big deal out of things or attract too much attention. Blue hates confrontation and likes to do things its own way. From a color psychology perspective, the blue color is reliable and responsible and radiates security and trust. You can be sure that the color blue can take control and do the right thing in difficult situations. The blue color needs order and planning in its life, including the way it lives and works.

Blue seeks peace and tranquility and promotes physical and mental relaxation. The color blue reduces stress and creates a sense of calmness, relaxation and order. Try and lie on your back and look up at the blue cloudless sky. Blue lowers metabolism. The paler the blue color, the more free we feel.

Blue is known to be good at one-way communication, especially communication with your voice – it’s the teacher, the public speaker. The color blue is your helper, savior, your friend in need. The blue colors success is defined by the quality and quantity of its relationships. It’s a giver, not a taker. Blue likes to build strong, trusting relationships, and is deeply hurt if the trust is betrayed. The blue color is not a good color when applied to food, since there are too few blue food items in the nature, and that suppresses the appetite.“

Blue in the Bible

Biblically speaking, blue represents heaven (the sky is blue) and love because it evokes trust, protection and faithfulness.  Blue represents the love and mercy of God in contrast to the pure radiant white and glowing gold of His holiness.

The meaning of Red in history and in the Bible

Red, throughout history, has always represented war, passion and blood.  In the Bible, red has always been associated with sacrifice, especially a substitutional atonement (sacrificing an animal) or a blood covenant (walking between the halves of a slain animal in the blood).

Leadership in the Bible

When Jesus walked on the earth he embraced the the position of authority.  When he called his apostles he said to them, “Follow me.”  He spoke with authority.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

The Apostle’s understanding of Authority

The apostles thought that by authority Jesus meant power, privilege and position.  They had the historical view of the color purple, knowing that if he truly was the messiah, he had come to overthrow the Roman government and set up his kingdom on earth.  Purple robes would certainly be distributed to each of them and the perks of position would be theirs.

Jesus’ example of Authority

But then Jesus announced the unthinkable.  Shortly after asking the apostles who they thought he was and commending Peter for answering that he was the messiah, the Son of the living God, he revealed the essence of true authority.  In doing so he redefined the meaning of the color purple.

What did he say?  Just after commending Peter and then saying he was going to give them the keys to the kingdom, Jesus said, “Now that you know who I am, let me tell what I must do -I must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be beaten and then killed.  And on the third day I will be raised from the dead.”  He redefined purple.

But because Peter thought purple meant position, privilege and power he said, “God forbid, Lord, that shall never happen!”  In Peter’s mind purple couldn’t involve suffering and death.  Peter did not understand the order and relationship of the components of purple and therefore he misunderstood authority.

When Peter uttered that amazing phrase, “God forbid, Lord, that shall never happen!” Jesus replied, “Get behind me Satan!”  He wasn’t calling Peter, ‘Satan’, he was speaking through Peter directly to the spirit behind his arrogance and pride.  Arrogance and pride never accepts the fact that purple is a mixture of blue and red.

Jesus, who said that all authority in heaven and on earth was given to him, then proceeded to show us what it means that purple is the perfect blend of blue and red. Jesus, who came down from heaven (blue) because of the love (blue) of God (God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son) mixed the blue of love with the red of suffering and death and became Lord of all.

Jesus showed us that authority of any kind (Boss, Parent, Pastor, Elder, Mayor, President, Senator, Police Officer, Judge, etc.) begins with a heart of love and then mixes the blue of love with the red of death to self and even physical death if necessary.  The true purple of authority always has to be born in love (always other looking) and mixed with self sacrifice (laying aside your self interests for the good of others) knowing that this kind of purple is submitted to out of trust and not out of fear, out of desire and not out of manipulation.

The Founder’s understanding of authority

The founding fathers said that our leaders should be “disinterested men of leisure” meaning men who were not serving for their own interests and didn’t need money, acclaim, fame, adoration or anything because they were assured in who they were and their motives were truly pure.  Purple is not the color of position, privilege and power.  No it is the color of love and sacrifice.

Love

In Corinthians, Paul says, “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  (Blue mixed with red)

Death to Self

In Philippians Paul wrote,  “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Blue mixed with red)

The example of Husbands

In Ephesians, Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”  (Blue mixed with red)

True Leadership

True leadership is rooted and grounded in love and is mixed with the blood and sweat of self denial and sacrifice.  True leadership wears the purple robes in humility and love and doesn’t serve for gain, admiration or adoration.  When scorned, true leadership says, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do” and rests in the comfort of knowing the truth of the Gospel – the exalted shall be humbled and the humbled shall be exalted.  Purple is the color of true leadership, the perfect blend of love and sacrifice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nats have one final exhibition game on Saturday, at the Naval Academy, against the Boston Red Sox.  Today’s game at Nationals Park was rained out, disappointing a van full of Nats fans (Matt, Kahlan, Avery, William and Grandpa) who had just left our house.  We will be there on Monday when the Nats open the season against the Miami Marlins.

When they do they may be without three of their best players.  Anthony Rendon fouled a ball off his leg on Monday and has not been able to return to baseball activities since.  Daniel Murphy has been sick since getting back from the World Baseball Classic at which he sat the bench for the most part.  He has not played enough in Spring Training to get his stroke back and I think he looks sluggish.  Finally the reigning Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer will not start on Opening Day because he dealt with stress fracture in his knuckle for most of Spring Training.  He should pitch in game 2 or 3.

On the positive side, Bryce Harper left Florida ready for a bounce back season.  He hit 8 home runs and was driving the ball hard to left field and right.  Trea Turner recovered from a slow start both offensively and defensively and is hot right now.  Ryan Zimmerman regained hit stroke in Florida and looks prepared to improve on 2016.  Rendon was hitting and looking good before his injury.  And the bullpen looks good.

On the down side, Matt Wieters has yet to hit, Adam Easton is trying to find his way around a new team, Jason Werth has not hit well except one monster home run, and the starting pitching other than Scherzer has been spotty.

The bench will be deeper with the addition of Adam Lind.  The final cut will probably be either Wilmer Diffo or Michael Taylor and it may depend on Rendon’s and Murphy’s health.

All in all the Nationals are capable of having an exciting year.  They have all the necessary pieces to make a run at the NL East Crown and make a run deep into the playoffs.  Injuries and the utter difficulty of a 162 game season will ultimately decide their fate but it should be an exciting year.  GO NATS!