A Life Worthy

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (1 Corinthians 15:7).

Well, I mean, I guess it’s true.

It was a bit of a strange birth, so to speak.

Paul was not one of the disciples. He hadn’t lived and traveled with Jesus for three years. He had not been at Supper, or in the garden, or at the cross, or at the tomb, or in the upper room. Paul had not received the teaching or the promises or the Holy Spirit. Paul had not seen Jesus calm the storm or feed the masses or raise the dead.

Paul had not been on Team Jesus.

To say the least

But once again, Jesus went and did the unexpected,

the impossible,

the vaguely ludicrous.

He chose to transform his avowed enemy into his champion.

I don’t know why–I certainly wouldn’t have picked him.

But then, we’ve been over that before, haven’t we?

Beloved, if you ever think

even for a moment

that you are not good enough

or strong enough

or wise enough

or righteous enough

or godly enough to serve Christ,

know this:

you’re absolutely right.

Then, think of Paul

and bow your head

and rejoice.

Happy Thursday, Beloved

Then he appeared to James…  (1 Corinthians 15:7).

This is one of those bits that I have read numerous times but only recently stopped to think about. My trusty NIV Study Bible identifies this James as the brother (well, technically half brother) of Jesus. This makes sense, since the other Jameses we know about are part of the Twelve, and the previous verse already says that Jesus appeared to them.  

This, then, is the James that did not believe Jesus was the Christ, who Mark says thought Jesus was out of his mind.

That, of course, was before the Resurrection.

Jesus made a point of appearing to this man, the brother he had grown up with and who did not believe. 

What grace was offered in that meeting between Jesus and James?

What mercy?

What challenge?

Did they share an inside joke, the kind that only brothers would get?

Did James apologize for not believing his brother was the Christ? Did Jesus grin and say, “I told you so?”

We don’t know what happened in that meeting, but James went on to join the ranks of the believers, to become an apostle and to write the book that bears his name.

And to be  martyred for it.

So we can bet that, whatever was said, it was life changing.

As meetings with Jesus so often tend to be

Happy Monday, Beloved

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures… (1 Corinthians 15:4).

Jonah spent three days and three nights in the fish.

I wonder if the prophet knew he was, himself, a prophecy.

I wonder if he knew, as he lay in stomach juice and partially digested fish bits, that he was a shadow of the One to come.

I’ve always liked Jonah. He’s so human, so imperfect. The fact that God would use him to save the people of Nineveh–even after his rebellion–gives me a measure of hope that I might someday prove useful. The fact that God would use Jonah to prefigure his beloved Son, well, that’s another example of how God is just so much better at this than I would be. I would have flushed Jonah, and the world would have missed out on this reflection of God’s love and salvation.

Let’s just call that reason #4970 to be glad that God is God, and I am just Michael.

Happy Thursday, Beloved

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to Scripture… (1 Corinthians 15:3).

Surely he has borne our grief

    and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered him punished by God,

    stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

    and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

    each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Before the tomb

Before the cross

Before the manger

God knew what would happen to his Beloved Son

for His Beloved Bride.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to Scripture… (1 Corinthians 15:3).

After yesterday’s post, I realized that I had passed over something vital.

I don’t like to pass over somethings that are vital, so we’re backing up a few words here.

Paul received the Gospel

and 

he passed it on.

Simple enough concept, but how often do we employ it?

God intended His Gospel to come to you, and to flow through you, but not to end with you. He expects you to pass it on. Do we all have the gift and calling to be evangelists? Maybe not, but we must all be prepared to–as Peter said–give a reason for the hope that we have.

You have received.

Pass it on

Happy Wednesday, Beloved