Lessons from the Sidelines

I’m writing over at The Glorious Table today. Here’s a Preview:

The disciples spent three years with Jesus watching him preach, heal people, and interact with the Pharisees. They also observed many memorable encounters, like the healing of the blind man.

John 9:1-7 says, “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing” (NIV).

It’s okay to acknowledge that this is weird. Jesus was powerful enough to heal the man with a word, but he smears mud on the blind man’s eyes and tells him to walk to the Pool of Siloam to wash.

We don’t know how far the group was standing from the pool, but archeologists recently uncovered the pool, discovering steep stairs to enter the water.

I admit this image didn’t match the picture in my mind. The steps are steep and narrow. Even someone with clear vision could easily slip on the rocks.

I think there are as few reasons Jesus engaged the man as an active participant in his healing.

First, consider how John 9 begins. The disciples notice the blind man and ask Jesus who had sinned and thereby caused his blindness. This man had likely spent his entire life hearing people debate his sin status. Was he the sinner, his parents, or someone else in their family tree? The belief that an ailment such as blindness was a result of sin was justified through Scriptures such as Exodus 20:5 and Ezekiel 18:20.

But Jesus said the blind man wasn’t a sinner. His life had purpose, and his blindness was present “so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

The second reason I think Jesus had the blind man actively participate in his own healing is because he didn’t know who Jesus was before their encounter.

Read the rest over at The Glorious Table

I’m writing over at The Glorious Table today. Here’s a preview:

Jesus had a special friendship with the siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. The Gospels highlight this in a few places, especially Jesus’ interactions with Mary. My favorite story about Jesus and these siblings is in John 11. It’s the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

John 11 begins by stating that Lazarus was sick. We pick up in verse 3, where Mary and Martha do the only thing they know to do: “So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick’” (NIV).

When Jesus receives the message in verse John 11:4, his response gives us insight that things are about to get interesting: “When he heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.’”

Jesus delays going to see Lazarus by two days, and when he is finally ready to go, he tells his disciples,

“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” (John 11:11-14 NIV)

As Jesus and the disciples arrive, they encounter Mary and Martha mourning Lazarus, who was placed in a tomb four days earlier. Traditional Jewish mourning begins with seven days of intentional mourning known as sitting shiva. Read the rest over at The Glorious Table

I’m writing over at The Glorious Table today about Leadership. Here’s a preview:

 love January. For me, this is the time when hope bubbles up in every conversation. As the new year begins, we get to not only start a new page in our planners, we get to throw away the battered pages from the past year and open a brand-new calendar. Empty spaces on each day whisper of new opportunities.

Are you training a new business partner? Is it your turn to prepare the next generation for ministry? Is it time to start obeying that nudge and courageously step up and start leading somewhere? What’s holding you back?

There is something about the first page of a new planner that sparks hope for me. I believe strongly in fresh starts and new opportunities. Over the years, I’ve developed a conviction that one of the most generous gifts we can extend to each other is the space to use our spiritual gifts, strengths, talents, and skills in our individual passion areas.

It takes courage to pursue a fresh start with a ministry or step onto a new career path. Having a mentor to look to and learn from is invaluable. A mentor can help build our confidence as well as guide us with years of experience.

As important as it is for the less experienced person to have a mentor, it’s just as valuable for the mentor to invest in someone. Our time on earth will eventually end, but that doesn’t mean our ministry won’t go on. And our ministry will grow when we can train people to work alongside us rather than trying to manage everything ourselves. Read the rest over at The Glorious Table

I’m writing over at The Glorious Table today about Galileo. Here’s a preview:

Faith is hard. Always confident? Yikes. Faith without sight is one thing, but unwavering confidence seems impossible some days. At the same time, I believe living out our faith, boldly trusting in the God we profess to believe in without requiring visual confirmation, is more important than ever.

A recent study conducted by YouGov of 8,215 U.S. adults has discovered that just “66 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds are convinced that the Earth is round.” This means 33 percent of eighteen to twenty-four-year-olds don’t believe photographic proof and eyewitness accounts of something proved through the centuries—first by math, then by exploration, and now by visual documentation.